How to write guides on Starcraft-Replay.com

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Rule #1: Is my guide going to be useful?

a) Did someone already write a guide on this topic? Use our search engine or or advanced guide search to find out.

b) Is the information I'm about to share not already common knowledge?

For example, if you're gonna write a 5-liner guide saying "Getting minerals is very important to dominate the game, so produce a lot more drones". Ask yourself, is this really something people need to read?

That's something people can figure out easily with a minimum of common sense, so it doesn't belong in a guide.

Or you can ask yourself the opposite question:  Do I have above average knowledge on this topic? If you think you do, then your guide will be useful.

Rule #2: Save your progress REGULARLY 

Please save yourself the trouble of wasting hours of work, I learned that the hard way.

While you're writing your guide:

 Click on the "HTML" button in the text editor, a window will pop up, containing the whole source code of your guide. Copy everything in that window and paste it into notepad or word, then save this file to your computer. There you go, you're safe. Do this regularly (every 15-20 minutes or so) and you won't ever have to break your keyboard against the nearest wall.

If you lose your data before you submit it, all you have to do is open that text file, copy the whole text from it, edit your guide, click on the "HTML" button, paste the whole text in it and then click on "UPDATE".

This simple precaution saved me countless hours already.

It's also better this way because, if you are writing a long guide, you probably won't write it all in one session. So it's best to save your progress on your own computer without having to submit an unfinished guide, which people might misjudge, rate down and never check again.

Publishing Works in Progress:

Of course, there are times where it's fine to release a work in progress. If your guide is already providing useful information, even if it's not finished, it's ok to publish it. Add a "Work in Progress" note at the beginning of the guide, or a "Coming Soon" in the sections of your guide which are still to come.

Rule #3: Make your guide an enjoyable read

The text editor we included on starcraft-replay.com is extremely simple to use and has all the features you need to make your guide look nice and clean. Use it!

No matter how good your information is, if you present it poorly in a huge wall of text full of spelling mistakes, nobody will bother reading it, nor rating it.

Presentation makes a HUGE difference.

Check a few of my guides for examples of proper presentation.

Try to add some images when it makes sense, it really adds value to your guide.

Tips to use the text editor

TIP #1

I don't know about you, but I like a big window while I'm working in a text editor. Luckily, our text editor has a fullscreen option. It's in the top-right corner of the text editor, right next to the printer icon. Use it ;)

HOW TO EMBED VIDEOS ON STARCRAFT REPLAY

It's really easy as pie.

1. Go to the video of your choice on YouTube (or any other video streaming site)

2. Copy the URL of the video (NOT the embed code, just the URL in your web browser).

3. Write a guide on starcraft-replay, and once in the editor click on Insert / Edit embedded media. it's the film icon.

4. A window will pop up, paste your video link in the "File URL" field. Click on Insert.

5. Submit your guide.

Feel free to comment and suggest if you think I should add anything else to this guide.

Thank you for reading and happy guide writing!