No, this is not another one of those fear pieces about Orwellian monitoring of your social networking site. If you’re truly worried about privacy, perhaps you shouldn’t post that meaningless dribble on Facebook or MySpace. This article is for writers, those who compose words, sentences and paragraphs into coherent thoughts on specific subjects. Texting doesn’t count and communicating with initials over your cell phone does not make you as a writer. If you have complete, coherent thoughts and are trying to express them to a specific audience, please read on and accept some helpful tips.
Your first task when attempting to write an article or content page is to identify your audience. Who exactly are you writing to? The scribes throughout the ages that were most successful were those who had their finger on the pulse of the people they knew would read what they put on paper. Playwrights made fun of kings and tyrants and composed long and flowing verses about the pains and joys of everyday life. Poets spoke of love and tragedy, and political commentators were, like today, left or right.
The writers of yesteryear had different motives and diverse statements to make, but they all had one thing in common. They knew who their audience was and they figured out which words they needed to use to get them to pay attention. That hasn’t changed today. Every topic has its interested parties and every cause has its followers. Know how to tap into the feelings and emotions that move those folks to action and you will have a successful piece of writing.
Write a title, any title, then write a body of text which best expresses your thoughts at that moment. Once complete, go back through that body of text and eliminate any words, phrases, or complete sentences that don’t directly contribute to the overall purpose of the article. This is called “trimming the fat” and it is what separates mediocre work from truly compelling literature. After you’ve trimmed once, go back and change your title to better fit the content you now have in front of you, and then trim the fat again.
There is no strict rule about how many times you should refine and edit an article. Do it as often as you need to until you’re satisfied. If you kept your audience in mind when you first wrote the piece, but didn’t compromise your personal style for their sake, you should connect. Publish it on your website or submit it to one of the many article directories out there and start thinking about your next title. Remember, a writer writes. If you’re not happy with what you came up with the first time, keep trying. Practice might not make perfect, but it will definitely make you a better writer.
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