Beef up your ATSNN News Stories!

I'm no expert on ATSNN I only have 20 or so 'published' submissions, but I just wanted to give out some advice.

Lately I've noticed many submissions are 'thin'.

Lets start with the Introduction paragraph This is in my opinion the most important part of your submission. When people go to atsnn.com it is your introduction that they see. The introduction should be a single paragraph that explains what the story is. One sentence introductions are not enough to explain a news story, and it looks bad on ATSNN. Remember the introduction is just the facts, not your opinion

original news source:
Firstly read all of the original news source. Then select 3 paragraphs that clearly tell everyone what the story is all about. Anything less than 3 paragraphs will not be enough information to the reader. In choosing the 3 paragraphs plan it out so it complements your great introduction.

Your comments, opinions and/or analysis:
One sentence comments will not do. When we do this it make it look like we are only interested in getting points and not the news story itself. Try to fill this area up and go for the full 3 paragraphs. What do you have to offer to the reader regarding the story?

Supporting News Links
This part is so simple there is no need to leave it empty. Just go to google news. You will find several different links to your story. Toss in a link that is related to your own comments. Fill 'er up!

Supporting Links to ATS Threads
Fill this field as well. Be a good Samaritan to your fellow members on ATS. Give them a link on your story when it is relevant. If there is an existing ATS thread on the same story be sure to link it. Nobody like to feel like they are being copied to make more points.

I hope this helps people out on submitting news to ATSNN. Good luck and do your best, it is not only ATS members reading these things.

I couldn't agree with you more. And for crying out loud, at least run a spell check. Typos happen to all of us, but typing out three or more sentences for an intro and at least that many for an analysis that includes more than a couple of questions should not be too much. If it is, you will get a "NO" vote from me.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

[edit on 2005/10/4 by GradyPhilpott]

Where's the beef?!


Thanks for adding that Grady. Spell checks are essential not only in ATSNN but on ATS as a whole.

Firefox users can download
SpellBound.

EI users can download iespell.




Edit to run spell check

[edit on 5/10/2005 by Umbrax]

Google toolbar works pretty well and integrates into text fields.

Just press check.

Originally posted by Umbrax

Firefox users can download
SpellBound.

EI users can download iespell.

And Opera users can visit www.opera.com/support/tutorials/opera/spellcheck/!

I agree that some submissions need beefing up. I myself am guilty of the not adding extra links at times and will watch that in future.

A couple of things I notice. The title should be capitals to begin each word.
Just Like This In The Title Line.

It looks professional for the news feed.

and the intro paragraph.

Read through the story you are writing. If you don't quite understand enough from the source read from others through google. Then sit back and compose your story. New articles do not read like normal short stories where the end is the main point. It is the opposite for news. The beginning sentence should state the gist of the whole article.

You need to start with the main point of the article and try and cram the idea of the story into three sentences at minimum. And that is minimum. Sometimes you may need five sentences to sum up. Any less and it looks rushed and uncared for.

Internet readers scan articles and pick keywords instead of reading all typing. So by making sure you use keywords about the story you will gain the readers attention. By keeping to the main points it will also ensure you keep the readers attention.
An easy way to start to write the articles is to write down point by point what the article says. Then recreate that story into sentences.

When quoting from the source you do not have to take the top paragraphs. Find the most interesting paragraphs in the article you are using to leave as the quote and if possible use a paragraph that has a bit that you haven't included yourself in the intro, so more of the story is read and understood without having to click links, even though if it is interesting people will click them.

Add a photograph if one is found. it adds increased eye candy to the article but remember to credit all sources used in your article.

Its good to follow up in your articles with later news on the subject you have written. This helps for people referencing your article at a later time. It also stimulates more and longer interest in your article.

and all I can add then is to vote. Please clicky the vote box with your choice. It helps the articles from staying in no mans land. Vote it off the Island by all means but vote and even if its an article you don't agree with but it is well written and sourced and fits all criteria then vote yes instead of letting your own bias creep through.

Some excellent advice Mayet .

Our ATSNN articles get linked to from all over the net. Last night while ATS was down. I decided to look at sites that mention ATS. When I seen an ATSNN story of mine linked from a non-ATS website I realized that we really do get heard has a ATS member. We make a difference here, time and care should go into all our posts.

Originally posted by Mayet
I agree that some submissions need beefing up. I myself am guilty of the not adding extra links at times and will watch that in future.

A couple of things I notice. The title should be capitals to begin each word.
Just Like This In The Title Line.

Not to be picky, but words like "in" etc do not need to be capitals.

I'm seeing really important stories not getting voted up. Mainly because the submissions are minimal. ATSNN submissions should represent our best work on ATS.

Beef up those submissions people!


Where's the beef?