The Writers' Block

[USS Monitor]

Can you give me some good ideas on what issue to write, as well as tips to write issues?

There are some suggestions for topics here: viewtopic.php?p=8162365#p8162365

A lot of people find it helpful to draft their issues on the forum. I would suggest that you at least take a look at some draft threads to get an idea what a draft is supposed to look like and how the drafting process works.

Regardless of whether you draft on the forum or on your hard drive, put some effort into it. Don't submit one-liner stuff like:

[desc]Your carpet does not match your drapes.

[option]Change the carpet.
[effect]@@LEADER@@ has new carpet

[option]Change the drapes.
[effect]@@LEADER@@ has new drapes

That kind of thing just gets deleted for lack of content.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Can you give me some good ideas on what issue to write, as well as tips to write issues?

Post 2 of this thread is a good place to start.

In particular, the policy reversal issues need sorting.

[Jutsa]

Do we have either:

a) an issue about the media slandering corporations
or
b) an issue about the media being politically bias
?

I'm suspecting we probably have the latter, but I wanted to ask about both anyways.

[Ransium]

My recently published issue (reported last night) touches heavily on the latter. We have an issue about politicians slandering corporations but I'm not sure if it has been reported yet.

[Jutsa]

My recently published issue (reported last night) touches heavily on the latter.

Oh... right...
duuuuyyy

We have an issue about politicians slandering corporations but I'm not sure if it has been reported yet.

Huh. If it's 833 then no, but thank you.

Crossed both out of my potential ideas lists.

Seems like most things I think are possibly covered are definitely covered, which also happen to be the ones I ask about here. Thanks.

Edit: OH YEAH! Greetings from Forum 7, Kendor!

[Australian rePublic]

I can finally do my issue writing on a computer with spell check, but can't stop procrastinating

[Australian rePublic]

Hey Jutsa, I've been thinking about it, and your idea for an issue triggering different issues based on climate/terrains, and that idea kicks arse (provided you take my considerations into account). But follow up issues have to exist, many of which don't, so without any further ado, I got to writing:

Deserts:
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=425703

Tundra, onne published issue exists, but only one:
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=425709

Forests:
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=425710

Rivers:
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=425714

You can have an epic issue, and I could have a reason to write follow up issues. We make a good team don't we ?`

On that note, are there any issues regarding the tropics?

[Australian rePublic]

Do we have either:

a) an issue about the media slandering corporations
or
b) an issue about the media being politically bias
?

I'm suspecting we probably have the latter, but I wanted to ask about both anyways.

What about the media naming alleged criminals before they're found guilty

[Drasnia]

Is there a flag that tracks if phones have been banned? 317.3 looks to ban them, but I don't recall or see an issue that reverses it and it's not said that we need a reversal for that in the second post of this thread. If there is a flag for banning all phones, do we need a reversal issue (or would it be wanted, rather)?

If there isn't a flag for that ban, could one be implemented if a good enough reversal issue is written?

[Ransium]

Is there a flag that tracks if phones have been banned? 317.3 looks to ban them, but I don't recall or see an issue that reverses it and it's not said that we need a reversal for that in the second post of this thread. If there is a flag for banning all phones, do we need a reversal issue (or would it be wanted, rather)?

If there isn't a flag for that ban, could one be implemented if a good enough reversal issue is written?

No flag, I think 317 got watered down to not be a phone ban but I haven't specifically read the issue recently. Personally, I'd say please no, the more bans of communication devices and the like the harder issues become to write. Right now you can at least write a phone call or TV into an issue without having to worry about nation's internal narrative. Just my opinion.

[Drasnia]

Is there a flag that tracks if phones have been banned? 317.3 looks to ban them, but I don't recall or see an issue that reverses it and it's not said that we need a reversal for that in the second post of this thread. If there is a flag for banning all phones, do we need a reversal issue (or would it be wanted, rather)?

If there isn't a flag for that ban, could one be implemented if a good enough reversal issue is written?

No flag, I think 317 got watered down to not be a phone ban but I haven't specifically read the issue recently. Personally, I'd say please no, the more bans of communication devices and the like the harder issues become to write. Right now you can at least write a phone call or TV into an issue without having to worry about nation's internal narrative. Just my opinion.

How would you and the editing as a whole having an issue about the phone "ban" that is a direct chain after answering 317.3 instead of having or needing a flag?

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Sounds like a good plan.

317.3 does still "abandon phones and fax machines", but we just handwave that rather than track it. As Ransium says, it'd be too much of a pain to implement.

[Fauxia]

Anyone have a party (as in celebration)-related pun title for this issue draft of mine: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=424738

[Australian rePublic]

If I have dyslexia, would that exclude me from issue authoring? because come to think of it, I probably do...

[Caracasus]

If I have dyslexia, would that exclude me from issue authoring? because come to think of it, I probably do...

Well we've got at least one dyslexic editor, so it is not a barrier. Aussie, if you are having trouble with proofreading I may be able to give you some advice.

[Australian rePublic]

If I have dyslexia, would that exclude me from issue authoring? because come to think of it, I probably do...

Well we've got at least one dyslexic editor, so it is not a barrier. Aussie, if you are having trouble with proofreading I may be able to give you some advice.

Go for it

[Caracasus]

Well we've got at least one dyslexic editor, so it is not a barrier. Aussie, if you are having trouble with proofreading I may be able to give you some advice.

Go for it

EDIT: The big how-to-proofread-if-you-aren't-that-great-at-it post.

The most important thing to remember.

Basically, you're gonna want to look for 3 types of errors in your work. Spelling errors, punctuation errors and grammatical errors. The mistake a lot of people make when proofreading is that they try to look for all three types at once. Don't do that. Follow this method and break down the task into more manageable chunks.

If you are dyslexic then I would recommend using something like a ruler and holding it under each line of text as you read. Often people with dyslexia will struggle to focus on one line of text at a time. Using a ruler helps with this. There are also colour overlay programs you can get - plugins for Chrome. Search for nOverlay - it's the best I've found.

---

1) Start by looking for grammatical errors.

Read every sentence clearly and carefully - out loud if you have to. Does it make sense?

Most grammar errors are with verbs (the doing words or state of being words) or plurals. Here is a short youtube video on verb identification if you have trouble with this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWPIu8hpYQs

Plurals are when you should, or should not, refer to one or more of something.

Verb/subject agreement is another area where people have problems. They will write things like "We was going out" or "I were busy that evening." Here, the verb (was or were) is the wrong form to use with the subject (we or I). Here is a worksheet that explains this very well if you are struggling. https://www.skillsworkshop.org/resources/subject-verb-agreement

If you require more assistance with grammar, this website is a very good place to start: https://esol.britishcouncil.org/

---

2) Move on to look for punctuation errors.

Full list of resources for learning how to use punctuation marks:

http://www.sussex.ac.uk/informatics/punctuation/

The biggest mistake made by people when it comes to punctuation is usually not punctuating their sentences properly. Put basically, there are three types of sentences. Simple, complex and compound. More on this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWmKnrtlTHU

People often create very long sentences with far too much going on in them. As a rule of thumb, if you've got more than 3 clauses (complete thoughts) in a sentence, it's far too long. These are called run-on sentences and there is an excellent resource on them here: https://www.gcflearnfree.org/grammar/runon-sentences/1/

---

2) Finally - spelling.

There's no easy way to say this, but spelling rules are just kind of something you have to learn. Having said that, there is some help out there.

Homophones - words that sound the same but are spelled differently and often hold different
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/game/en21watc-game-paris-word

General spelling assistance: https://howtospell.co.uk/spelling.php

Now, you can often build up your own mnemonics to help with spelling. This is how, for example, I remember the difference between their, there and they're.

Their - I remove the t. What am I left with? heir. Heir as in heir to a throne. Their is all about possession and ownership - so that's how I remember.

There - again I remove the t. I'm left with here. There often refers to place or location, so that's sorted, isn't it?

They're - I work this one out by process of elimination. If it's not the other two, it must be this one.

Fortunately, spelling errors are the easiest errors to correct. Punctuation and grammar mistakes often involve having to re-write or re-do entire sentences. Spelling? That's a matter of just typing in the right letters!

---

So there you go Aussie (and anyone else looking for help on this.) Remember - don't look for all the errors at once, go through systematically. Read once for grammar mistakes, again for punctuation and once more for spelling.

You've got a tonne of resources there to get you going with. So no more excuses for badly-proofread stuff!

[Australian rePublic]

I have a few drafts out there, but I can't work on them myself. Anyone wanna collaborate?

[Caracasus]

Hey, you're welcome.

[Australian rePublic]

Sorry Caracasus, I didn't notice you had edited the post, and should have checked again. It was really late at night. But that's really not a justification. Again, I'm sorry for not thanking you. I really need to stop being such a bad person!

[Trotterdam]

There's no easy way to say this, but spelling rules are just kind of something you have to learn.

The best advice I have on spelling is "if you're not sure how to spell something, look it up in a dictionary".

That's what I do.

[Jutsa]

I use google. Typing something remotely close often times helps.
This also helps when I know a word but can't remember what the definition is.

[USS Monitor]

Sorry Caracasus, I didn't notice you had edited the post, and should have checked again. It was really late at night. But that's really not a justification. Again, I'm sorry for not thanking you. I really need to stop being such a bad person!

You're not a bad person. You're just clumsy in your interactions sometimes.

[Caracasus]

Sorry Caracasus, I didn't notice you had edited the post, and should have checked again. It was really late at night. But that's really not a justification. Again, I'm sorry for not thanking you. I really need to stop being such a bad person!

You're not mate. I was having a stressful day yesterday anyway. What I am glad of is that you read it... Seriously, proofreading is something you really can improve.

There's no easy way to say this, but spelling rules are just kind of something you have to learn.

The best advice I have on spelling is "if you're not sure how to spell something, look it up in a dictionary".

That's what I do.

True, but I was writing this with dyslexics in mind. A dictionary helps, sure, but people with dyslexia often have problems working out letter order, making a dictionary search something of a ''needle in a haystack'' deal.

[Singapore no2]

Sorry Caracasus, I didn't notice you had edited the post, and should have checked again. It was really late at night. But that's really not a justification. Again, I'm sorry for not thanking you. I really need to stop being such a bad person!

You're not a bad person. You're just clumsy in your interactions sometimes.

I'm sure that that can describe many people- myself included.

After all, it is rather difficult to convey our true emotions through mere text, is it not?