Lothlaurien

Hi! I'm just getting back into playing Neopets after a fairly long absence and I've been trying to collect as many avatars as I can. I really love both the Neopian Times ones and since the official writing board seemed pretty dead I was wondering if anyone here had any advice/tips on getting published? Mainly how difficult it is, whether it makes a difference what you write (articles, stories etc.), the best time to submit and that sort of thing. Or is there perhaps a fairly up-to-date guide somewhere I can take a look at?