Top Five Things You Need To Know About Writing Articles

When you’re writing articles for a publication, not only do your work and your voice have to be clear, but your ideas and concepts must also be valid. Your readers should get the answers they need quickly and easily from whatever angle that you’re coming from with your words. It is true, though; you don’t want to spend a few seconds trying to convince your reader why something is important or how it fits into the world in which they lived their lives. So, the first thing that writers need to consider when deciding what they’ll write about are five things listed below: 1) The Context of your story The context will determine the specific angle of view from which you’ll approach writing an article or blog post. This makes the writer’s experience as well as personal knowledge and experiences more relevant and necessary in the creation of that particular piece of writing. 2) What type of audience the story is going to be aimed at. Just because someone has written a magazine article doesn’t mean that everyone who uses those same magazines is going to read it. Instead, the stories which can be successful to tend to be very targeted. There aren’t always going to be people out there who use the same kind of magazine as yours either, so you may find a different way of approaching the topic which gives the story more scope and relevance. For example, if you’re planning to write about being unhappy with the latest gadget then your target audiences could include teenagers who watch MTV or even more mature readers who read the science fiction novels since these are the kinds of stories that have a lot of time and attention devoted to them. 3) Who your audience is. The target audience is very important when creating an article. We know this because it is the reason why a majority of publications pay for good editors to help make sure that their pieces are written in all relevant, accurate, and reliable ways. They are looking for a person who can convey to them what they wish to read and think. An editor will have to put down their expectations or goals and then create their directions, if any at all. One must make sure that their pieces are interesting to them and that they are appealing to their interests so that the next step is just like any other piece of publishing which would be to turn in a manuscript, it simply needs a bit of “refining”. So, the audience may vary depending on the publication; some publications may be more interested in women than men, while others will be much more interested in children. 4) How long do you want to take before getting the comments and feedback For the success of any article writer, feedback is imperative. When writing an article, you must not miss an opportunity to address and accept. Writers tend to become more comfortable giving feedback after a certain point as we get into our craft, and it becomes second nature to us. Don’t wait until the last minute before you start addressing and accepting comments and reviews. 5) Is your idea new? (It never hurts to keep an eye out for old ideas). When finding new thoughts and ideas, one shouldn’t forget that the title is the most basic keyword that a reader should learn right now. A great first-time article will probably be found using a new concept. So, it’s better to stick with your original idea instead of starting with a fresh one. After all, nobody wants to hear about a novel or short story of some sort that was already published or been used by another author. If you’re just beginning to write your first article, my advice is to take your time. Even though the writing is hard work and demands a large amount of time, every time you give your mind to finishing up your work, there will be an opportunity for improvement and growth. But remember, it takes practice for anybody. If you’re stuck in the middle of developing your writing skills, don’t be afraid to ask questions or seek advice and insight from anyone if you feel that you’re struggling with anything. Just keep asking yourself if you can’t figure out the solution or the issue. Eventually, you will get all the information you need and more or less you will come up with the best solution which would answer the questioning in your head. Elisabeth Nelsen Yebede writes across multiple blogs, specializing in arts, technology, lifestyle, and health. These articles are both thought-provoking and practical. She is currently working as Senior Editor of The Verge, where she contributes content to various publications. Follow her on Twitter @ElisabethNesenYebede to stay updated with her upcoming works and follow her on Facebook. We at General Assembly employ two writers and five editors, producing over 500 pieces of quality content per month across 5-7 categories. Check out our portfolio, press releases, and our services page to see all that GAA publishes.