Article Writing - Where Do You Begin?
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People that know me are aware that I don’t like to “blow my own trumpet”.
Honestly.
It takes a conscious effort to squash my natural timidity and talk about anything I do well in a manner that, to my overly-analytic brain, seems too much like brash, boastfulness.
So when I say that I find writing articles easy, please understand that I’m not saying it to show off.
It’s just that, for me, sitting down and writing an article comes as naturally and easily as Tiger Woods sinking a four foot putt.
Not that I’m comparing myself to Tiger Woods, of course. That would certainly make me seem big-headed. Erm. Ok, I’m losing my thread. See what self-promotion does to me?
Let me give you an example.
Sit me down at a PC and ask me to write about absolutely ANY topic, and in 30-40 minutes I will produce a good quality, 600 word article. If its a topic I know nothing about, it’ll be primarily a work of fiction, but that won’t prevent me from filling a couple of sides of A4.
But give me another half an hour to do research, and another 20 minutes for polish, and it’ll be a 600 word article that is informative, engaging and professional.
Exactly why I find this process so simple is hard to say.
It might have something to do with a childhood obsession with reading (often as many as 2-3 books per day). Or it may be connected to my high school English teacher who demanded essay, after essay, after essay, before attacking them with his red pen (thank you, Mr Richmond).
Whatever the reason, it’s a useful skill to have, and it’s most definitely one that can be learned.
The following piece by Sean D’Souza is concerned with how to turn a chunk of information, into a worthwhile article. Initially, the concept seemed a little odd, but after re-reading it a couple of times, it dawned on me that what Sean is describing, is very similar to a process that goes on in my head when I first rest my fingers across a keyboard.
If you find it challenging to write articles that are informative AND interesting, then give Sean’s suggestion a try. It should only take a few minutes and, once you’ve got the hang of it, you’ll probably find you can carry out the same technique with an effortless mental contortion.
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Article: How To Improve Your First Fifty Words Using Slicing Techniques
By Sean D’Souza
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You might like cake a lot.
Yet, even the most adventurous of us, would kinda hesitate to eat an entire cake.
This is because the entire cake becomes too much to eat. And even if we did eat that mountain of sugar and frosting, we’d feel sick.
Article-writing is like eating too much cake.
Most of us are utterly convinced that starting up an article is extremely difficult.
That the first fifty words are pure hell.
But you see, the difficulty doesn’t lie in the opening. Or the writing of the opening. It lies in the getting the clarity of your thought down to a slice.
And this clarity of thought must come way before you put pen to paper (or before you clatter away on your keyboard).
So what I’m suggesting is that you don’t write the article at all. Instead you first clarify what you’re thinking.
So how do we clarify our thoughts?
Step 1: You first write down in about 4-5 lines what you think is the general theme of the article you’re writing. This is your mini-explanation.
Step 2: Choose three or four words that sum up the article.
Step 3: Choose one word that is most relevant among those ‘four words’.
Step 4: Find an every day object or situation that relates to the ‘four words’.
Step 1: Here are my four-five lines
The article I’m about to write, is about how you can alienate the audience by using certain examples. For instance, examples like baseball. Or cricket. Or use mother-in-law jokes. Or political issues. These examples are inappropriate, for several reasons, that I will list in my article.
Step 2: Choose Four Words (or less)…yes less is better
Alienate.
Audience.
Certain Examples.
Step 3: Reduce those four words down to just one
Alienate
Step 4: Looking for everyday objects or situations that involve ‘alienation.’
Example 1: Excommunication from a group.
Example 2: Punished in the classroom.
Example 3: Not invited to a party.
Now without much trouble you’re getting situations or examples from where you can focus on a slice, instead of the entire cake. You’ve got a good opening. And your article is starting to get some momentum.
But which factor would kill the momentum?
Choosing too many words.
If we chose two words such as ‘alienate audiences,’ then our brain starts to go down a path that may be too restrictive.
‘Alienate audiences’ might bring up thoughts and examples such as:
Example 1: Talking down to an audience.
Example 2: Talking about yourself.
Example 3: Don’t make eye contact.
Whereas a single word like ‘alienate’ would bring up a variety of situations
Example 1: Excommunication from a group.
Example 2: Punished in the classroom.
Example 3: Not invited to a party.
One-word clarity leads to a whole bunch of concepts and ideas
These concepts and ideas then form the basis of your opening. They create drama, because you can see the story unfolding, when you describe examples like ‘not being invited to a party, or ‘being punished in a classroom.’
It’s the slicing that has led to the example. And the example that’s then expanded to create a powerful opening to your article.
And all of this occurs before you write a single word of your article.
As you can see, you can have your cake and eat it too.
As long as its in tiny slices.
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©2001-2008 Psychotactics Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Sean D’Souza is chief executive of Psychotactics and is an international author, speaker and trainer.
http://www.psychotactics.com
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October 28th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
That is a great tip.
I often find I struggle to widen out articles and have scrapped lots that don’t make the grade, this method should help widen the article and inject more interesting content.
Thank you