Five Things You Need to Know about Writing Articles

When you’re thinking about getting the first of your paper published, the most common question on people’s minds is “Are you sure?” Before they even reach for their coffee and turn to Google, I always say that writing is as easy as filling out a form. We just sit back and let our creativity stream through us, like a river, to get down a few words for this article, and then we move on. It doesn’t have to be anything grand or fancy. But it has to be something that can help someone with their day. That can make them feel better. Let me show you five things that will help you write great articles:

1) Make Sure You Have A Great Title For Your Paper

What does your title tell readers about you? Be wise about what you choose to say in its opening paragraph. If it’s not specific enough, people will assume it was written by an unknown person who had never written before. Here are some examples: What’s my background? How long have I been working at this company? Why am I interested in this topic? The goal of your title needs to be to give your reader a little bit of information and then give them a reason to think about what else might interest them. Think about this title for a second and imagine everyone reading for one minute and then deciding if it’s worth a listen or not. Now ask yourself these questions and see which ones stick out to your readers: Why did you become a writer? Who made you want to start writing? Who inspired you to start doing it? If you aren’t willing to share more than your experience, maybe it could be because only a small number of people have ever written, and many others will never do so. So ask yourself if there is any point in trying to convince anyone to read something you haven’t written. This can be the difference between having a successful career and not. Do better research than you did in those courses and try to find more people and different backgrounds than the one that has given you advice.

2) Research

Research always goes hand-in-hand with being original and making your work stand out from the crowd. Asking good questions is half of the battle when it comes to being successful in your career. In order to be effective, you need to figure out what you should include. Then you can come up with your ideas. But researching isn’t all that it takes. Sometimes your personal life needs your attention but you just don’t know how to explain the idea to a stranger. Or maybe you think you have already written great pieces without asking the right questions. No worries; research is part of what you do. All it takes is time, energy, and willingness to put in the extra effort to be successful. Look for resources that can guide you around some topics you are new to. Ask your friends and family if they liked those things and find out how you can do what you want to. At least once a week is good to start checking your grammar, checking your subject sentences, and going over your main points in detail. Don’t forget to read books on subjects you are unfamiliar with. There are dozens of them on Amazon.com. Take notes from the teachers who are teaching you the basics and try to study along them. Watch YouTube videos on everything your professor says and try to look at their answers and learn how well you can follow along with them without going too far into depth. Go to events and speak to other people where you don’t know the answers but still want to learn more. Check Twitter and watch people talk about their works and get inspired to write your thoughts on the same. If nothing happens after looking up different tips and tricks, take a break and come back to it once a week. Keep track of how much time it took you to finish something and make a list of activities to complete over the next couple of days. Start brainstorming different ways to make your paper look professional.

3) Write Like Crazy

If you want a piece to stand out, make sure that nobody is going to think it is rubbish. Don’t leave anybody thinking that you’re incapable of writing. As a rule, people who have gone this route usually end up in failure. And most importantly, nobody likes a sloppy writer either. Unless you are the type of crazy guy who can’t sit still for half an hour and stay focused for three hours, then take responsibility and neat tidy, and correct if there is anything wrong with it. Give yourself a deadline for every single word and stick to it even when you’re feeling tired. Set a timer next to each sentence and set a new one for each one. People hate writers who don’t write without thinking but you need to plan and outline the points you will talk about. Remember to avoid distractions and write what your eyes see. Get rid of any words you don’t use because they will waste time. Avoid repeating yourself, especially if you’ve already finished writing the title. One thing you need to remember is that you have to write what your mind wants to write. If your brain gets stuck, change direction, get away from the keyboard and come back here. Nothing makes a good picture like a mistake, especially if you’ve got all the materials ready and you’re confident of it. Try different types of writing journals or take notes on important dates. These are very helpful when you don’t have the exact information at one moment and you have to work out something new. Once you’re done, check what you wrote and revise it. Just remember that mistakes aren’t what people like, it does things. Don’t worry about trying to fix them because perfectionism usually leads to disaster. Instead, rewrite your story so you can see that you did a decent job.

4) Learn From Others

If you’ve never written a book before then take advantage of the opportunity. Read a lot and try to copy the style and structure they used. Follow some bloggers, find out how a publication works, and t try to copy everything they did. Not only that but try to read things people have already tried and learned from their mistakes in case you can improve a bit. Of course, you can’t completely duplicate the writing of others but you can take notes on the things you like and get your thoughts across to them. Read magazines and blogs and use this material as inspiration to create a similar style. Also, try to emulate their stories as much as possible. Maybe try telling a detective a novel and reading it while he solves the murders of his boss. Listen to podcasts and consider what styles you want to adopt. Most authors do the same but sometimes something a bit different. Find out what other people think about a particular project and try to apply this advice to your creative writing. Search for publications and browse their archives. If you’re worried about what others have got to say, ask them and learn. They probably share some insights that you can use.

5) Keep Improving and Rejuvenating Yourself Every Day

If you don’t try to improve by reading and talking about what you love, you’ll never know what you’re missing out. Use a journal as a place to record everything you write or the podcasts you listen to and try to learn as much as possible about what you are writing. Focus your time on things you enjoy doing every day and start putting down more details. Each step you complete matters and you have to spend every second learning something new. Work hard to get better every day and don’t underestimate the power of positive feedback. By the time you see the finished version, you will never go back. Because if you stop improving then you won’t know if you are good enough and that can ruin your self-confidence.

So, that is my advice! Take this advice and don’t wait for somebody to tell you more.