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by Abhichandra. . 146 reads.

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Introducing articles -- made by fellow players in the game. The articles will include anything in NationStates. If you would like to write an article, telegram Abhichandra.



Unofficial Guide to Writing an Issue
This is your unofficial guide to writing a NationStates issue.

By Australian rePublic

**DISCLAIMER** I am not an issue editor and any information provided here is not professional advice, nor does it represent the opinions of the issue editors or anybody else associated with NationStates.
So you wish to write a NationStates issue and become a publish issue author. Firstly, you need a good idea. An issue that would warrant action from a national leader! So you have your idea. Ready to submit? NO! Slow down. Firstly, think about it. If you were to take this issue to the leader of a nation, would he/she care? Would they be able to do anything about it? Even if it doesn’t apply to your nation, would it apply any nation? Don’t have a good idea? Try to checking through “The Writer’s Block” for inspiration. Do NOT steal other people’s ideas, unless otherwise specified. Alternatively, you can use news stories for inspiration. Not sure if you have a good idea and/or how to make it work? Ask the Writer’s block. Got a good idea, but not sure how to make it work? Use the writer’s block! Be careful if your idea overlaps with any existing issue
Secondly, read the “How to write an issue” guide! Also, draft your issue! Draft, draft, draft! Don’t just submit your issue, post a draft in the Got Issues sub-forum! Here, you will receive feedback from editors, experienced writters and others who are interested in helping you perfect your draft. Posting feedback in other people’s drafts is a great way to help other writters. Be open to feedback! Of course, you may not agree with all the feedback provided, but if you disagree with all feedback to provided to you, editors may be less likely to want to touch your issue as they would be wary about making any necessary changes!
Third, avoid the use of the names of real places. The exception to this is Tasmania. Although, unlike in the real world, where Tasmania is Australia’s southern-most state, known for its snow-capped mountains, in the NationStates world, Tasmania is a tropical country which is home to the infamous terrorist “Mad Max” also, avoid naming real people, with very rare exceptions where you can use Max Barry. Although, I would advise against, at least until you’re more experienced
Fourth, Effects, or “fall outs” whatever you want to call them. Effects could be read on anyone’s nation page who has not encountered the issue. So avoid writing an effect that would require prior knowledge of the issue to be understood. Furthermore, NationStates is considered to be a satirical website, so effects should be extreme and unexpected. For example, if your issue is about reinstating democracy and your first option is to host elections instead of writing your effect as “democracy has been reinstated” you could write something like “elections are held every weekend”. All effects start with “following new legislation in @@NAME@@,” keep that in mind when writing. Don’t worry too much about stats. You can have an issue published without them
Fifth, Humour. Add humour to your issues! For example, in issue 575- Sick Days for Sick Waves, employees were taking illegitimate sick days to go to the beach and ran into their bosses, who also took illegitimate sick days to go to the beach. Do not, however, include open and direct humour in issues about heavier topics is a no-no. For example, do not write “600 people died in terrorist attacks across 7 of @@NAME@@’s cities- haha! Sucked in, stupid infidels!”
Sixth, how many options? In most cases, there should be 3 or 4 options. If you’re going to write a three option issue it might sometimes be a good idea for your third option to be something which seems like a good idea at first, but seems stupid if you give it more than two seconds of thought. Option validity is a thing. This means that if an issue would normally be valid for one specific country, but one specific option wouldn’t be valid if you don’t meet a certain criterion, then you can include an option validity. If you want to write more than 4 options, keep your options short and sweet, the more options, the shorter they have to be. Try not to write more than about 6 options (and even that’s pushing it), unless really necessary
Seventh, don’t make unnecessary assumptions. For example, don’t assume that @@NAME@@ has mountains, unless the issue is SPECIFICALLY about mountains
Eighth, macros can be used to assist in your issue for example @@NAME@@= name of the nation. Note, the correct macro is @@NAME@@, not @@NATION@@. @@RANOMNAME@@ generates a random name. These are just two of the many examples, be sure to familiarise yourself with the macros before writing! Also, if you don't think you can write an issue by yourself, co-authoring is always an option. One last other thing, though, I'm not sure if it's ever come up, your issue needs to be in English. Give each speaker a distinct voice. Don't forget, that every option has a different speaker, each with a different speaking style.
Now, you can start drafting! Good luck!


The Security Council

By Abhichandra

Have you ever had a question about the Security Council but didn't want to start a new thread? Well now you don't have to! With the new Q&A thread, you can receive answers for all your SC needs! (nothing pertaining to actual drafts, as they can be posted in the draft thread). If you ever wanted to look up any passed Security Council resolutions, then don't hesitate to look it up in the 'Passed Security Council Resolutions' thread. Are you looking to commend a nation? I recommend you viewing their dispatches and forum posts, as they entail most (if not all) their accomplishments. Commending a region, however, is much harder. Ever stuck when weighting a C/C/L? Use the Q&A thread, or read the stickied threads in the SC forum. You can also ask SC authors if you have any questions about how to write a C/C/L or the like.

Thank you for reading The Weekly Update. Problems? Want something added? Want to subscribe? Telegram Abhichandra.

Abhichandra

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