Run a quick search on your chosen topic.
Use the search box at the top of each page to see if there is an existing title (we call them "nodes") under which you can add writeups. If there is no existing title for your chosen topic yet, the "findings" page will allow you to create a new one. Check out what people have written about the subjects you also want to write about and ask yourself if you can improve on it or if others will find what you want to say interesting.
See How do I submit a writeup of my own? for more on this.
Use Drafts to create your contribution before publishing it.
Drafts are editing areas that allow you to see what your writeup will look like before you post it. Select "Create Draft" at the bottom of a writeup submission box to save a preview, or use the 'Drafts' link in your Epicenter.
By default, your Drafts are private. See the "Sharing and publishing" area below your draft for options to make it public for anyone to see, or to share with specific people on E2. If you're having some problem with a write-up or you just want another pair of eyes to look it over before it's sent out into the world, set the status of your draft to review. This will make it "findable" and alerts the site's editors that you want feedback. The editors are experienced volunteers and are always happy to help you out.
E2 uses HTML formatting.
Formatting on E2 is done using HTML, a fairly simple markup language. E2's drafts will take care of paragraph breaks if that is all the formatting you expect to do (hit the enter key twice after each paragraph). Alternatively, you can turn on a 'What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get' (WYSIWYG) writeup editor, which you can use like a word processor. Even if you prefer the immediacy of the WYSIWYG editor, have a look at E2 HTML Tags to learn more.
It's easy: just put square brackets around words and phrases, [like so]. You should hard link anything related to your writeup such as: People, places, technical terms, and idioms.
Pipe links allow you to get more creative with links by linking to one thing and displaying another, like this: display this. This can be used to simply link to a different form of a given word or phrase, to add another whole layer of meaning to the text, or to website pages outside E2.
Our internal links are the distinctive part of E2's culture.
Create soft links to the node after you've published.
From the node you've published in, you should also make soft links. Just navigate to other nodes using the search box or clicking hard links in your work and E2 will automaticly create the link on both nodes, to help people discover your writing. The standard for new nodes is three or four softlinks.
You can edit writeups you've already submitted.
Just go back to the link where you posted your writeup (a quick search should find it) and scroll down to the textbox near the bottom: you'll find your words waiting for you. Change whatever you'd like and click Update Writeup, and your writeup will be updated.
Above are just the basics: format, add links, and ask for help if you need it.
back to
Everything2 Help