[Wikipedia-l] Writing articles

[Fred Bauder]

on 9/1/03 8:38 PM, Merritt L. Perkins at mlperkins3 at juno.com wrote:

> I have been thinking of trying to write some Encyclopedia articles but I
> would like to discuss them with several other people while I am preparing
> them for publication.
> . Suppose I choose to write about Rose of Sharon. I could look in the
> Wikipedia and not find it under that heading. Perhaps it is described
> somewhere and I didn't find it.
> I could take close-up pictures of the flowers with my digital camera and
> describe it from what I know and what I can see. Should I include
> pictures of the whole plant, the seeds, or the roots? I could look in
> encyclopedias and books for more information. I could prepare a rough
> draft. After reading the instructions for submitting articles I would
> like to discuss it with other people and get their comments and
> suggestions. Someone told me that Rose of Sharon was mentioned in the
> Bible. Somebody may know where. Should I include that and quote the Bible
> passage? 
> An historian may be able to tell what part it played in history like the
> thistle in Scotland and the War of the Roses in England. A botanist may
> be able to correct and add to my description. People in other parts of
> the world may tell me that it is common there. Is it the national flower
> of some country or does it appear on a flag? Should we include the name
> in some other languages?
> If someone else is writing an article on the same subject I might choose
> to let him take my article and use parts of it in his article.
> After I get tired of editing it I could submit it to be included in the
> Encyclopedia.
> Then the readers would have their opportunity to make changes.

Please do that. Jump in; the water's fine.

> I didn't find articles about Jesse Ramsden who made precision navigation
> instruments or Count Rumsford who left Massachusetts and went to England
> and founded the Royal Institution.
> There are several other subjects that I might write about but I would
> like to have other people participate. How can I do this?

Another good idea

> This matter may have been discussed in e-mail but I have more than 450
> e-mail on my computer so it is hard to figure out what conclusions have
> been reached.

How to write an article is discussed at length on Wikipedia.

> Merritt L. Perkins

Fred