The Basics Of Article Writing Part 2--Beginner's Guide
 
 

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As you can see there are many avenues you can take to write your articles. The list above just scratches the surface.   I hope that it will be an inspiration for you.  

 

One way that I have found to be effective is to always cary a pocket sized notebook or a micro-recorder to save ideas as they come to you. You need to be specific though and list as much detail as you can. In this way it will jar your memory into the complete thought that you originally had. 

 

If you already own a small or micro recorder you can instantly record your idea and any other thoughts you might have at that point in time. 

 

After you have come up with a topic you need to start brainstorming your article ideas to fully vet their potential. 

 

Once you have established a topic, you then need to start to jot down a list of all of the articles you would write about that topic. 

 

For example if you wanted to write about Trivia you could start to break each trivia segment down to write a separate article about each segment. Such as, Movie trivia, then classic movie trivia, silent film trivia, film noir trivia, actors trivia, directors trivia, cartoon trivia, science fiction trivia and so on.  

 

Each of these can become a selected topic to write about, giving you the opportunity to write many articles around a central theme. What you are doing is establishing yourself as a subject matter expert. Your bio-box for each of the articles will have your website link in addition to your credentials. The more you focus on a subject and write about different aspects of that subject, the more you will appear as an expert. This is important when you are selling a product, service or website. 

 

 

 

Part 2. Creating a Writing Style.

 

When most people start to write, they believe that they must take a specific tone. My rule of thumb, always be yourself. 

 

If you talk like William F Buckley then write like William F Buckley. If you talk like Don Rickles then write like Don Rickles. The point is,   don't try to be someone else. If you have a great sense of humor then use it. Don't supress it. If you are very subdued, then write in the same way. In both cases use your strengths, don't exploit them.

 

For example, if you are naturally reserved, you can use it, but don't ramble on. Readers will become bored and they won't read your next article. If you are too humorous you may also turn off certain readers. It's very important to create a balance in your article writing. You can be entertaining but at the same time remember that you are trying to establish yourself as a subject matter expert. 

Establishing yourself as a Subject-matter Expert is very important. If you are developing a website or a product and the more people see your name the more they are likely to associate you with being an expert. If you are considered an expert then you must have a legitimate product or service. 

Always remember that you are selling yourself in your articles. If your articles are only self promoting then that is how readers will view them and perhaps discount the relevancy or importance of what you have to say. 

Another way to look at this is, style versus substance, 

Your writing style must never overshadow the specifics of your topic. There may be a few exceptions. If you are writing about humor then by all means be humorous. Show how clever you really are. If your topic is philosophy, then by all means be specific and to the point, in other words, reserved and professorial. 

Create a style that is unique to you. Always be yourself. BUT PLEASE, use proper grammar and correct spelling. 

 

 

Part 3, Organizing Your Thoughts, Developing A Basic Outline.

  

Successful writing begins with an idea, discusses the idea and then comes to some conclusion. It's the basics of writing. Outlines do not have to be complex, but they do need structure.

 

Let's look at an example:

 

You are the owner of a website that is about casino gaming, and has tips and basic instuctuction on how to play each casino game. You make also have links to specific casinos and you may also be an affiliate for some of the online gaming sites. You decide to write an article to promote your site called, "How to play any Casino game and win every time."

 

That's one heck of a title, and it demands that this article needs to be informative as well as well structured. You have captured your audience with your title. Now it's time to WOW them with some details. You give away some of your tips in the article but you don't give away all of your knowledge, but enough to interest your reader. Your conclusion is that if the reader takes some of your tips and advice, they can improve their odds and possiblby come home a winner. It's a tall order but you do have some experience that is worthwhile to share.

 

The preceding has an outline, A title which, is the beginning, tips and advice which is the middle or discussion, and the conclusion is, improving your odds at winning. Not only have you written an informative article you have also established yourself as an expert, and your site as an important place to visit if one wants to be successful at casino gaming. If you did not take the time to structure your article, the conclusion might have been lost on the reader and the next step would be missed entirely.

 

Each time you write an article you need to be mindful of the structure of the article. It not only makes for easier reading it makes it much easier for the reader to be informed, and at the same time make the reader interested in wanting more information from you.

That's the main point, you want them to keep on coming back for more.

What I've outlined here is only a simple way of creating an interesting article. There are many books on creative writing that you can read for more information.

 

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