TOPIC: [Guide] A guide to writing guides

HELLLO!

This is a guide focused around the drafting and writing of a guide

Table of contents:

Chapter 1 - Inspiration
Chapter 2 - Exposition
Chapter 3 - Formatting
Chapter 4 - Extras


Chapter 1 - Inspiration


Introduction
So, you're wanting to make a guide, the reason for the creation doesn't matter, perhaps you think it'll improve your chances of SA, or perhaps you just want to give back to this great community. The first thing you need is an idea, an idea that will be the basis for your entire guide.

The thought process
The thought process behind your idea should be simple, you can access any number of random name pickers, type in a few topics and hit the spin button; whichever topic you get will be ample in suiting your needs. Be careful though; make sure you're heavily educated in the topic you chose, so you don't start going off on a tangent about anything, oh I don't know, what could there possibly be anything to go on a tangent about? Maybe, you talk about going off on a tangent and begin wondering what you could go off tangent about, then you proceed to mock your previous mistake, making you look intelligent? Yes, that's it.

After the initial idea
After your initial idea, you should check if it's been done before. If it has, great! There's some other source material that you can draw inspiration from!

Resources for chapter 1:


Chapter 2 - Exposition

Definition of exposition


Why is it important?
Exposition should be the key component of your guide, if you can elaborate on the topic chosen into great detail, then you've successfully followed chapter 1 correctly, congratulations! However, we're not done yet, you need to pump as much detail into your guide as possible. Exposition is important because it engages the reader, they see a big wall of text and even without reading it think the author knows what he's talking about. This will then make the reader trust your guide more, which is a very important and key thing all guide makers should consider.

What if I can't write good exposition
Well, you can look up many guides online on how to write, or perhaps your subject matter just isn't suitable and you aren't knowledgeable enough, back to the random name picker!

Resources for chapter 2:


Chapter 3 - Formatting

So, you've finished writing
But you feel there's something missing about your guide, what could it be? Ah, the guide is boring, dull, it's clumped and looks untidy and careless. You need to correctly format your guide for many reasons, such as:

• Drawing people in to your guide
• Providing an easy reading experience
• Proving your point

All of these are important, and the easiest and most effective way to achieve a good standing in all of them is via formatting. So let's look at how to format:

Formatting codes
While formatting
Remember to keep a house style, meaning that you always keep the formatting the same across your guide. It's important as it gives your guide a sense of uniformity and professionalism

Resources for chapter 3:


Chapter 4 - Extras

So you're all done!
Except, have you added all of the things you possibly can? Have you created a plethora of different mediums to get your point across as to make your guide seem unequivocal? Well, here is a list of simple things you can add to make your guide look important:

A table of contents
Spoilers
Chapter titles
Subheadings
Images
A fun introduction

If you add all of these things, you're good to go!

Final words
Look at you, Mr. Guidemaster! You've done it, with the assistance of my guide you've written a premium, professional guide that will be shared for generations to come! Now go beg for it to be stickied, you handsome devil!


























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