Wikivoyage:Writers' Expedition

This page is no longer active and is retained for historical reference. Either the page is no longer relevant or consensus on its purpose has become unclear. Do not assume content on this page is still correct or up-to-date.

'The Writer's Expedition is a Wikivoyage Expedition to help attract professional and non-professional writers to contribute to and benefit from Wikivoyage articles.

Rationale

Wikivoyage needs writers at least as much as it needs editors, map makers, and photographers. Developing a stronger community of writers would be a mutually beneficial endeavour since 1) a focus on writing is needed to turn more guides into stars with the required "prose [that] is not only near-perfect grammatically but also tight, effective, and enjoyable." 2) many freelance and just-starting-out writers and journalists are looking for ways to increase the size and diversity of their portfolios. An additional goal is community outreach to help the professional travel writers community understand how Open Content, much like Open Source Software, is not a threat to their profession.

Goals

Invite travel writers to contribute to Wikivoyage
Welcome travel writers and journalists
Address policy & guideline issues specific to professional/semi-professional writers

Strategy

Answer questions specific to writers:
- Introduce our style
- Explain the "wiki way" (i.e. their work will be edited, changed, etc)
- Explaining our current copyleft policies
  - Contributing previously published works
  - Republishing Wikivoyage content
  - Including Wikivoyage content in their portfolio (i.e. copying or linking to history)
Present specific examples of "well-written" articles.