How to Be a Quiz Whiz
How to Be a Quiz Whiz
* Are you keen to break into the world of writing?
* Are you a writer who is keen to crack new markets?
* Do you enjoy doing quizzes?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you may be able to make it as a quiz writer.
What Type of Subjects Make Suitable Quiz Material?
Health, finance, personality, relationships, careers, trivia, and technology tend to be popular subjects.
Getting Ideas
You can get ideas for quizzes from newspapers, newsgroups and forums, press releases, gossip columns, popular culture, entertainment news, developments in health and technology, web sites and TV shows.
Getting Started
Is there a magazine or web site that you’d like to write for? Does the editor like quizzes? Have a look at a few back issues to find out. If the magazine has run quizzes in the past, study them carefully. Calculate the number of words used and propose something of a similar length. Establish whether the quizzes used tend to be multiple choice, true or false, or a combination and how the scoring details are conveyed. Are the quizzes humorous and/or do they seek to inform? Do they test the reader’s knowledge or act as self-assessment tools? What style are the quizzes written in? Is it a style that you feel capable of and comfortable adopting?
Based on your research decide what you want your quiz to do. Do you want to educate the reader, entertain them or both? Whatever your aim, you need to make the quiz fun otherwise the reader will feel as if they are back at school doing homework. Decide what format you are going to use. You want your quiz to be long enough to achieve your aim, but not so long that readers lose interest. Can you do this and stick to the usual number of questions for quizzes in that magazine?
Research your Subject
Unless you’re an expert in the area your quiz covers you may need to improve your knowledge of the subject before creating the quiz just as you would any other article.
Come Up With the Quiz Questions (and Answers!)
Once you’ve done your research it’s time to write your quiz. Make sure your questions are clear, relevant, and easy to understand. Keep them short and to the point. If you are writing a multiple choice, keep the number of choices to a minimum. Often a choice of 3 or 4 options is all that is required - anything more is usually too much unless you are writing an exam paper. A good way to come up with a structure for your quiz is to think of how you would write about the topic as an article and come up with 10 points you’d make. Then turn those points into questions.
Make sure that your answers are not too easy if you are compiling a quiz designed to test the readers’ knowledge otherwise they may feel cheated. At the same time, don’t make it too hard. No one wants to feel like a dunce!
If you are writing a quiz that invites the reader to find out about themselves (e.g., “what’s your investment style?”), the easiest way to write the answers is so that all “A” answers correspond to one category, all “B” answers correspond to another category, and so on. Or, you can assign points to answers (1 point for every A, 2 points for every B, etc.) and have readers tally their scores after taking the quiz.
Write the Introduction
Usually quizzes begin with a brief introduction, then they segue into a series of question. An introduction is not always needed sometimes a compelling title is all you need.
Write the Key or Explanation
The key is the most important part because this is where you actually provide the information that the reader wants. If the quiz is designed to educate readers about a particular topic (such as healthy eating for pregnancy), your key should give not only the right answer but explain why it’s correct. If it’s a self-assessment test like “What’s your Relationship Style?” you’ll want to include specific advice and tips geared to each type. Ensure that your copy is clean, clear and concise. Keeping to a limited word count can be challenging but is a valuable skill for any writer to acquire.
To test your quiz before turning it in, ask a friend or family member to give it a trial run. If your quiz does what you want it to do and you’ve done your proofreading, grammar and spell-checking etc., you’re ready to submit your quiz and get to work on your next quiz-worthy topic, which brings me back to? pitching your quiz.
Pitching to Editors
Draft a one page query letter just like you would for any other feature article. You need to grab the editor’s attention with your opener, keep it with the outline of your idea and provide examples and statistics if appropriate. Tell the editor how your quiz relates to a medical breakthrough, piece of research or study or a recent news item if it does. Make it clear why the quiz will make a good piece for the editor’s publication and why the readers will find it valuable. If you see your quiz fitting into a specific section of the magazine then tell the editor which section and propose a word length similar to the quizzes that have already appeared in that section. This shows the editor that you are familiar with the publication and are well-placed to write your quiz in the appropriate style. If you have any clips enclose them - especially if they are quizzes.
Resources:
http://www.homeworking.com/library/write2.htm
http://www.poewar.com/how-to-write-a-query-letter/
http://www.writing-world.com/basics/query.shtml
