Hero Wars
Glorantha
Issaries, Inc.
  Guidelines
Market Place
Tribes
Library
News
Utilities

Writing Guidelines

• First and foremost, always look here to find the most up to date format to use. Keep formatting to an absolute minimum number of headings and styles - you are writing for us, not doing layout.
• AVOID EXCESSIVE CAPITALIZATION. Game terms and Gloranthan things should not be capitalized just because they are not everyday words. Abbreviations for game terms (such as HP for hero points) are standard, but "god," "daimon," and "bump up" are preferred to "God," "Daimon," and "Bump Up." If in doubt, do not capitalize.
• For rules of grammar, punctuation, and usage, use The Elements of Style, by Strunk & White. Since usage has rules even if we do not know them, and since many usage decisions are essentially arbitrary, we use The Elements of Style for consistency, and because it is also entertaining. If you have not read it all the way through, from beginning to end, DO SO before writing for us. It is available at any book store, and is very inexpensive. (NB: we reject only one usage rule given in this book, that dealing with the possessive form to use after a word ending in 's'.)
• After you have finished reading The Elements of Style, go back and reread the section that talks about the differences between "that" and "which," "effect" and "affect," "chose" and "choose," and other commonly confused words.
• Do not use the passive tense - action is more interesting and easier to read. Do not use sentences that begin with "There is" or "There Are", or that use them in the middle of sentences.
• Do not use a double space after periods that end a sentence. This is an artifact of manual typewriters that is no longer standard in the publishing industry.
• We use serial commas for what we feel are very good reasons, and ask that you do as well.
• After you have finished writing, ALWAYS spell check your submission using American English. If you then make changes, run the spell checker again. If possible, have your word processor check grammar as well - this takes longer and is more work, but it will improve your final submission.
• Avoid plagiarism and borrowing of material. Where your writing draws upon other sources for inspiration, list your sources. If your manuscript draws on Gloranthan sources that were not published by Issaries, Inc., you must list those sources so that we can avoid any possible copyright violations.
• Know your subject matter. If you submit a manuscript to us that contains Gloranthan errors, we are more likely to reject it than to explain to you how it needs to be fixed.