An Articulate Article on How to Write Articles!

     The idea of publishing something for the Neopian Times had always seemed incredibly daunting to me when I was younger. If there is one thing the Neopian Times has taught me through the years, it is that there is no shortage of incredibly talented creative writers and artists out there. Past issues have given rise to a multitude of fantastical universes, in-depth and well-thought-out characters with their own complex backstories, and artwork that could have only been achieved through painstaking time and effort. As someone who considers herself without much creativity nor much imagination, how could I possibly be on par with these greats?

     Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I was woefully ignorant back then. I was too focused on short stories, series, and comics and completely oblivious to the amazingness of the incredibly underrated article.

     Articles can turn the mundane into something extraordinary. Admit it, there are a lot of things around us that we take for granted. Our hobbies, interests, and even chores have become so commonplace to us that we tend to forget how amazing they could actually be, never mind the various things happening around the site every other day.

     For example, do you find yourself doing the same thing over and over every day that it’s become second nature to you? Why don’t you write about it? I, myself, am an avid Kadoatie feeder and Neoboard font maker, and I have written quite a few articles about those two subjects alone.

     Are you perhaps pursuing a higher education degree in real life? Why don’t you apply your knowledge on topics relating to the site? I have a friend who is incredibly interested in architecture and actually achieved the Neopian Times Star avatar by writing articles on the architectural designs of various Neopian worlds.

     Do you consider yourself invested in the well-being of the site? Why don’t you apply said interest to writing about how things could be improved, whether on the side of TNT or the side of the site’s users? Not only is it a great way to have much-needed insight into the inner workings of the site, but a published article would also be a shiny, welcome addition to any trophy cabinet.

     You see? The things we do and see usually don’t get the credit they deserve, and what the article does is portray everyday life in a different light. Articles are just as versatile as other written works—you can write about anything and everything you want to write about. And, if you need further proof on that statement, just take a look at what I’m doing right now. I’m writing an article… about writing articles!

     So, to celebrate the 950th issue of the Neopian Times, I have come up with ten different ideas for your next (or perhaps even your first) article! To make things easier for you, I have first divided them into three broader topics—guides, news and public affairs, and recreational—to give a general sense of what they are about. Hopefully, this arrangement would give you an idea of what types of articles you would be comfortable and confident in writing about, or what kinds of articles you might want to dabble on to improve your skills as a writer. The nine aforementioned article types will then be expounded on in separate sections under these general topics.

     I hope that this guide will be helpful to those who consider themselves lacking in inspiration or creative abilities. Look around you, my friend, there’s a whole world to write about! Don’t sell yourself short from the get-go. I am here to help you out.

     So, without further ado, let’s get on with some business!

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     Guides

     The first type of articles are guides, and they are by far one of the easiest forms of article-writing I have ever encountered. Guides are articles that are meant to teach your audience about a topic or skill you are very well-versed in that may be considered difficult for other players of the game. These types of articles are incredibly easy to write as they are about activities you are already quite knowledgeable about and/or topics that are so enjoyable for you to write about that it just comes flowingly.

     Do keep in mind, however, that the person reading your article will most likely be more ignorant of the activity than you are. Try to keep the jargon to a minimum and define terms if need be. Write your article in such a way that it is easily understandable even to those with zero prior experience.

     Games

     Games have always been an integral part of the site, having been produced in the hundreds over the past two decades Neopets has been active. Games are ways for users to make easy Neopoints every day, obtain secret avatars to use on the Neoboards, earn shiny trophies to display on your userlookup, or just mindlessly entertain and distract for several hours on end. *shakes fist at Godori*

     Because of the variety of games the site has to offer, it is virtually impossible to be good at every game on each try. While there are certainly some games that may come naturally to you on your first run, there definitely will also be games that leave you dazed, confused, and maybe even extremely frustrated with your computer, wondering why the directions aren’t working like they’re supposed to. This can be particularly aggravating to users gunning for the game’s avatar or trophy—some games just don’t come as easily for others and may need a lot of practice to get right.

     This is where you come in. Do you have a game you particularly enjoy and/or are particularly good at? Splendid! I guarantee you, there will always be someone needing a guide on a game, and writing about games you’re good at could be extremely useful for that particular someone. Make the most out of your expertise by creating a guide with the tips and tricks you’ve learned while playing.

     Be sure to be as specific as possible. This is a guide for a game—if users only wanted to figure out how to play it, they’d just read the instructions. If there are multiple levels in the game, inform users how to get through all of them, one by one. If there is a secret code that resets the timer or gives an additional power-up, write it down. If there is a way to get a lot of points in one go, write it down. If there is something that needs to be avoided at all costs lest the game is over? You guessed it, write it down. Highlight all of the important aspects of the game that you think are necessary to know.

     Additionally, I find it helpful to provide screenshots—descriptions of the game can only get you so far. Furthermore, this saves the intended user the hassle of looking back and forth between your game guide and the game window, trying to figure out what you’re talking about. As most of the games on the site do not come with a pause button, showing the user what to expect beforehand will definitely come in handy.

      Site Features

     Of course, games aren’t the only thing that characterizes Neopets. There is a wide array of activities that one can do on the site—customizing, avatar collecting, restocking, pet trading, and battling are just a few of them, and much like games, not everyone is good at everything from the get-go.

     Take my recent foray into the world of the NC Mall, for example. Up until last year, I had been woefully ignorant about trading for Neocash items. First off, I didn’t even know how the NC Mall worked. I knew they sold items, but how do I get Neocash to buy them? How do I get items that don’t stock anymore? How do I know what to trade for the retired items I want? How do I even begin looking for someone to trade Neocash items with?

     Additionally, probably the biggest difference between games and site features is the need for socialization. With games, you’re only playing for yourself—for other site features, interacting with other users on the site is incredibly important. You can’t earn Neopoints from items you’ve restocked without selling them to others, you can’t trade for your dream pet without trading with others, you can’t acquire much-needed items for your customization without interacting with others, and so on. Interacting with other users is an added difficulty to something that may be completely foreign to you—over the years, complex cultures have been developed around these prominent site features.

     One case in point? The lingo. Seriously, it can sound like a different language sometimes. When I first ventured into the NC Mall Chat, I was bombarded by their own brand of it—GBCs, 2:1, HTFs, TL and DWs are just some of the terms the NC Chat uses daily.

     And, it’s not just the NC Chat that have their own set. Avatar collectors have SuAP, MSPP, and BGC; Kadders have main, mini, GLF, and CF; restockers have NH, GH, and HPD, and so on. Such terms can be terribly confusing for first-timers, and I vividly remember being slightly embarrassed about having to ask veteran traders on the board for help with the NC Chat’s confusing terminology.

     In addition to that, there’s also etiquette. Yes, etiquette. You read that right.

     There can be some things that technically aren’t against the rules but can be considered poor behaviour. Using the NC Chat again as an example—when trading, it’s apparently poor behaviour to assume a trade is going to happen before the other party agrees to it. This can be in the form of telling the other party where the item should be sent, or even sending the item first and expecting the other party to send your preferred item back before an agreement has actually been reached. It’s considered rude and in bad taste for the usual crowd but may be considered fine for those who are more unfamiliar. Again, this also applies to a lot of other site features.

     My point is that these sorts of things that aren’t immediately visible to the naked eye are what a guide would be incredibly useful for. One does not simply jump into a site feature and become familiar with it. Much can be written about various features around the site—you can write about terminology guides, beginner’s guides, etiquette guides, community value guides, personal guides, etc. Such in-depth literature on-site features would certainly be an immense help to those who want to partake in a new site feature. Additionally, an article like that would be a fascinating read for outsiders who want to take a peek into a strange, new environment.

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     News & Public Affairs

     The second form of articles are ones relating to news and public affairs. These articles tend to be quite detailed and analytical (as they should very well be). News and public affairs are based on research and evidence, and they need to be written as accurately and as straight to the point as possible. This is because articles about the news and public affairs are intended to inform the readers about what is currently happening around the site. Such topics may range from ongoing or upcoming site events, public opinions and perceptions, updates on notable figures, or just general analyses of current affairs.

     This distinct emphasis on qualitative research and data gathering is precisely what makes these types of articles quite difficult to write—they definitely need a bit more time and effort to produce. Additionally, writing these kinds of articles can also be difficult as it can be quite tricky finding out what the public would want to spend some time of their lives learning and reading about.

     As such, your job as the writer would be to create an article based on fact and to be engaging with your audience. Why is this important to know? Why should you be elated or concerned at recent events? What does this mean for the future of the community? When written properly, articles on the news and public affairs can be incredibly informative and helpful for those out of the loop in addition to helping promote community participation and discussion.

      Site Events

     A multitude of events takes place around the site every year—some of these events may be annual, such as the Altador Cup and the Games Master Challenge, and some of these events may happen suddenly and randomly, such as The Wraith Resurgence and the Obelisk War. Keeping the public informed whenever these particular site events—particularly the annual ones—occur is important as they may want to be in the loop of what is going on around the site.

     Like the guides, a lot of detail needs to go into these kinds of articles. People have different motivations for participating in various site events, and highlighting certain aspects of the event may encourage more users to participate. I, for one, would jump at any opportunity to get more avatars, so any event that could give me more avatars is an event I would gladly participate in. Others, on the other hand, could be motivated by great prizes, a new site trophy, or even just something different to do every once in a while. Creating a guideline on how these events work and what could be gained by joining these events would be incredibly useful in that sort of situation.

     Such articles aren’t only limited to plots or activities, as well. Indeed, you can write about any recent updates to the site, whether it be new pet colours, new petpet species, new items, changes to the rules, changes to existing site features, etc. You can also check out the calendar here to know about upcoming scheduled events like species days. Just make sure that the updates you’re writing about are particularly noteworthy—nobody wants to read a full-length article on the current month’s caption contest competition. :P

     There’s always something new happening every week, so if you’re the kind of person who wants to be the first to know anything and be a trendsetter, then this type of article may be just for you!

     Surveys

     These articles are a different sort from site events—rather than the information coming out from TNT themselves, information is gathered from the people. This research method can be quite helpful as they oftentimes accurately describe the characteristics of the majority, with such data being helpful towards making general decisions regarding the site.

     One good example of such a survey would be the Dyeworks Poll in the NC Mall Chat. Every other month, users submit popular Neocash items that they would like to see dyed or re-dyed, and what TNT usually does is consider their opinions and release what the majority of them want to see. You could say then that it is a win-win situation for both TNT and the NC Chat users—TNT creates whatever items the NC Chat users want to be released next in exchange for increased site activity and customer satisfaction.

     Anyhow, the reason I am discussing surveys is that it is always an incredibly good idea for an article. Always. Not only does it gauge public opinion on important matters, but it also gives TNT a general gist of what is going on around the Neopets community. One very good example of a survey article was one I came across months ago on why people continued to play Neopets. From what I remember—as I am disappointed to say that I have since forgotten the title and the author of the article—data had been gathered from the Neoboards when the writer had asked individual players why they kept coming back to the site. The writer had then compiled the gathered data, examined them in great detail, and came up with the conclusion that the site provided relief from the harshness of the real world and was a source of nostalgia for long-time players.

     Anyway, long story short, I think surveys are great. The data that can be gathered from them can be eye-opening and highly informative, so if you want to try and make one of your own, read on!

     The first step would be to create them. This will make it much easier to compile the data after you’ve finished with your data gathering. The survey, first off, would need to be short—longer ones tend to be long and draggy, and most people would probably get too lazy and wander off without ever finishing it. Secondly, don’t make the questions too vague. Again, people tend to be lazy and don’t want to think too much. I would suggest offering a variety of suggestions to choose from—both positive and negative, and never absolute (i.e. always and never). If none of their preferred options show up, they could always just use the ‘other’ option and expound from there. Lastly, try to keep it neutral. If you have your own biases relating to the question you’re asking, then that’s fine, but keep it off the survey. You’re here to gather facts, and skewing public opinion to go the way you want it to will not be accurate data anymore.

     The second step is to find respondents, and the Neoboards are a perfect platform for that. The Neoboards are inhabited by people from all walks of life from all over the world, so gathering respondents would be a breeze there. Just make sure to find the appropriate Neoboard to post on, as there would be no sense asking how valuable users consider unconverted pets on the Avatar Chat, for example! Post your questions on a petpage or on the board itself and wait until you’ve got a decent number of respondents.

     The third step is to examine your data. If your data is simply quantitative like the Dyeworks Poll, simply figure out the majority vote and the rankings of the other options. If your data is qualitative, however, you will need to expound on why that may be the majority. Compare your gathered data with related literature—if your survey is related to real-life choices like why people choose to spend their money on Neocash, then you’re bound to find literature on spending money on online games elsewhere to help explain your data. If not, you can simply just use your past experiences and the experiences of other users as your resource.

     Lastly, present your data in a way that is easily presentable to the public—in this case, your article! I would also suggest adding some graphs and charts to give your data some visual representation. They’re very useful for presenting data too complicated to appropriately describe in words and also ensure that your article won’t end up being a massive block of text.

     Phew, that was a long section. Can you tell that the anthropology major in me just loves qualitative research methods? No? Okay, moving on… *grumbles*

     Interviews

     While there are a few characters with extensive character development such as Queen Fyora, King Altador, and Dr. Sloth, there are also a lot of other characters that we are quite unfamiliar with that are just begging to be learned about. Take Delinia the Crafting Faerie, for example. I don’t know much about her, do you? Wouldn’t you want to know how she started crafting, how she came to be known as the Crafting Faerie, how she spends her time besides crafting?

     There is an incredibly long list of notable and notorious public figures Neopia has to offer, so why not get creative with them? Why not write an article about having a one-on-one session with someone the readers might want to get to know better? Interviews are a great way to show off your artistry and creativity as you get to inject personalities into normally two-dimensional characters. You also get to practice having different views as you are technically playing yourself and whoever you are interviewing.

     I would suggest going for the characters that others may not be so familiar with. Aside from personality traits created when these characters were initially developed, they are essentially a blank canvas—not much has been discussed about them after they were introduced. If you insist on interviewing someone incredibly famous, you would have to do some research beforehand to guarantee it doesn’t go too out of character. You wouldn’t want to ask Illusen about her life-long friendship with Jhudora, for example.

     Get creative with your writing! Try not to do just a simple question-and-answer format—this isn’t a pop quiz. Treat it like an actual interview, as if you actually went up to them and asked to sit down and chat. Discuss their accomplishments and notable works, yes, but also delve deeper into their life. Build their character up instead of just scratching the surface. Feel free to add your own spin on their character as this would only help to make whoever you are interviewing more entertaining to read about. With the multitude of characters Neopia has and the power of your imagination, the possibilities are endless!

     Thoughts and Opinions

     The last kind of news and public affairs articles are the ones centered on the writer’s thoughts and opinions on certain matters. The goal of writing such an article is to persuade the readers to take your side by presenting your case with well-researched facts and evidence. Take note, however, that while you are trying to sway your readers into supporting your cause, you shouldn’t be too imposing. At the end of the day, whatever conclusion your readers come up with after reading your article is their prerogative.

     Start your article by coming up with a statement that you feel strongly about, but try to keep your topics light and simple. Make sure to abide by the site’s terms of service as any discussion of banned topics could easily get your account in trouble. Examples of better (and much less trouble-inducing) article topics could be your stand on unconverted pets, the old Charity Corner, false inflation, and other topics that have been the subject of much discussion in the past. You could even write about why your Altador Cup team is the best team of all time (*cough* SHENKUU FOR THE CUP *cough*), if you want. Once you have something you’d like to discuss, hook your readers in by giving a compelling statement in your introductory paragraph and telling them you would like to prove why you’re right in saying so.

     You’re going to have to come up with your support next. The easiest way to back up your argument sufficiently would be to identify your key points. I usually come up with three points when writing this sort of article, but you are certainly welcome to add more if you wish as long as they are not too long. Some writers make the mistake of being unnecessarily wordy with their work—keep it straight to the point and refrain from going around in circles, please.

     When you have identified your points, write each one down and their corresponding pieces of evidence. It is not enough to say your points out loud; you need to convince your audience to believe in what you have to say by providing factual evidence, your personal experiences, and the experiences of other users who are also on your side. You could also come up with hypothetical situations or comparisons to similar situations in the past as extra support.

     Try to remain objective and keep your emotions in check. You can’t just argue against something simply because you don’t like it—that would just be complaining. Simply ranting on and on without any basis behind your rant will not make your article sound valid in the slightest.

     Take your article a step further by providing counterarguments against the opposing side. Consider that while their points may hold some merit, your point remains arguably better because of the reasons you’ve just disclosed. However, always remember to remain respectful—it is possible to refute the opposing side without being unnecessarily rude and mean to others.

     Lastly, finish your article with a summary of all the points you have just discussed, reiterating why the audience needs to adopt your point of view. End your thought-provoking article with a flourish by encouraging your audience into thinking seriously about the issue, or giving recommendations as to what they can do as a fellow player.

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     Recreational

     The last but certainly not the least kind of article: the recreational! I consider these articles the most fun to write as they are created solely to entertain readers. They are much more lenient than the previous two as well—not much weight is given to being a responsible writer. All you have to do is ensure that you’re having fun writing it and your audience is having fun reading it. Anything and everything under the sun is in the palm of your hands with the recreational article, so run wild with it!

     Lists

     These are definitely one of the most common—if not the most common—types of articles out there. I daresay that lists are even the easiest kind of article to write out of all of them, which is why I would generally recommend this kind of article to someone submitting to the Neopian Times for the very first time. Why? Because the equation to create a decent list article is actually pretty simple: you come up with a topic, come up with several examples that fit your chosen topic, and add a bit more detail and finesse to the outline you’ve just created.

     Lists are fun for the reader, as well. For one thing, they’re definitely easier to read through—guides and news articles are quite heavy to read as they are much more detailed and in-depth about only one topic. Lists, on the other hand, are essentially short articles within a relatively long article, so you can easily just pick whatever section tickles your fancy and ignore the others that don’t interest you.

     Its conciseness also makes the list much easier to skim through. This aspect is great if you’re just looking for something to pass the time while waiting for something else to do. Don’t have the time to read the entire article? It doesn’t matter, you can easily just read the headers and still get the gist of what the article is about.

     Step one of list-making: coming up with something to make a list out of. All you have to do at this point is come up with a superlative adjective and a noun to pair it with, like the prettiest faeries, the coolest avatars, or the grossest foods. Just remember to try and come up with something unique—as I mentioned earlier, lists are the most common kinds of articles around. You’re gonna have to come up with something quite quirky and fresh to come up with an article that hasn’t been published way too many times before.

     Step two of list-making: coming up with the number of examples you want to list down—pretty self-explanatory.

     Step three of list-making: finding the items you’d want to write down on your list. You would need a list of all the items to have ever existed in Neopia for this. Luckily for you, dear writer, Jellyneo has just the thing with their incredibly helpful item. Once there, all you have to do is refine your search with their handy toolbar and browse through the items that fit your category. Pick out the items you like the most and you’re almost done!

     Step four of list-making: start your article with a groovy introduction on why this list just had to be made. There doesn’t have to be a serious reason behind it at all; chances are, your readers already know that this is all in good fun.

     Step five of list-making: writing your examples down in the order you want them to be in, after which you include a short description as to why they have been included in your list. The description doesn’t have to be long—one or two short paragraphs should suffice nicely.

     It would also be cute to include a picture of your said examples, just to show your readers what the items look like. This would especially be helpful for lists that focus on the aesthetics like the most colourful clothing items or the cutest petpets—it adds a dash of colour and some much-needed oomph to an otherwise generic list article. Other details you could also add to your description are the price and rarity of the item, or the shop from which the item stocks in.

     And after all that is said and done—voila, you’ve got your finished product! Easy as pie, am I right? :P

     Quizzes

     This is another kind of article written to mindlessly entertain the readers. As the name suggests, the writer essentially comes up with a set of questions for the readers to answer, and whatever answers the readers come up with changes the results of the quiz. Like the list, quizzes can be quite lenient on what they’re about, and I have come across a variety of quizzes over the years I’ve been reading the Neopian Times.

     The first kind of quizzes I’ve seen are those with only one correct answer per question. These are usually about how much knowledge you have about a particular topic, like how well you know Dr. Sloth or how much of a dedicated Altador Cup fan you are.

     The second kind of quizzes is the ranking kind. Answers to the questions usually have a number assigned to each of them, and what the reader has to do is add up those numbers to come up with their results. Quizzes like these are usually about the degree to which you are something, like how much of a helping hand you are or how much of a slob you are.

     The third kind of quizzes is the kind that depends on how many similar options the reader chooses, like if the reader chooses mostly A or mostly D. These are usually related to what the reader is most similar to, like which of the twelve Altadorian heroes best suits your personality or which Neopian land is most suitable for you to live in.

     Simply pick a topic you’d like to quiz your readers about and the kind of quiz that would best suit your topic. Again, these articles are meant to be fun and light so don’t worry too much about their validity as an actual quiz.

     Next, come up with some questions. Try not to make it too long—ten questions more or less should be good enough. You will also want to come up with possible answers for each of the questions. Again, try not to make them too long; just have enough options to come up with the results you want at the end of the quiz. If you’re writing a quiz on what kind of petpetpet your readers are, for example, and you only have six petpetpets as your result, then only have six possible answers.

     Make sure to give the instructions in your introductory paragraph. Do your readers need to write down their answers? Can they pick more than one answer? Should they only choose the best answer? The point of your quiz would be moot if your readers didn’t know how to answer it.

     Finally, end your article with the results of the quiz and give your readers an explanation as to why they’ve gotten those results. Their results obviously have to coincide with the choices they made during the quiz, so make sure to check your questions and answers now and then while creating your results to ensure that they match up. You could always try asking a friend to answer the quiz as well to see if it turned out just the way you wanted it.

     Reviews

     If you’re someone who enjoys telling your friends about things you’ve tried out or places you’ve been to, then writing a review article may be just the thing for you. As the name suggests, these articles are a review of something you’ve encountered on the site. Unlike the thoughts and opinions article, however, you’re not trying to persuade someone to have the same view as you—all you’re doing is writing down your positive and negative feedback about the topic and leaving the readers to come up with their own conclusions.

     A lot of the things you would be reviewing will probably have very, very vague descriptions. If you were to produce a review of a Booktastic Book, for example, you would only have a one-sentence summary to work with. This is why review articles are going to need a lot of creative input on your end—you’re going to have to come up with your own detailed descriptions of the item or place in question before coming up with your positive or negative reviews about it.

     To do this, you’re ironically going to have to metaphorically judge a book by its cover. What does the item look like? Is it pretty, or is it ugly? Does it look like it would be delicious? Does it look like a good value for its price? Does it look like something you would recommend buying? These kinds of questions are what you should be asking when you are reviewing items like food, books, or clothing items.

     The same concept applies to reviewing places around the site, as well. I mean, you’ve obviously never checked into the Neolodge or taken a stroll around Roo Island before, so you’re going to have to imagine what it would actually be like to do so.

     After you’ve established your descriptions, it’s time to come up with your feedback. Whether or not your review is positive, neutral, or negative is still within your purview. However, I would suggest following the sandwich method, which is a form of criticism that ‘sandwiches’ negative feedback with positive feedback. This method acknowledges that while there are certainly some complimentary reviews to be made, it can still be made better by doing so-and-so. This gives your article an air of legitimacy, though it isn’t exactly necessary. If you’re determined to give a vicious review of Spardels simply because it looked at you funny then by all means go for it. After all, it is your review. :P

     Doesn’t it sound fun? I think it would be fun to write a review. I’ve never actually written a review article before, but I would imagine it would be like having a bunch of writing prompts to work with. It seems like the kind of thing you could do to boost your creativity and innovation, so if you would like to branch out to short stories and series in the future but don’t exactly know how to start, then I would suggest writing reviews as your stepping stone.

     Educational

     These are the kinds of articles you write when you’re a massive nerd wanting to impart knowledge to people who genuinely want to learn from you. Here, you can feel free to unleash the inner geek within you and just ramble on about things you’re passionate about!

     Inspiration can be drawn from your real-life hobbies and interests. As I mentioned much earlier in the article, a friend of mine is a huge architecture geek, so she decided to apply her skills as a student of architecture and write an entire series on the architecture of Neopia. It was an amazing feat—she poured a lot of love and a lot of soul into her work. You could tell she genuinely enjoyed writing about architecture, so if you also have something that you’re passionate about then it may be a good idea to have a go at writing an article about it.

     You could easily apply real-life knowledge in Neopia. If you’re an economics major, why don’t you study how the Neopian economy works? Or, if you’re a student of fashion design, why don’t you do some research on popular clothing items? You already do what you normally do regularly anyway, so writing an article about it on a smaller scale should be a walk in the park. Plus, you have the bonus of not completely wasting time meant for studying or working by being on Neopets all the time. Yay for productivity…?

     Moreover, you don’t have to be an expert on your topic at all. Your article doesn’t have to be hoity-toity or professional-sounding. If you enjoy the simple act of cleaning around your house, then why don’t you write an article about how to do a proper spring cleaning? Or, if you enjoy cooking as a pastime, why don’t you share your recipes on how to make your own versions of Neopian food in real life? It’s the little things around you that can turn into something great when you give it the credit it deserves, so use it to your advantage. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you can whip up an article when you’re writing about something you genuinely enjoy doing.

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     Conclusion

     There you have it, folks—ten different ideas for your next (or even first) article! Up until this point, I never realized just how many kinds of articles there are. It was incredible fun to celebrate the beauty of a simple article by coming up with all the different ways you could write them. I genuinely hope that it would inspire people to write more articles for future issues to come. And speaking of celebrations…

     I would also like to offer my sincerest congratulations to the Neopian Times for making it to their 950th issue! It is an honour to be a part of it and to witness such a joyous occasion in Neopian history. Hoorah! *throws confetti*