Ever thought you might have an article, how-to, or just a few tips and techniques to share? You have come to the right place. NARS members are a diverse bunch, full of good ideas, and are looking for new ideas to improve this great hobby.
We need material to expand our Hardware and Homebrew section as well as new content for the monthly newsletters. Well-written articles on any aspect of Ham Radio are bound to find at least one or two interested readers. All we ask is that you be willing to put forth the effort to write the article and work with us to polish it to our publication standards. Not to worry, they are not difficult and we will work with you through a simple editorial process.
If you need some guidance, and most of us do, we suggest a couple of excellent resources to get started in the right direction. First, recall those high school English 101 writing exercises and the five things that most articles must address:
- Who - identify your target audience. It may be DXers, contesters, or experimenters.
- What - a concise introduction to the the topic you will discuss. One or two short paragraphs is all you should need. Don't put too much info up front, it will get lost
- When - when is this important. For example, when a new ham is just getting started,
- Where = when traveling, or when operating from your home station. Maybe both - you get the idea.
- Why - what are the benefits, is this a safety article, or have you found a better way to build the mousetrap.
Now you can concentrate on the meat of the article. Explain how to duplicate your efforts. Try to keep the steps or procedures in the order they are likely to be most successful. If possible, illustrate with photos, illustrations, or examples as appropriate.
Grab a copy of The Elements of Style by Strunk and White or read it online. This is an excellent and very short manual for writing clear and concise English prose. See the links at the end of this article for the web address.
Another good source of writing advice comes from our recently-departed Supreme Court justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. This is another very short read, but excellent advice, whether you agree with her politics or not. Not to worry, no political commentary in the linked reference.
Once you have completed your manuscript, set it aside for at least a day, then go back and reread it. Look at the flow of the document. Does the story flow, or does it seem to take the reader on what I like to refer to as 'rabbit trails'. Correct misused words, such as their instead of they are. Remove extraneous facts and observations that do not contribute to the main point of the article. As one famous editor put it, once you have written the story, go back and murder your darlings.
When you are satisfied with your writing, run a quick spell check if you work with automatic checking turned off. Then send it to
Writing resource list
Elements of Style http://www.jlakes.org/ch/web/The-elements-of-style.pdf
Chicago Manual of Style https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html
Ginsburg on writing https://www.inc.com/carmine-gallo/ruth-bader-ginsburg-taught-a-law-clerk-secret-to-strong-writing.html