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Notes from A Writer's Guide to Getting Published in Magazines by J. J. Despain

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• "Offer at least two for a 1500-word article, more if you have the ideas. Their word count can be anywhere from 50 to 300 words." - p. 74

Titles (p. 113)

• Consider using some of the following devices for your article titles:
  • Rhyme: "A Claim to Fame"
  • Alliteration: "Plums, Persimmons, and Pears: Three Recipes for Nature's Perfect Puddings"
  • Challenge: "Do You Really Know What's in Your Multivitamins?"
  • Statement: "Baby's First Christmas Can Be Memorable for Everyone"
  • Shocker: "I Watched My Sister Die!"
  • Drama: "Trapped in a Cave!"
  • Statistic: "17 Teens Killed in Driving Accidents Every Da"
  • Emotion: "Look over Your Should--Are You Being Watched?"
  • Clever Saying: "A Stitch in Time Saves More Than Nine"

Subheadings (pp. 113-114)

"On average, feature articles range from 1,500 to 2,500 words. The opening and closing should each contain about 5 to 10 percent of the total word count, leaving 80 to 90 percent of the entire word count devoted to the body of the article, with approximately 20 percent of the total word count included under each subheading. Here is how a 2,000-word article would be structed."

Opening = 200 words, leaving 1,600 words for the article body

Subheading 1 = 400 words (20 percent)

Subheading 2 = 400 words (20 percent)

Subheading 3 = 400 words (20 percent)

Subheading 4 = 400 words (20 percent)

Closing = 200 words

Total = 2,000 words

". . . make sure to include one of the following in each subheading:

• An expert's quote
• Information attributed to an expert
• An anecdote
• A combination of a quote, information, and anecdote

The Article Ending (pp. 128-129)

• "Consider the folowing approaches to endings:"
  • Full-circle endings loop back to the lead, drawing a conclusion that ties into the lead. In essence, they are transitions from the end back to the beginning.
  • Summary endings are useful in list article and how-to's, as well as in other teaching article that set forth detailed facts. They pull out the most relevant points and rewrite them.
  • Quotation endings leave you with the opinion of someone who can sum up what you've said. They agree with the overall viewpoint of the article, add one more touch of expert information or advice, or pose a question that challenges the reader to do more thinking on the subject.
  • Finish-the-story endings complete a story that was started as part of the lead, and offer hope when the lead is a disturbing fact or statistic. The goal of finishing the story is to not leave the reader dangling.
  • Straight statement endings allow the writer to use a few sentences to reiterate the point of the article and draw conclusions. In a sense, a straight statement can be short editorial comment from the writer.
  • Advice endings, like straight stements, allow the writer to end by giving his own advice on the subject.
  • Shocker endings complete the story in a way that the reader did not expect. Maybe there is not a happy ending to the anecdote used in the lead, or perhaps the statistics are becoming more alarming. This ending leaves the reader with a disquieting feeling.