In understanding that everyone does not have that writing gene, I have found that everyone still has the ability to write. It is a matter of choosing whether you want to do it well or not.
When writing, it is important that you write about the things you are more than just familiar with. You want to make sure that your readers know that you are a credible source, and that they can trust the information that you are providing them with. In addition, your writing is a reflection of who you are. Surely, you do not want to be known as an author that puts out garbage—and trust me, readers are very savvy, they can tell.
In talking about the simple mechanics of writing, there should be an introduction, a body and a closing. The introduction tells the reader what you will be talking about. The body provides the content and substance of your topic; including examples, sources of information, statistics or even opinions. And the closing, recaps what you have already talked about and brings it to a close.
The key is to be able to transition from introduction to the body, the body to the closing. This helps to link the article and allows it to flow for easy reading.
Though people have different writing styles, it is imperative to have some basic structure to your writing. For someone that has difficulty with their writing skills, my best advice would be to write how you speak. A good strategy for this would be to write down several questions about the topic you plan to write about, and tape record yourself answering the questions, in a normal speaking manner.
This strategy, serves multiple purposes. It tests your knowledge, to see if you are actually an expert on what you plan to write about. It helps you to capture details concerning your topic that goes beyond surface knowledge. And you have the opportunity to playback your recording so that you can transfer it into a wordprocessing document for easy editing.
Another important tip, is to make sure your title relates to the context of the article. It is great to be cute and witty with your titles, but make sure you fulfill your commitment to the reader by answering what was implied in the title.
To give an example, an article was posted on my blog site that seemed to be in line with the vision I have for my readers; which is to provide business tools and resources for new and existing entrepreneurs, including home based programs. Well, the title of this article, I thought was perfect for the vision. It was talking about how to find home based jobs. But as I began to actually read the article, I discovered that it did not fulfill the commitment of the title. There were no real suggestions on where to find such programs. The types of programs that were suggested had negative implications, as if the writer did not believe in their own suggestions. And to be specific, the writer made this statement “It’s probably transferred to some kind of account…” That statement, was a major red flag for me. That told me that they were not an expert on their topic, and they did not do their homework! I deleted the article.
I know that seems harsh, but in whatever you intend on accomplishing, you should give it your best. There are sufficient tools available for even the worst writers needs. Use the internet and library to research your topic. Use spell check and proof readers to confirm your writing ability. And if all else fails, there are some very capable ghost writers and article companies that you can acquire articles through to post.
Even though I deleted the poorly written article, I must admit that it has inspired me to write this article. So indeed good things have come out of the experience and has created an opportunity for me to assist others in their writing needs. Not to mention, that I still think that the concept of the article was appropriate for my readers, so I plan to still provide another resource for it.
Finally, the most important rule of all, NO plagarism. There are a lot of consequences to plagarism. If you are unable to write on a particular topic, don’t steal it. Find someone else to write on the topic for you, or choose another topic. Plagarism will get you expelled in college, so consider the offense.
At the end of the day, writing for your readers is a service and an honor. So the greatest thing you can do is to write with integrity. Use the tools as a guide until you become more experienced and develop your own style of writing. And above all, don’t do your readers a disservice.
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