Thinking of submitting an article? We appreciate that. Here are some tips to get you started:
- Have fun. You’re writing about something you enjoy, so let yourself go. Even if you’re making a serious statement, the piece shouldn’t read like a term paper.
- Think of your readers. Your goal, of course, is to draw as many eyes as possible to everything you write. So use this question as a starting point: Would I stop and read this if I were surfing the Web? Would my best friend read it? My mom, my wife, my husband?
- Focus on the hook. The first few sentences of your piece are your hook. If you say something provocative or funny or surprising people will keep reading. If you don’t make your point until the fourth or fifth paragraph, they’ll stop reading. It’s as simple as that.
- Don’t exclude newbies. Not everybody who comes to DugoutCentral is a baseball expert. Some have just discovered the pleasures of the sport. Some are kids who haven’t accumulated the knowledge that’s already wired into your brain. So: Always use a player’s full name and position the first time you mention him. If you’re discussing players from different teams, always give their team names on first reference. If a player’s age factors into your piece, don’t assume all your readers know it – slip it in unobtrusively. People who already know baseball won’t be offended by this information; they’ll read right over it. People who don’t know baseball will appreciate being welcomed to the group.
- Write the way you talk. Good grammar is important, but it’s possible to write conversationally and still be accurate. Contractions are just fine: “He’ll” instead of “he will.” “Don’t” instead of “do not.” Short, crisp words are better than the formal language your high school English teacher probably appreciated.
- Rewrite. Good writers are their own harshest critics. Once you’re done with your piece, go back to the top and examine each sentence from the reader’s viewpoint. Ask yourself these two questions after each sentence: Would the reader be so bored – or so confused – that he or she would stop reading at this point? If you think the answer might be yes, some rewriting is in order.
- Focus on the finale. The hook is what will draw readers to your work, but the end is what will make them remember what you’ve written. Don’t let the piece dribble away into nothing. Give readers a reward for sticking with you to the end.
- Trick #1. Step away from your piece and let it rest for a while. Then print it out and examine it again. You’ll be surprised how different it will look – and how many rough spots you’ll find.
- Trick #2. Read it aloud. We know -- you feel silly reading aloud to yourself. But trust us. Your ears won’t lie to you and, just as with trick #1, you’ll find something that needs changed.
- Trick #3. Now that your piece is as good as you can make it, summon up your courage and ask a friend or family member to give it a read. Don’t ask whether they like it or not, or whether they agree with your viewpoint. While compliments are nice, what you really need is an outside observer who will point to every sentence that bores or confuses them. Once you’ve made those fixes, you can press the send button and know you’ve done everything you can to make your piece sing.