Blanket Statements
Tips
WRITING AN ARTICLE FOR BLANKET STATEMENTS —GENERAL APPROACH
- Expect to gain insights into how to approach the subject or organize the material as you write your first (or second, or third) draft. Although looking at a blank screen or sheet of paper may be intimidating, the act of putting words on paper stimulates the mind.
- Don't try to get everything right the first time you write the article. You may never finish, and you may miss great opportunities. Expect to revise a number of times. Revision is not the same as editing. Editing focuses on rewriting to clarify the material. Revision is literally "re-seeing" the material in a way that might lead to changes in focus or organization.
- Keep your paragraphs short. They are easier and more inviting to read in our columnar format. Avoid being overly sentimental in your representation of women and their stories. Avoid including a lot of information that is already common knowledge. Avoid using too many exclamation points and asking rhetorical questions.
- If you want to check a question of grammar or mechanics, make use of the Chicago Manual of Style, also found online at www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html. However, don't get hung-up on grammar and mechanics—that's what the Editor is for. The most important goal for you as the author is to provide interesting, informative material.
- The Editor will contact you about changes she feels need to be made, unless they are small grammatical changes that are self-evident. Changes may include, for example, that you send more information about a point, or that you clarify something. We all need a "second reader" of our work. The Editor is a reader, not a critic.
- If you would like to be put in touch with a mentor who can assist you with the writing process, contact Anita Loscalzo at aloscalz@yahoo.com.
- IMPORTANT: PLEASE SEE THE DOCUMENT “BLANKET STATEMENTS EDITORIAL GUIDELINES” FOR SPECIFICS ON FORMAT AND STYLES.
- If you have any questions, please contact the Editor at paulapahl@q.com or (303) 204-2821.