Writing a Really Super Good Article in The Player
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Introduction
Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of The Player and how our extremely handsome contributors manage to produce all of this amazing content? What if I told you, the equally handsome reader, that even you can write articles for The Player? Assuming that you haven't given an edgy "no" to both of these questions at this point, keep reading this guide to understand the process of writing and publishing articles for The Player. However, we will not be producing just any old articles. As the title suggests, we will only be writing really super good articles. Keep in mind, though, that an article idea might not turn out as really super good as you intended it to. It takes some experience in the field to be able to produce articles of a higher caliber than the rest.
What to Write About
This is probably one of the hardest parts of writing the article, from a creative standpoint, at least: thinking of an idea to write about. It's important that your idea is a set, specific, and clear concept. To conjure up some inspiration, think about what you do on PS on a regular basis. Spamming dongers doesn't count. (Trust me on this one, I know from experience.) If a new user waltzed up to you and asked you what the most interesting part of PS is for you, what would you respond with? Would you tell them about the Doubles room and how handsome the room staff members are? How about the engaging conversation that takes place in the Lobby? Ideas don't have to be room-specific; they can cover the server as a whole. For example, you may want to discuss the mechanics of the ladder system on PS. If descriptive writing isn't your thing, you can always submit an article based on satire (comedy). For example, it might be a good idea to elaborate on the dank memes of PS. If you can't think of anything, The Player has an entire thread in its main forum dedicated to storing spare ideas, so see if you can steal anything from there. Also, it's important to note that The Player is made exclusively for Showdown-related content. This means that if you have an idea for an article that is more about Smogon or the competitive side of Pokémon, such as one about how amazing Zangoose is in NU, it would probably be better off in The Smog rather than The Player.
Submitting Your Idea
Once you have an idea ready to be proposed, head over to The Player's Article Submissions subforum. You won't see any threads in the forum, but don't panic. When creating your thread in Article Submissions, you should probably be thinking of a good title for your topic. You don't need to have one right away, as you can change it later in the process, but it's probably better to have one ready anyway. It's important that your title has depth and makes the reader want to click on your article before the rest. For example, while the title "Introducing the Doubles Room" isn't particularly bad, it's not original or attention-grabbing either. You may want to employ a title with some more pizazz, like "The Doubles Room: Double the Babes." If you can't think of anything cool at the moment, don't panic, as your title can always be changed later. Now, on to the content of your submission thread. You know that your idea is amazing and I know that your idea is amazing, but do The Player's staff members know that your idea is amazing? If you want the best chance of having the staff accept your idea, you should create a brief bulleted list outlining what your article will contain. Make sure to also include the sections into which your article will be divided. This will show the staff that you know what you're doing and exactly what you're going to write about.
Writing the Article
Congratulations! Your article on the life and history of John "Ca$h Daddy" Showdown, creator of PS, has just been approved! Shortly, you should be getting access to The Kiln, the private subforum of The Player in which articles are baked to perfection. Be cautious, though; contents of The Kiln, such as WIP articles, are very sensitive and should not be leaked to the public. Anyway, now that you're ready to get started on the actual article itself, there are several frameworks that most articles follow. You don't have to follow these frameworks, per se, but you might want to consider using them if you're a generally new writer. Here are some brief explanations on what I'm talking about:
The Introduction
The intro is pretty self-explanatory. The purpose of an introduction is, obviously, to introduce your article to the reader. Tell them a little bit about what you are writing about before you go in-depth, but make sure to not include too much information. If you tell them too much, then the rest of the article will be repetitive and boring. It's important that your introduction is interesting and attention-grabbing; otherwise, the reader might lose interest and stop reading.
The Body
As the name implies, the body will make up the majority of the article. If you have a good sense of humor, then by all means, use it! Satire is a really good means of keeping a reader's attention and some articles are nothing but satire (see The Perilous Pundit and The Gossiper). Depending on what your article is trying to convey, you might have more than just a few paragraphs. For example, this article has lots of paragraphs, albeit ones differing in size, because I have a lot of points to make.
The Conclusion
The conclusion is where you end your article and make it into an easy snack wrap. Having a conclusion isn't always necessary, but it is encouraged. Conclusions usually aren't too long, so do not fret if your conclusion is short. Remember: it's not the size that matters, it's how well you use it! In your conclusion, you might want to include some finishing points or restate a point or two that should be emphasized.
Quality Control Process
If you've been granted access to The Kiln, you're probably looking at all of the threads in the subforum and thinking to yourself, "Gee golly whillickers! What are all of these goshdarn fancy colors that all of these articles are labeled with?" Those, handsome reader, are called prefixes. They let the rest of the contributors know which stage your article is in until completion. Here are some brief explanations of the stages that each article goes through until it is completed:
— The WIP prefix is the prefix that you should label your article with right after you post the skeleton in The Kiln. You should also keep it on for the duration of the time spent writing your article. This will let people know that they shouldn't comment on the content of the article yet, because it's a work in progress!
— After you're completely sure that what you've written is ready for criticism, change the prefix in the title from "WIP" to "In Review." Once you've done that, make a separate post in your thread tagging one of The Player mods. This step was made for the purpose of ensuring that each article is up to The Player's quality standards. A staff member will comment on your thread with any fixes or comments, and then you'll be on your way.
— Once one of the staff members has given you the green light, switch to the Grammar prefix and add "[GP 0/2]" to the end of the title. This will let members of the Grammar-Prose team know that your article is ready to be checked for grammar. After one GP member has posted their edits and you've implemented them, change the "[GP 0/2]" to "[GP 1/2]." Remember that if a GPer or staff member makes a change that you don't like, then you, as the writer, have the power to contest it.
— Switch to the HTML prefix after you have two implemented GP checks. For your article to be formatted properly on-site, you will need an HTMLer to put your amazing article in the HTML format. This step will probably take the least amount of time because those guys stalk available articles more often than I stalk my own freezer for Pizza Rolls.
— Illustrations for your article can come at any point during the process, but if no images have been made for you at this point, switch to this tag after the HTMLer has posted the formatting. The Player's artists will reserve your article in the Article Index thread and create an illustration for you when they get the chance.
— Once you've made sure that the art made for your article is up to par with a handsome person like yourself, and that everything else has been completed, switch to the Done prefix. However, contrary to popular belief, you are not actually done. Before your article is completely ready to be published on-site, another staff member will look over your article and give you Editor's Notes, which are quick last-minute changes such as a grammar fix somewhere or something like the notion that you should use "adorable" instead of "cute" in your article on puppies. Once you've implemented the Editor's Notes, tag the HTMLer so that they can update the format. After this, your article is done and ready to be published!
Get Out There!
If you ever have any questions about the writing process, don't be afraid to contact one of the staff members of The Player. They're pretty friendly, save for a certain dragon-themed staff member who is super lame and whose name I will not mention (unscramble this: dreigonSpy). You can also talk to some experienced article writers for tips on how to write a good article. Experienced writers are usually identified with a Smogon Media badge to recognize their contributions. Additionally, if you are really nervous or apprehensive about writing your first article, it might be a good idea to ask another user to co-author an article with you.
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