Issues-Writing: The Long Journey

Becoming an Issues author is a serious process, and be warned — it's not going to be easy! However, with enough time and effort, you can get your Issue published for thousands of players to read and appreciate!

When you get the chance, the very first thing to do is read Candlewhisper Archive's guide on How To Write An Issue. There's no substitute for this step — you're going to have to do some reading before you can get writing. Once you're comfortable with this, you'll have an excellent foundation to begin writing with, and a leg-up on everyone who rushes the drafting process.

Speaking of which — and this is a big one — drafting on the forums is a MUST. Countless authors go straight to the submission page and send their Issue in, and that is a bad idea. The way to go is to start a new thread, tagged [DRAFT] in the title, and get advice from your fellow authors. Getting others’ opinions is an important step, and the variety of people on Got Issues? means you’ll get advice on everything from humour to typos. And this drafting process is where you’ll have a serious advantage, because as a member of the Got Issues Region, you’ll be getting advice from two groups at once!

The drafting process is the meat in the sandwich of Issues-writing. It’s going to take the most time and the most work, and it’s crucial that you don’t hurry it. Issues won’t draft for days, and unless you’re a professional it won’t be a week either — you’re looking at multiple weeks, a month, perhaps multiple months. Being patient isn’t much fun, but it’s the way to get the best Issue possible. When you’re satisfied with the quality of your work, change the [DRAFT] tag in the title to “[LAST CALL]” — this will draw forum-goers to your draft to provide last-minute feedback.

When submission-time comes, follow this link to submit your issue! You can use the default page or follow the upper-right-hand link to the “Advanced View”. The process is fairly straightforward.

The last part is the simplest — wait! Try not to stress too much about what’s going on backstage, because there’s nothing you can do about it anymore. Additionally, the Editors like to take their time, and so it’ll be a while before you hear back about what’s happened — months, likely. One of two things will happen:

• You’ll get The Telegram. This is awesome; it means your Issue’s been accepted! The game will put it in your Issues feed to answer, and you’ll get a cool badge: If this happens, congratulations; all your hard work has really paid off!

• This is the disappointing outcome. Unfortunately, if your Issue’s not accepted, you won’t get a notification about it. But don’t lose heart — we’ve all had Issues not make it through before, and we’ll happily be there for moral support if you need it. :) And remember — time spent drafting is never wasted. You will have learnt all sorts of things, gaining truly invaluable experience!

Speaking of drafting, while you’re waiting to see what happens, there’s an excellent way for you to take your mind off things — write another Issue! :D The first run is the hardest; by the second you’re an old hand at the game. Plus, people will have seen your name on the forums before, so they’ll know you’re serious about what you’re doing!

NationStates is truly a game created by the players. Every aspect — Raiding/Defending, roleplay, the WA — draws its life from players just like you. Issues-writing is no exception, and if you're willing to put in the time and effort, you can create your own little piece of the game for thousands of players to read and enjoy. You’ll have crafted a little piece of history.

See also: Issues-Writing: The Macros | Issues-Writing: FAQ and Glossary/Abbreviations