iModeler tutorial – 12 practices to bring your iModeler writing to the next level

Here are a few tips to help you bring out the best of your writing at iModeler.

Set a clear title

Always set a title that clearly states what your article is about. To achieve that, write a title that is clear first, catchy second. Aim at a casual reader, who may not understand "Finished today!" better than "Tamiya 1/48 Spitfire Vb, finally finished"

If after you've drafted a clear subject line you can also make it catchy, funny, cute, whimsical, whatever - go for it; but never sacrifice clarity for the entertainment value!

Use paragraphs

No one likes to read writing that never pauses for a line break. To break your writing up into paragraphs, leave an empty line between consecutive pieces of text. iModeler will automatically detect these and format everything into nice paragraphs.

Paragraph 1

Paragraph 2

Visualize with pictures

Most concepts can greatly benefit from a clear, visual explanation with photos or drawings. Images make the articles colorful and viewers get to see what you are telling them about.

When writing long posts, break up your text with strategically placed images that follow and support your story. Use [pic1], [pic2] ... tags to determine the placement of images -

[pic1]

Use subheadings

If you are writing long posts, break up the sections by using headings, small titles to highlight a change of subject. Headings should be marked by using a leading #, like this:

# This is a subheading

Spell check and proof

Please make sure to double-check your text for errors when posting. If you are one of the many people who only discover their typos after the article has been posted, use the Edit Article button in the upper right corner of the article page to correct it.

It is not unusual among serious writers to compose their posts in a text editor with spell check, then checking all the spelling and proofing it thoroughly before copying and pasting it at the web.

Avoid slang, obscure terminology or sloppy spelling

Not all the readers will be from your part of the world so make sure people can understand easily. Be attentive to proper spelling of acronyms and trademarks. It's "Airfix", not airfix, and "Focke-Wulf Fw 190" is better than Fockewulf-190.

Use Markdown

You don't have to know or use any special codes when writing your posts. iModeler will automatically make each post look nice, but if you do want precise control over different elements like headings, bold or italics, quotes, bullet lists and other additional elements, use Markdown.

Write for the reader

Write as frequently or as much as you like, but don’t let quantity get in the way of quality. Your viewers come for content, not to spend time reading useless stuff. Remember to follow our Content Posting Rules, that will provide you with further guidance on this.

Write about what you like

You’ve probably heard this before and it sounds too cliched, but it is true. If you force yourself to write something that you don’t really enjoy, it will show. Perhaps you might not have a specific theme for writing when you just start, but that’s ok. You’ll become more focused later. Just enjoy the experience and write what you like.

Don't hide your emotions

Tempting as it might be, don’t hide your emotions about your subject. If you let your passion show, you’ll actually love the discussions it can lead to. The discussions will broaden your own thinking and you might end up making some really good friends.

Make use of comments

Comments let people share their views on the topic. Like real life, comments may be fun and not so fun at times, but they are almost always useful. Responding to comments is polite and shows your readers that you care about their feedback.

Don't hesitate - post!

Don’t hesitate to post. You may be holding back thinking you don’t have anything to write about or show, that your work isn't really worth sharing. Let loose. If nothing else works, why not write a review on the latest kit, book, or visit to a local museum. Easy actually.