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Explanations and instructions of all things Writing.Com. |
This tutorial is for creating the most basic item of Writing.Com, a Static Item. When you hit the Save button at the end, you will create a Static item in your personal Portfolio, which will be assigned its own unique seven-digit ID number. By using this number in any of the WritingML item links, you and others can easily access this particular item. For instructions on how to link to a Static item, please see WritingML Help for item. Note: If your device and browser support multiple browser tabs or windows and you would like to create a Static item while referring to these directions, right-click on the Create New Item link in the main navigation menu on the left to open that page in a new window or tab. In the CREATE A NEW ITEM page, click on Static Item to open the CREATE A NEW STATIC ITEM page. CREATE A NEW STATIC ITEM As the name implies, this section contains the basic information about your item. Essentially, this is what people will see when they find your item listed within a search or on a list. Each of the following categories has its own text box or drop-down menu (indicated by a ˅). Some are required, and some have a default setting or are optional. ![]() ![]() Set Your Cover Image. ![]() ![]() ![]() + Advanced. (Click on this heading to open this section; click the heading again to close it.) ![]() ![]() Remove a Cover: To remove a cover from an item, click the cover image to open the Cover Image edit area, click Advanced, check the box to remove the existing cover image, click Done, and then scroll down to complete the edit of the item. ![]() ![]() ![]() On the other hand, if you have anything in this section that might be considered inappropriate or offensive to anyone, including our younger members, you must choose "Non-E" for this rating. Since Non-E rated items are not listed in many places, it might be advantageous for you to clean up your title or description so you can assign an E rating and gain a wider listing base. Please read "Content Rating System (CRS)" ![]() ![]() ![]() This is where you put your actual writing! You have three options for putting your writing here. You can type your text directly into this window. You can copy and paste your document from another program. Bear in mind that not all formatting may properly copy from some programs--check carefully to be sure your final item is formatted how you wish it to look. You can use the drag and drop system to upload your writing from an MS Word file or an .rtf file. The bar of WritingML formatting buttons across the top of this text box includes the most commonly used formatting options. These buttons can be used to add formatting tags around your highlighted text. More WritingML can be found in WritingML: Docs & Help linked under Writing.Com Tools at the left. Used sparingly, formatting can really enhance your writing. Also, consider that many people will likely read your item online. For easy online reading, leave plenty of white space, such as a blank line between paragraphs. In this text box you can use WritingML tags such as the open bold tag {b} and close bold tag {/b} to make selected words bold; the {i} and {/i} tags to italicize words; and the {u} and {/u} tags to underline words. Rules to remember: When you open a paired tag, you must close it, and if you open several paired tags together to format the same section of text, you must close them in the reverse of how they were opened (last opened, first closed). ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The Genre and Keywords sections are the most neglected section within any item creation. The genres and keywords you select here set the stage for how your item can be found on the internet or by members on Writing.Com. Search engines and various lists on Writing.Com use these genres and keywords to highlight this item. It also helps people to easily find those specific items in which they are interested. + EDIT POINTS (Click on this heading to open this section; click the heading again to close it.) Edit Points (EPs) are an innovative, totally unique and extremely powerful way to gain detailed feedback about your work. EPs are small, clickable numbers which may be placed at certain points within your item. Once Edit Points are placed within a Static Item on Writing.Com, your readers simply click on any Edit Point (~#~) to launch a small pop-up window. This window allows them to add any notes, comments or precise edits for that particular EP position within the item. The item's owner (or group) can choose various display formats to review the feedback provided. Due to the system resources required by Edit Points, Writing.Com imposes limitations on their use. Each membership level has a maximum number of items that may contain EPs and each item is limited to a maximum number of EPs within it. For more information, please read "Edit Points" ![]() + ADVANCED (Click on this heading to open this section; click the heading again to close it.) ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Unrestricted: Provides for the most feedback possible for your item. The item's average received rating and number of ratings received is publicly displayed to all viewers. Rating Requires Review: Eliminates feedback from readers who do not wish to provide a written review of your item. The item's average rating is shown only to you. Reviews Only; No Ratings: Allows members to review your item, but not rate it numerically. This setting is especially useful for early drafts. Email Comments: Removes the rating and review area on your item and replaces it with an email form allowing members to send you comments instead of a review. No "anonymous" feedback may be sent to you with this option. This option also removes your item from our public listing categories, including our public "Reviewing" page. However, your item is always listed in and accessible directly from your portfolio, direct links to the item, and under Sponsorships. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER Important Information: This section is relatively self-explanatory. It provides information about the Copyright and Privacy policies for Writing.Com. SAVING YOUR ITEM The final part of creating your Static Item is saving it. You have three options for saving your work. Your work can only be saved permanently on WdC by using one of these options. ![]() ![]() ![]() Congratulations! You've just created a Static Item and added it to your portfolio. This item may be edited at any time, and as many times as you wish. Your item now has a unique Item ID number associated with it, which will never change as long as the item exists. This number is located in the item header at the end of the line under your userlink (byline). It may be used to reference this item using WritingML links, or it can be entered directly in text boxes that request an Item ID. Note that the ID number consists only of digits--no spaces, letters or special characters. Remember to save your work before leaving any creation or edit window. Currently there is no automatic save mode on Writing.Com. You may wish to prepare your work in another program and transfer the completed document into the Static Item. 1 EDITING YOUR STATIC ITEM At some point you'll want to edit your Static Item. When you open the "Edit" window from your Item Tools (click the gear icon ![]() ITEM TOOLS FOR PREMIUM MEMBERS Premium and higher members will notice some additional features under the gear icon. ![]() ![]() The Revision History is a unique tool offered by Writing.Com to enable Premium and higher members to track changes made to the main body of text in items. Using the system, an author can make notes of specific changes made during that particular edit, and may view a copy of the document from any time during its edit history. For complete information on this Premium feature, please read: "Revision History" ![]() ![]() ![]() The Full Screen edit tool provides a much larger area for the editing of an item's body text and book entries. This is the ultimate way to work with your writing on Writing.Com! For complete information on this Premium feature, please read: "Full Screen Edit" ![]() Recommended Reading Footnotes |