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Hey Emberites!
I was planning on writing an article for SE but am really struggling to get it all in a nice, organized outline. Does anyone have any tips for writing articles for Story Embers?
https://shirarodriguez.wixsite.com/shirarodriguez
@wisdomofprose Hey! So glad I noticed this thread. A great question!
First of all, I haven’t actually written anything for Story Embers due to being busy with other duties, but I’ve got a fair amount of experience in writing articles in general, as well as a familiar knowledge of the spirit and goal of the SE team! With that, let me give you some little pointers.
- Write about something you’re passionate and knowledgeable about. If you have passion and knowledge and experience in a topic, it’ll show through the article to make it an impactful read.
- Pick your topic and split it into different headings. Have a look at the layout of the articles already posted on here; they’re all neatly formatted into an overall topic, then the different aspects and points the author makes about said topic. Kind of like writing an essay, if you’re much of an English person. 😛 It should have an introduction section, then split up the content of the article/lesson into easy to read chunks. And an ending that feels natural and kind of wraps it up a bit. Think of the different points you want to make to the readers of your articles, as that can help work out what each header section will be.
- When you can, focus on faith aspects too! We can go anywhere online for general writing advice, but SE is one of the few places where we post writing AND Jesus in one. 😉
Other than that, you can check out the Submissions page if you haven’t already. And if there’s any more specific questions, please don’t hesitate to tag me! 😊
Hope that helped!
Writing Heroes ♦ Writing Hope // janemareeauthor.com.au
@wisdomofprose That’s a great question! And I definitely second all the tips Jane provided. In addition to what she mentioned, here’s a couple other tips I’d give as acquisitions editor:
- We tend to look for articles that are exploring a less-common angle on a fiction writing topic. Some of that comes from wanting to weave our faith into all aspects of writing, like Jane says. But it also means we tend to look for more than generic advice someone could find a dozen other places on the internet. There’s nothing truly original under the sun, but we want it to stand out in some way. One of the best ways to do that is…
- …Include several examples of the principles you’re explaining. I’m a huge fan of examples as being one of the best tools for explaining and teaching different fiction writing concepts, so if you can find good examples to illustrate your points, that will strengthen your submission.
- With regards to your outline, there are a couple different formats you could use. One is the “standard” “X number of ways to do __________” type that many sites (including ours) utilize where you’re giving a list of different techniques writers can use to fix _________ problem. Most articles on our blog follow this technique. Another option is a format where your points follow each other in natural succession like a story where you address one problem/question with one answer, which leads to another question/problem leading to another answer and so on until you fully explore the topic. Daeus’ article two months ago on if you’re publishing too soon or not would be one example of this: https://storyembers.org/are-you-publishing-your-book-too-soon/
Hope that helps! As Jane said, feel free to ask follow-up questions here. 🙂
@jane-maree
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply! I so appreciate the advice! (I especially loved the bit about writing on something you’re “passionate and knowledgeable about!”) To be honest, I didn’t know whether anyone would answer this post, but I’m so thankful you did! I will be sure to tag you for any future questions!P.S. Yes, I am most definitely an English nerd! XD
@josiah
Thank you so much for your advice and for taking the time to write your reply! The part about format really helped, as I was struggling most with that. 🙂 I love how SE articles always include a lot of examples! By the way, I’ve been so blessed by Story Embers and have learned so much. Thank you!Please forgive me for replying so late and thank you both again! 🙂
https://shirarodriguez.wixsite.com/shirarodriguez
@wisdomofprose Yay, glad to help! I’m looking forward to seeing any articles from you in future! 😏
Writing Heroes ♦ Writing Hope // janemareeauthor.com.au
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