In general, writing is difficult. There's a lot to it. Consider the following, to write well you need to know your subject matter well. You need to be able to express yourself in a rigorous and thorough manner, considering and addressing as many major alternative arguments as possible. Next, you have to consider how you're going to capture your reader's attention, that means, how are you going to write your title and introduction?-how much of your thesis or claim can you put into just a few words so the reader will want to read what you've got to say. Then you have to consider how your idea will be developed in your body paragraphs, making sure that your paragraphs are all unified, coherent, and well-developed. Then you have to be sure to define key terms, chose the right words (diction), make sure your ideas flow, that your writing is captivating, interesting, intriguing, stylistically unique and reflects the real you and so on.
That's just some general writing information but let's answer your question right now (a key technique here: knowing what your readers or consumers are thinking). Why should you listen to what I have to say about writing?
How do I know what I know about writing, and how much do I know?
Let's look into it.
I have been writing for over 20 years in various forms: poetry, fiction and non-fiction, essay, technical or business, short-story, humor, and articles. I have
taught well over 100 writing classes at the college level: developmental, transfer, and advanced composition; creative writing; technical writing; and critical thinking. I have read and
corrected over 100,000 pages worth of papers . Over the years, I arrived at the point in my ability to analyze writing where in a few minutes not only was I able to give the paper an accurate grade but was able to tell the student what was wrong with the entire paper.
That being said, each type of writing has its own requirements. Here we're interested exclusively in writing articles. People generally write articles to either promote a product or service or their opinion.
Some are more concerned about providing information to readers than mere opinion. If you want to provide just opinion then your readership will suffer-not as many will read your articles.
If you want to promote your product or service then you need to write articles that are informative and interesting. Many a marketer will tell you that in order to market well you have to discover what people want and then give it to them. You'll do best by focusing on a particular niche (a smaller subset of a larger group that is not usually addressed by main stream marketers). For example, one niche would be not dealing in all types of real estate but the niche market of multiplex homes. But how do we discover what people want or these niches? This is done through researching websites, clubs, chat rooms, wherever the people you target congregate.
If you're merely looking to get exposure then find out what's going on in entertainment, business, popular holidays, basically what's being searched for on the popular search engines.
And when all else fails? Go with your gut instinct. You may just stumble onto something very successful in the process. I go into this, using the instinctive or creative / intuitive voice, in much more detail in my upcoming book:
Give and Grow Yourself Rich (due out early May, 2008)
But let's get into the nitty gritty of article writing. Below you will find a list of bullet points that covers the basics.
A title needs to capture the reader's attention--entice and invite--and at the same time give the reader enough information to know what the article is about. Easier said than done. But you must realize that most people will decide in a matter of seconds whether or not they're going to read your article by the title. How do I know? Well, just think about how you pick an article to read. I do the same thing.
OK, let's look at a few titles and analyze them for effectiveness.
"Three Roles I Play"
Unless you're famous, people will skip this article in a heartbeat
"Portrait of a Scientist" OK, but who? Many may not even take the time to look beyond the title
"A Waterfront Scene" Once again, too vague. Won't work. Unless the author of the article is some guy named Picasso
"How to Get in Shape Fast" We have a winner! Getting in shape is a biggie. Just the word "fast" will increase your readership a hundred fold
"Pleasures and Problems of Owning a Home" That pretty much says it all, doesn't it? And obviously a popular article category
"The Effects of Divorce on Children" With divorce being so common and children at such a disadvantage this will, unfortunately, be read by many
You can even get cute with your titles: "Sox Socked." But keep in mind that to use these titles it's best to be established. Don't expect great success with cute titles if you're a relative unknown or people are looking for information more than personality.
- They Do the Brunt of the Work: Body Paragraphs
You've got your introduction and conclusion paragraphs, but
the majority are body paragraphs, where your main idea, thesis, or claim is developed . We'll touch on introduction and conclusion shortly, but in general, what exactly is a paragraph? It's always good to be able to define in your mind what it is your working with to maximize your ability to use that thing. In writing, that means being able to express in your own words definitions of the basics: phrase, clause (dependent and independent), sentence (an independent clause), and paragraph.
Let's get into that last one. I'll leave it up to you to research the others. It would do you well to do so, in order to minimize your mistakes and maximize your ability to write effectively.
At the most basic level, it is a group of sentences that address or speak to one topic. At the academic or professional or more formal level a paragraph is coherent (smooth transitions), well-developed (enough support), and unified (all sentences speak to the main idea). Nevertheless,
a paragraph is mostly a pause for the reader , a break that allows the reader to pick up and begin anew. Some writing manuals will even give you a number, telling you that paragraphs generally have something like 5 to 7 sentences, but that's a lie. A paragraph is one main idea, certainly, and most of the time kept to a few sentences (few run to 10, 20, 30 sentences) but it's really up to the writer to determine where and when a break comes. Consider the following example.
Look at the paragraph above. It can easily be broken into three sections or paragraphs. It's not a bad or really long paragraph, but if I want to increase the likelihood that my reader will keep reading, I'd probably best chop it up a little. It is unified, but I would be perfectly justified to make a second paragraph at the word "Nevertheless," a word that marks contrast. And if I want to make my example stand out, or the fact that I'm going to give an example, I can take that last sentence and let it stand alone to emphasize the shift from exposition to example.
"No!"
What's that you say? Yes, you're right. That is a paragraph. One main idea, "No!" and each sentence addresses that idea, "No!"
Happy paragraphing.
= Begin Well and Finish Strong: Introduction and Conclusion Paragraphs Introduction paragraphs should generally capture the reader's attention . You can use interesting or thought provoking statistics, examples, facts, quotes, testimonies (expert and non-expert) and so on, but the bottom line is that you want to get your reader into the article quickly. Remember, people are impatient. They've clicked onto your article because of your well-written title, now you have to keep them going with a well-written introduction. For example:
"
Drugs! They are wonderful! They kill pain, fight disease, and save lives. Drugs are horrible! They ruin lives, maim the body, and kill their victims. Drugs abound--everywhere--and whether or not these drugs become pain relievers or painful addictions, disease fighters or disease promoters, life savers or sure killers is the choice of the user. Undeniably, drugs used in a restrained, controlled manner can create a wide world of medical wonders for almost every kind of ailment imaginable, but drugs used in a haphazardly nonmedical, abusive fashion can create a horrid hell or horrors for those who fall prey. It is to this latter addictive, narcotic, abusive use of drugs that humankind the world over should proclaim a loud, resounding "No."
Well done: interesting, strong, quick to the point, creating captivating, thought provoking images.
Conclusions should wrap up what you've said and even look ahead with a solution or reason for why you've written your article . For example, if you're talking about gun control on high school campuses as a concerned mom or dad, at the conclusion you may say:
"Well, I certainly don't have all the answers, but as you can see, this is a serious problem which currently doesn't have a satisfactory solution. And this is why I write. And this is why you, possibly, can help find a solution, for the statistics, facts, and stories I've conveyed have born this out that we need a solution. And may greater minds find one. But find one soon!" There are many techniques you can use as well. You can begin with a story or anecdote and then recall or refer back to it in your conclusion. You may want to call your reader to action. What can he or she do to help? How about giving a solution or suggestion or call to action to get the reader to find a solution or broadcast your article, forwarding it for suggestions.
There's a lot you can do but you need to have a plan and follow it. And it is your conclusion where the plan or reason for your article often comes to fruition. Summarize and make it clear by wrapping up any lose ends in your conclusions.
= How 'bout Spicing it Up: Adjectives, Parallelism and Figures of Speech Here I have to concede to the master, he of the gilded tongue and pen:
Martin Luther King . If you want to learn how to write, how to express yourself, if you want to learn everything about writing, read MLK. If you want to be more than pedestrian in your writing, you need to read other great writers.
For me, the perfect essay is King's "
Letter from Birmingham Jail ." In that argumentative or persuasive essay, King is writing to the white members of the Southern Christian Coalition, who are telling African Americans to wait. King tells them that waiting is not an option that he and his people have been waiting too long.
The essay is exceptional because it does everything an essay should (technically, stylistically, and communicatively) and more . He uses logic (logos) and emotion (pathos) to argue and persuade. He creates a broad, solid foundation through using documents, testimonies, and facts that span the ages, races, colors, creeds, and continents. His support is so broad, logic, and insightful that one is hard pressed to find a fault. But let's exam this piece of perfection in more detail for your edification, for we'd all like to write with such thorough and powerful words as those used by King here.
King knows his audience (an important factor in all writing) and proves it by making statements religious and secular. Regarding unjust laws he speaks to the Christian and non-believer alike:
"
How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God
. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law
. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law
. Any law that uplifts human personality
is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust
. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality."
We see King speaking to the religious and secular. If you don't follow the "law of God," then you can certainly understand the sectarian terms "uplift" and "degrade."
King's logic and support, the more technical, are wonders to behold. His genius shines through in every word, every phrase. However, there is more to people than just the cerebral. There is the heart. And it is here where King's writing truly shines.
If you want to spice up your writing, improve your readership, here's some key things you can do. Use figures of speech, parallelisms, and specific, detail generating adjectives. I'll take a section of King's essay where he is attempting to persuade or use emotion to convey to the white members that it is time that the time has come to move forward in seeking equal rights:
"W
e have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jet like speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging (specific detail ) darts of segregation to say, "Wait." But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim (parallelism); when you have seen hate filled policemen (specific detail)
curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty (visual imagery) in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering (specific detail) as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky (memorable imagery) , and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness (specific detail) toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five year old son who is asking: "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?"; when you take a cross county drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored"; when your first name becomes "nigger," your middle name becomes "boy" (however old you are) and your last name becomes "John," and your wife and mother are never given the respected title "Mrs."; when you are harried by day and haunted by night (
memorable parallelism)
by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance (specific detail) , never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments (
parallelism)
; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of "nobodiness"--then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait." I know it's a lengthy passage (I've even chopped out the last 10 lines or so) but it deserves examination. Notice the detail. King doesn't just say "policemen," but "hate filled policemen." He doesn't just say "can't talk," but "your tongue twisted and speech stammering." He doesn't just say "in constant fear," but "at tiptoe stance." He makes you feel it, see it, touch it, and taste it. Like a dog that only learns by real example, he puts your nose in it because you don't know what it's like, and he's doing the best he can to create a key, memorable, image with his words. Remember, people are image oriented and since articles aren't videos you have to create the images, preferably memorable, thought provoking, long lasting images. Images that will get the job done, so that you stay with the reader long after she or he has put your article down.
King also uses figures of speech (personification, metaphors, similes) to create memorable images and convey messages that will sink past the eyes, past the head, and into the deep recesses of the heart, where memories stick and stay.
= Only the Tip of the Iceberg: What Else Can You Do? I've presented just a few pointers regarding what you can do to improve your articles. There's a lot more to it than what I've merely presented here. In order to write well, I suggest that you read the best of the best and get a serious feel for how those writers accomplish there genius.
For example, when I was writing a lot of poetry, I'd often take a favorite poet and read his or her work for twenty, thirty minutes, really taking in their style, rhythm, words, and really feeling what they were attempting to accomplish, and then have a go at it on my own. As I was channeling their inspiration, I was able to take their style in and synthesize it with my unique abilities creating a whole new writing with the combination.
So good luck to you and good articling. Hope this helped.
And keep in mind that you can get all the suggestions you want, but it's up to you to follow that true, unique writer in you and develop it . It is your strength and the most important source for great writing you can find. For who's more important to you than
you when it comes to being true to your creative voice? Write on! God bless.
tweet this!
