Do you want to write an article that attract people and which they will read avidly and come back for more?
If yes, then take the
following steps in planning your articles.
Step 1: Look for ideas
Ideas are everywhere.
But not all ideas are good to be used for writing articles. Good article ideas
can be got from online articles and forums; blog posts; post and article
comments; newspaper articles and editorials; Internet news; TV news,
commentaries, and interviews. These are the places where people often express
their most pressing preoccupations. But don’t forget to google the topic too.
The search results will return many possibilities.
Step 2: Test your idea
Ask yourself: do I
feel excited about this topic? If the idea makes you feel like pounding the
keyboard right now, chances are that other people would be passionate about it
too. Besides, the enthusiasm will fuel your impetus to see you through writing
the article.
Step 3: Look for an
eye-catching title
If you are reading
this article, chances are that the title attracted you. So your next step in
writing a good article is to give it an attractive title. However, if you don’t
have one, start with a tentative title and choose a definitive one later. What
is paramount is that your article title should catch a browser’s eye and let
them know what the article is about.
Concerning this
article, the words which give the title punch are “easy” and “attract”. Who
doesn’t want to do something easy? And who wants to write an article to which
nobody will give their so much as just a check?
Step 4: Zero in on the
idea
An article on article
writing for example is a big subject. It is however too large to write
convincingly about and make it interest people. You must therefore focus on one
small aspect of it by asking: What in particular do I want to say about article
writing that can be conveniently handled in 500-750 words?
This article for
example is about article writing. But I zeroed in on how to plan it.
Step 5: Choose a slant
A slant is the
writer’s particular way of handling a narrowly focused topic. For an article on
planning an article, my slant is on making a good plan for it. Another may be
on how to research the article, yet another on how to write the plan or outline,
etc.
Step 6: Shape your
ideas
You must work your
idea into an article’s three constitutive parts of beginning, middle or body
and ending or conclusion. This is called an outline.
- Beginning: It should
have a “hook” to grab the reader’s attention and also give an idea of what the
article is about. My hook for this article is the first sentence. Who doesn’t
want to write an article that attracts people? Which writer doesn’t crave avid
readers? Who wants to write a one-time-magic article?
- Middle: This is
where you develop your article idea, by presenting facts and giving examples.
It is advisable to lay out these facts and examples with subtitles. This makes the
article easy to digest.
- End: It ties up the
article, summarizing the ideas developed in the beginning and, (but) especially)
in the middle. The end could also offer some concluding thoughts.
Step 7: Add to your
article plan
You can do this by
researching the ideas. Google is great for that. One may also consult books,
encyclopaedias, and experts.
Now that you know the
elements which constitute the plan of an article, why don’t you adopt it so
that your articles will attract a large following of readers?
Do you want to learn to write stories articles for
children, teenagers and adults? Then check the Institute of Children’s
Literature (http://theinstituteinc.com/index.htm) and The Long Ridge Writers’
Group (http://www.longridgewritersgroup.com/), both of which trained me to write.
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