Always use the best sources you can find: the latest official studies; statistics from the most reliable, respected, impartial institutions; quotes from recognised leaders in the field. Basing an article on outdated or one-sided information can be disastrous, eroding your credibility and that of the magazine – especially if a more recent study has produced contradictory evidence. And always check who funded the research – a medical study on the link between cellphones and brain tumours funded by a major technology company may lack credibility, since the company is likely to have a vested interest in showing cellphones are harmless. If you’re not sure where to find the latest information, speak to a recognized expert in the field who’s up to date with industry research.

Credit all sources. See Chapter 4. When you present information you haven’t thought up yourself, you need to credit the source, whether it’s a book, newspaper, another magazine, a movie, a study or report, an organization, company or person. Besides showing readers where the information originated – enabling them to decide how credible the information you’ve presented is – crediting is often legally required by the sources themselves. Credit your sources fully: when you include comment from a specialist in your article, supply his or her full name, title, and the organization they represent, plus any other identifying information relevant to the story.

Identify case studies. When introducing a case study in an article, include his or her first name and surname, age, occupation and home city. It’s best to check specific magazines’ style to see how they present this information. Also type a note at the top of your feature, supplying the contact details of case studies who are willing to be photographed.

If you’ll be using pseudonyms for certain people, mark the changed names clearly. Depending on the magazine’s style, this can be done with an asterisk, and a footnote stating ‘Name has been changed’, or by writing, for example, ‘John Williamson (not his real name)….’

Use only the best bits from interviews. The humble quote is a power tool, if you ask me. A quotation from a real, live person, slipped into your story in inverted commas, breathes instant life into your copy. Judiciously used, it can magically accelerate the pace, inject humanity and interest, and succinctly support or illustrate a point you’ve just made.

Q. How, um, closely do I need to quote?
You need to quote people accurately so that you don’t change the meaning and nuance of what was said. And you should never take somebody’s words out of context. (If a particular quote is ambiguous, briefly explain in the copy exactly what the interviewee was referring to when he or she said X.) But people are people, and we do waffle and speak ungrammatically and leave sentences unfinished before starting new ones – so tweak your interviewees’ grammar if you need to, and delete all the ‘ums’ and ‘uhs’. But keep it as close to the original as possible. If someone leaves a sentence meaningfully unfinished, you can denote this with an ellipsis (…), or simply say, ‘he left the sentence unfinished.’

Vary the pace. One long screed of copy can bore your readers straight into the pages of another magazine. You need to keep them alert, keen and bushy-tailed by doing the following:
Pepper your story with spicy anecdotes, interesting quotes, and relevant facts and examples.
Break up your copy. If the magazine’s style allows, use subheads. Or divert chunks of text into boxes and sidebars, handy features which entertain the eye and draw a reader’s attention to related aspects of a story. Don’t try to squash too many facts into the body copy; you’ll just slow down the pace. When faced with a meaty tangent, consider making it a distinct box or sidebar, separate from the body copy. Your reader is then able to peruse this at leisure, without being distracted from the main narrative.
Reminder: avoid one long quote (unless you’re writing a stand-alone case study, as requested, entirely in direct speech.) Keep the well-expressed bits as quotes, and paraphrase the rest.

Include contact details, if required. Will the reader want more information on people, services or organisations related to the theme? If so, include a short box of contact details at the end of your article, listing relevant names, phone numbers and websites, or other resources such as recommended books (remember to supply the full title, author(s) and publisher.) If your story has been sponsored – say, you’ve written a travel piece in which an airline, hotel chain and tour operator paid for your trip in exchange for editorial exposure – ensure you’ve listed the sponsors’ credits and contact details in a box.

Avoid all clichés. And I mean all. So we beat around the bush, can’t believe our eyes, never say never, wear rose-tinted spectacles, take leaps of faith or avoid them like the plague – but a good magazine journalist never resorts to clichés. They’re hackneyed and boring and will infuse your copy with a lifeless tone. As a writer, it’s your business to say things well – think fresh, cool and clear. Use similes and metaphors, by all means, but think up your own ones, okay? That’s half the fun of writing.
Yes, some magazines have that popular magaziny style – warm, chatty, trendy. And as you write for these titles you may find yourself tempted to slip into, ya know, that hot, hip and happenin’ way of writing. Please don’t go there. It’s overdone and unoriginal, and I know you can do better.

So overdone, so 2004…
Avoid these magazine clichés: ‘strutting your stuff’, ‘decadent’, ‘hip and happening’, ‘fashionista’, ‘bling’, ‘sassy’, ‘indulgent’; superlatives like ‘the hippest’, ‘the latest’, ‘the hottest’, ‘the best’; and overused phrases like ‘country charm at its best’ and ‘perfect for any occasion’. Yawn deluxe.