Level 1: A Practical Checklist for Content Quality Improvement
I’ve created a simplified, comprehensive, condensed guide (A4 size) for aspiring storytellers, essay writers, and bloggers.
Dear Subscribers, our chief editor
has donated this story to our Substack Mastery library as a reference source for new writers. The original source is available on Medium via our friendlink. Please enjoy and share this free resource.
As an avid reader, writer, and editor committed to nurturing impactful stories on this platform, I have simplified my extensive editorial checklist covering fundamentals to empower new writers to create captivating, compelling, and insightful stories.
I created this simplified checklist because my previous ones, covering further distribution rules, were extensive and intimidating to new writers or those struggling with writer’s bloke.
Over 500 of my proteges used this one-page checklist. I asked them to spend 2 minutes reading it before starting a story. All of them found it helpful. After a year, they all became confident writers without needing a checklist.
Committing to this checklist for 30 to 90 days, depending on your writing frequency, will elevate your writing and rewire your brain to think like a seasoned storyteller. You will naturally seek more advanced techniques to improve your craft, which I will share in a future article.
I specifically created this checklist because using these essential items regularly can enhance your storytelling prowess and ensure your stories resonate with editors and, ultimately, with your audience.
I designed this checklist to help you manage every stage of your story, ensuring each word, sentence, and paragraph carries weight. This bottom-up approach will contribute to the overall quality and impact of the story.
Each point might seem small by itself, but together they have a powerful impact, transforming your story from good to exceptional. For example, missing one or two points from this checklist can lower the quality of your story. Completing all the items with confidence can significantly improve its quality. Day by day, you will feel more confident as your brain rewires itself to adapt to the new condition.
As a new writer, this checklist can be your initial roadmap to creating authentic, credible, and influential stories. It simplifies the complex process of crafting compelling stories that resonate with readers and leave a lasting impact.
With regular practice, these guidelines will become second nature, empowering you to eventually write with confidence and mastery without relying on any checklist.
Checklist for Creating Informative and Engaging Stories
✔️Write from the heart and share genuine experiences to connect with your audience.
✔️Identify the unique insights or benefits your story offers readers.
✔️Tailor your writing to meet the needs and expectations of your target audience.
✔️The rule of thumb on this platform is to aim for a reading level between Grade 6 and 9, according to the Hemingway Editor. Higher than Grade 9 can be challenging for most readers. This is my biggest challenge when I am writing about scientific or technical topics usually Grade 15 despite my efforts.
✔️Ensure your main idea, supported by supplementary ideas, shines through your story and leaves a lasting impact.
✔️Simplify complex concepts and ensure your message is easily understood by a broad audience (non-specialists). If you are science writer, follow Occam’s Razor Principle.
✔️Use clear language, logical flow, and appropriate vocabulary for your target audience.
✔️Craft a captivating story with the right tone and mood to keep readers hooked. Ensure your story is constructive and relatable to a broad audience.
✔️Spice up your writing with expressive words, analogies, and metaphors without overcomplicating.
✔️Tie your introduction and conclusion together for a satisfying narrative arc.
✔️Verify all information against reliable, up-to-date sources and avoid second-hand references from others’ content.
✔️Use complete sentences for easy reading and structure paragraphs thoughtfully and logically.
✔️Remove unnecessary words and outdated phrases to keep your story focused.
✔️Polish your work to meet high grammar, style, and clarity standards following publications’ submission guidelines.
✔️Obtain expert advice on subject matter, especially sensitive and high-impact topics, and refine your work based on feedback.
✔️Conduct thorough spell and grammar checks to ensure a polished final product. Proofread your story backward to catch any lingering errors.
✔️Verify numbers, bullet points, and web links for accuracy.
✔️Use consistent formatting for titles and subtitles, keeping them concise and informative, avoiding clickbait.
✔️Disclose any affiliate links at the beginning and end of your story.
✔️Choose copyright-free and appropriate photos that enhance your story and provide accurate captions with source links. Avoid clickbait photos.
✔️ Adhere to platform rules and avoid harmful content like hate speech or defamation.
✔️Select relevant tags to attract the right audience and increase visibility.
✔️Cite accurate and relevant sources to strengthen your story’s credibility.
✔️Welcome positive and negative feedback from editors or peer reviewers without being defensive.
Never stop sharpening your writing skills by learning from the stories of others. A good writer must first be a good reader. If you are not a member, please consider becoming one to have unlimited monthly access to millions of stories at your fingertips for just the price of a cup of coffee.
Happy reading and writing!
Please consider sharing this checklist with your friends so we can have more storytellers who can captivate their readers.
I have a publication that only serves absolute beginners. It is called Readers Hope. If you are a beginner, you are welcome to join and check out the submission guidelines before sending your stories.
Readers Hope: New Submission Guidelines 2023
How to benefit from this publication for absolute beginners to find their writing voice safely and build their audience…medium.com
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