Writing articles is a useful skill for a number of reasons pertaining to wide array of contexts.
It can be cited as a job skill, applied to non-profit and volunteer work, or even used by itself to earn some spare cash.
There's always a demand for the written word, and likely always will be; it's one of the things that defines us as humans.
Many people avoid writing like the plague though, for any number of silly excuses: "I don't like it," or "It's boring," or the all time classic, "I can't write.
" Unless you literally never learned how to read and write, then yes, you can write, and here I'll explain a simple idea that can get anyone started writing in no time.
Subject Matter Those it's not always possible (and I'm sure you've heard it before) the most effective way to consistently produce good quality articles is by writing about those subject which interest you.
What does that really mean though, and how helpful is that advice? Sure you know what your interests are (maybe you're a passionate skydiver or weight-lifting buff) but how do you translate those broad subjects into articles? There are a couple of tricks that help.
First, I further split the category of "interests" into two subcategories: interests that you currently pursue or have pursued in the past, and interests that you'd like to pursue.
Within the first subcategory, a couple of my own interests are: meditation, nutrition and fitness, and recycling and other "green living" practices.
These are things I find fascinating - I read about them, I learn about them, I apply them and incorporate them into my daily living.
They're subjects on which I have some kind of knowledge base, however big or small it may be, and which I'll generally be able to talk or write even a little about without additional reference.
This is as opposed to something like, say, ancient Chinese history -- a subject on which I'll be able to write very little without additional research.
A few of my interests that fall into the second category are surfing, gardening, and full-time travel, just to name a very few.
I love the ideas of these things; I just haven't gotten around to them yet.
Everybody has things like this that interest them, and that they want to learn more about.
So how do we turn these interests into articles? Article Writing Format It's quite simple actually.
In both cases it's all a matter of specialization.
You want to pick out one small, tightly focused aspect of a particular interest and write just about that.
This eliminates both the problems of not having enough to write about and having too much to write about, which cause indecision, disrupt writing flow and waste time.
The best part of this is that it enables a single interest to be broken down into literally hundreds of potential articles.
With category number one, look at some of the things that go along with your interest, and break them down into their individual parts.
Also, think of your individual experiences.
When I look at my guitar sitting across the room, I think: Where do you get a new or used guitar? How do you install the strings? What are good strumming techniques? What kind of websites are there to help learn? I just listed four article titles right there.
Sometimes, these pieces can be further broken down into more articles.
The same goes for the second category except you'll probably have to do a little reading on them before you write.
They're topics that interest you though, so think of it like a bonus: you get to spend time pursuing your interests while you're working.
How sweet is that? Of course there's a bit more to article writing on the whole; there's always more techniques, tips and tricks that can be beneficially applied, but in my experience this simple formula has made the greatest difference in the number of articles I'm able to produce as well as the speed with which I'm able to produce them.
Hopefully, you will find it to be similarly useful in your own attempts.