Write For Us!

It’s a new year, so it’s a good time to re-evaluate how things are going at our humble little website. Our evaluation shows: we could use more writers. While we’ve developed a nice writing staff, we still aren’t covering everything we’d like to see the website touch upon, particularly as we expand into video games and television.

So, if you’ve ever seen what we write and thought, “a trained monkey could do that,” it’s time to prove it, or at least show that you’re better then a trained monkey.

We’re specifically looking for writers in the following areas:

Theatrical Reviews: We’ve started slacking on covering as many theatrical movies as we might like to, thanks to busy schedules and the economy (those movie tickets aren’t free for all of us!). We are looking for one or two more people to join our theatrical writing staff, particularly people interested in comedies and “chick flicks” that we tend to miss. Theatrical writers need to be able to write at least 2 reviews a month (although these can be shared with DVD reviews) and need to be able to submit their review the weekend a film hits theaters.

Blu-ray / DVD Reviews: In the past we have had theatrical releases pretty well covered, but we have very few home entertainment reviews going on. We’re looking for people who have access to new releases (rentals, purchases, or screener lists) and are willing to write at least 2 reviews a month. This is a great opportunity for the aspiring film critic who can’t necessarily get to the theater on a weekly basis.

Television Writers: We’ve started giving some shows a deeper look with weekly recap/reviews, but just as our selected show columns really get going, the season is over with. Television writers write weekly recaps, reviewing what happened in the episode as well as offering opinions on how a show is developing and where it can go next. Ideally, recaps are turned in within 24 hours of a show airing, so writers need to have time to write up their article within a set period of time.

Game Reviews: Chris does an excellent job of giving his take on games, but we’d like to run more reviews then one guy can put out. Game critics need to have access to newer games (people able to get legitimate advance copies are a plus) and are willing to voice their opinions – both good and bad – after giving games a thorough amount of play time. We’ve also played with looking back at classic games from the past, so someone who might be interested in doing that regularly would also be welcome.

Game Columnists: We have good coverage of World of Warcraft with our weekly Raids of Warcraft and Confessions of a Guild Leader, but there are a lot more perpetual games out there than just WoW. Writers of this sort of column will develop a weekly column that covers walkthroughs, strategy guides, or editorials on a specific subject. Writers are expected to submit articles on a weekly basis, and consistency is key with this sort of writing, so please only apply if you can set aside time each week to make it happen.

Before you proceed any further, understand one thing: There is no money to be had in this endeavor. We’re a small site, and we’re barely scraping by to pay our expenses (hosting, movies, lattes and the like). If you want to write for us, you need to have a desire to write just for the joy of writing, because we can’t promise big paychecks down the road. If you’re looking for financial gain, there are other websites out there with longer histories and bigger supporters than we have, although they’re probably pickier about who they hire (who are we kidding; they hired us at one point so they can’t be that picky).

While we aren’t paying, we do ask writers to be somewhat reliable if they express interest in writing (having a dozen writers who never submit anything doesn’t do us much good, does it?). We also ask applicants be 18 years of age or older and able to provide evidence of that if requested.

How to Apply

If you’re interested in writing for the site, send a couple of writing samples to rafe (at) widescreenwarrior.com. Please include the phrase “Potential Widescreen Warrior” in your subject line. Writing samples should display your writing talent and your ability to voice and support an opinion, preferably in an area in tune with our website. Writing samples desperately in need of editing will most likely be laughed at and used as an example in future English classes. Don’t worry if you don’t have a wealth of writing experience. As long as you have the ability and the interest, we’re willing to give you a shot.