How should I format this article?

[JeremyKing]

Hello! I came across an article request that piqued my interest, but given the nature of the request and CC's formatting policy, I'm not entirely sure how to approach it. What the client's asking for is a list of 50 separate ideas. Writing an entire paragraph or more for each idea would be rather...unnecessary. I haven't written anything for CC in a couple months, and the formatting rules slipped my mind until I was preparing to tackle this request. My initial plan was to write out an introductory paragraph for the topic at hand, then jump right into outlining each idea with the use of subheaders. Of course, this would result in more of a list than an article, by any conventional definition. So, any advice? I want to make sure my article gets accepted. My previous two articles were initially rejected due to very slight formatting errors. This was particularly aggravating for my first article written, which I submitted around 4 days prior to the request's expiration. Subsequently, the need for revision resulted in the article being accepted past the point of usefulness. I lost steam for a while after writing my second article, and I'm just now trying my hand at this whole thing again. I really want to get it right this time.

[SJHillman]

Although editors can be inconsistent, the general rule is that when a client request conflicts with CC's rules, the client's request takes precedence.

[mnicol22]

Hey there!

I gave this request some thought too, but then I got too busy to do it. Personally, I would divide the tips into groups, such as "food and drink", "outdoors", "arts and crafts" or whatever, and write a short intro about each category. Then, I would just give the tips as options for that specific category. I don't know how that will fare with CC's rules or the customer himself, but I'm completely and utterly bored of long lists of tips where you have to go through the entire thing in the hopes of finding something useful.

But that's just my opinion. I think you should go with your gut. Get it started, and you'll figure things out as you go.

[JeremyKing]

Thanks for the feedback, guys!

SJHillman, I wasn't aware of that rule. That certainly puts my mind at ease. Mnicol22, that's a good method. I don't think I would personally splice this request into separate categories, but I'll keep that in mind for future articles.

As for the actual formatting itself, I'm still wondering what the best approach would be. Something like this, maybe?

Example subheader
This is just an example, nothing more.

If I were left to my own devices, I'd most likely make the subheader text bold, too. Good idea / bad idea? Or am I really just blowing this out of proportion?

One more thing...as far as indentation is concerned, what would be the best way to approach this? I plan on indenting the introductory paragraph, but if the bulk of the remaining text is relegated to subheaders and a couple sentences or a short paragraph underneath, should I bother with indentation throughout?

[mnicol22]

In this case that each idea would only take up a couple of sentences, I would bold the subheader and keep it in the same line with the rest of the text. For example:

1. Example Dating Tip: This is an example tip among a loooong list of other dating tips, and it's really good because I say so. For this reason, you'd better follow it or I'll hunt you down.

Hehe, just a little humor there! But you get the point... It's all a matter of personal taste, though.