Halo-17 Writer's Guide
From HaloWiki
This is a quick guide to the sort of thing we expect, and also answers to a few "manual of style" type changes. The most important thing is that you enjoy yourself, writing for the site is supposed to be fun, not stressful to the point that you want to stab my firstborn in the eye with a fishfork.
Contents |
Manual of style
There is no comprehensive manual of style. Use your best judgement.
Australian/American English
Most of the management of Halo-17 use Australian English. However, there is no official guideline mandating this for actual reviews and the like on Halo-17. Articles, reviews, and other content can be in any dialect of English, although Australian is strongly encouraged. Likewise, regional slang and the like is strongly discouraged, if less than 50% of the readership is going to know what a particular piece of slang means.
The Ideal Length
We won't usually publish anything under 350 words, (or over 1000 for a music review). The ideal length of a music review is 400-800 words, the ideal length of a feature article is over 600 words.
Metamarkup
You will need to use metamarkup in your review. Put simply,
- {{Band Names}} should be in double curly brackets.
- {{{Song Names}}} should be in triple curly brackets.
- {t{Album/Record Titles}} should be in double t-curly brackets.
There are some other markups, including {b{blurb}} and {i{images}}, but these will be phased out, and you probably don't have to worry about them.
Profanity
If you can help it, please don't swear. We're not a kiddie's website, but swearing is usually stupid, unprofessional, and not required. Similarly, blasphemy and other speech that might be found offensive by a reasonable portion of society should be avoided if at all possible.
An exception to this rule is when you're direct-quoting a lyric or song name that contains profanity. In this case, spell it out fully, do not censor it out.
Gloves off!
A good music review covers both positive and negative elements of a release. Few releases are so awesome that there's nothing bad whatsoever to say about them, and few are so terrible that there is nothing good to say about them. Of course, there are going to be exceptions, but if your review doesn't contain at least one positive point and one negative point, you're probably being too generous, or too harsh.
Keep in mind that while being harsh simply for the sake of being harsh is frowned upon, we are not in the business of writing press releases for record labels.
Halo-17 is not Pitchforkmedia
That means, write music reviews, not short stories or other "clever" subversions of the form. Chances are, it's probably not as clever as you think. Occasionally, these can be funny or whatever, but only as an occasional novelty thing.
Here are two examples of what you should not do, courtesy of Brent "The Worst Music Writer In The World" DiCrescenzo:
The Blacklist
Not a racist thing, but rather a precaution. If you do not return a review by the deadline indicated with your package, you may be blacklisted. Blacklisted writers will have their names forever recorded in the Hall of Shame, and will not be assigned any future items to review. Furthermore, your name may be shared with other indie websites, so that they may be warned about you.
Of course, if you have a reason why you're going to be late, then that's alright. Real life things are going to pop up from time to time, this is more aimed at deadbeats who like to take a parcel of promo albums and then disappear into the night.
Forbidden phrases
We do not want to see the following phrases used:
- Angular guitars
- "The experience and emotions tied to listening to (album) are like witnessing the stillborn birth of a child while simultaneously having the opportunity to see her play in the afterlife on Imax."
- AOL-style drivel, like "u", "r", and "ur", etc.
The First Person
Try to avoid using first-person pronouns ("I", "me", "us"). Using them excessively ("I think...") makes it look like you're not sure about what you're saying. If you're writing for Halo-17, it's a fair bet that you're good enough and have enough background knowledge that you don't have to do this. Be assertive! Your opinion is valid! Rephrase such things from "I think that this is their best record in years", to a more definite "This release is their best record for years".
