If you're reading this, chances are you already know about the Times, the weekly collection of articles appearing every Sunday night on the front page of Tip.It. They can cover any number of subjects, from opinion to humour to fictional to historical and more. Most of these articles are written by a group of Tip.It forum users, and all are edited by a dedicated team of incredibly patient people. I say most of these articles, because the Tip.It Times is an open platform where anyone with a basic grasp of the English language and something meaningful to say can participate.
If our forums in general, and the rants subforum in particular, is any indication, pretty much everyone has an opinion on some aspect of the game. What better place to express these opinions than in the Tip.It Times? Without giving specific numbers, each article has thousands of views, which is probably more than you could get with any forum topic. Whether it's the latest updates to the game, some archaic gameplay mechanic or just something that's bugging you about Runescape, the Tip.It Times is the perfect place to make sure your voice is heard by thousands of readers.
Of course some of you might just have a story to tell. While Runescape lore might pale in comparison to that of some other MMORPGs out there, Jagex has been working very hard to establish a framework of stories within the current game world, both through quests and publications outside of the game, such as their own website and the first official Runescape novel. With the story of Runescape expanding constantly, the Tip.It Times is the perfect place to add a few of your own (unofficial) chapters.
Another type of article that I personally can't get enough of is the historical article. Runescape is rapidly approaching the eighth anniversary of going public, which is incredibly long for any MMORPG. With new players joining each day, writing a nice bit of retrospective on your favourite moment can be a great way to both entertain and educate. I've personally written about ancient quests, interesting updates, and unforseen events that shook the game world to its core.
So let's assume the previous paragraphs have motivated you enough to pick up a pen (or keyboard, we're living in a digital world after all) and put down some words on your favourite MMORPG. The first, and most important thing you need, is a subject. This might sound lame, but figuring out what you want to write about, and what you have to say about that subject, can sometimes be half the work. One thing that you don't need to worry about is whether your subject is a popular game. The Tip.It Times generally features at least two articles a week, so when I wrote an owner's manual for the pet rock, there were still other articles for those who weren't interested in the feeding and grooming of silicone-based lifeforms.
So now that you have picked a subject, the time has come to write. I realize that not everybody might have extensive writing experience, and while I don't have enough room here to give a full writing guide, our own Darkrick has written an excellent writing guide that should cover all the basics. While perfect spelling and grammar are nice, the Tip.It Times has its own group of enthousiastic editors who will happily edit your work.
Of course any writer is helpless with a good set of resources. If you're going to write an extensive rant about the game mechanics behind the dragon claws, you should make sure that you fully understand how they work. After all, a good opinion starts with good information. Meanwhile, fictional writers will want to make sure that the story they write doesn't clash with any existing Runescape lore, and writers of historical articles would do well to gather as much information as possible.
For most of the articles I write, my first and foremost source is Tip.It's own website. With quest and skill guides, monster and item databases and much, much more just a few clicks away, it should cover all your basic needs. Another great resource is the unofficial Runescape wiki, which, while not as thorough on core gameplay mechanics as Tip.It, does provide some invaluable background information, such as an easy to navigate index of all news posts and story lines behind extended quest lines.
So if you have something to share, whether it's a strong opinion, an entertaining story or a personal anecdote on some epic update from days past, the Tip.It Times is the perfect place to share! Simply grab your favourite method of putting letters in proper order, work your magic and send the results to Mirrorforced. Our crack team of editors will get to work, and before you know it your writing will be read by thousands!
