Anatomy of an Article

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Anatomy of an Article

Posted on May 5th, 2009 in Writing by George W Whitehead

One writers method of constructing an article.

Do people ever appreciate the amount of effort that goes into writing a factual account? Just because the writer has picked a particular subject for an article, do they think that he or she knows every single fact about it? Do they think that the writer just sits at the keyboard and the brain will instantly send signals to the fingers to tap away?

To illustrate the amount of work needed to come up with a Magnum Opus I’ll use my current project. It concerns a famous character from history, back in my home town.

To start out, I have to map out the way I want my article to go, that’s the easy part.

Now the work really begins. I have to source the information. This is done by using reference books and of course, the Internet.

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There are so many conflicts of fact on the Internet that I have to read as many pages as possible and cross reference all of their contained facts before making my mind up who’s telling the truth and who’s not quite with it. This can take several hours, or in some cases, days. All of this information is then added to what I already have in my own memory.

Then there is the problem of the images I need for illustrating the article. I have had to write to a copyright owner for permission to use an image that, although not crucial, will enhance the article. Next, I have to drive down to the river and take a ferry across to my home town for, to put it grandly, a location picture shoot. There are a few pictures that I need that probably can’t be found on the Internet.

To supplement my information, while I’m in my home town I’ll visit the museum and the reference library.

When I arrive back home I’ll have to upload the photos’ on to my computer, sort out the ones that I will need and then, possibly, edit them. While I’m at the computer I will enter any new information that I picked up on my field trip.

Now it’s time to collate all of the information. Add this, delete that, move this here, drag that there!

The article is now ready to type up, and as I am a two fingered typist, this could take some time!

I’m not sure how long all of this project will take, but my best guess is something between forty to fifty hours, and that’s not including tea breaks, answering the door to the occasional ‘Jehovah’s Witness’ and writing my daily blog ‘Here’s George‘.

The fruits of my labour? If I am fortunate enough to get it published in a magazine, £30. If I publish it on Triond, about 50 cents, 75 cents if I’m extremely lucky.

Is it worth more than this for a full week plus overtime’s worth of work? Of course it is.
Am I bothered? No! Doesn’t one have to suffer for one’s art?

So, next time you read an article, no matter what the artistic merit of it is, give the poor old writer a thought and applaud him for the fact that he tried!

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Tags: article, factual writing, information, museum, photographs, reference books, reference library, Writing

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24 Responses to “Anatomy of an Article”

Debra.
May 5th, 2009 at 3:45 am

Great write, George, and I couldn’t agree more. Some writers stay up for hours piercing through texts after texts. Loads of work there and they all deserve a pat on the back for it.
Louie Jerome
May 5th, 2009 at 4:18 am

I agree with you, George, it is hard work. I see your point about ‘art for arts sake’ but then there are the full-time writers, like myself, who work long hours and for us it is quite worrying when we put so much work in for a few cents.
Hari678
May 5th, 2009 at 10:03 am

Dear George, Your work is useless if you think in terms of cents but your work is above money value if you think in terms of your contribution to society and mankind as a whole.
payge
May 5th, 2009 at 11:05 am

GReat workGoerge.Writing is like making a quilt.You spensd hours cutting,planning a desigh and finally sewing it.And while the one who wants to buy it says its beautiful,they dont want to pay you for the time you put into it.Pennies on the dollor is what they want to give you,writing is like that.Writers arent appreciated at times for what we do,because it does take time to put together a story,article or whatever.A lovely and very real piece a real writer could identify with,
Alina Beck
May 5th, 2009 at 3:26 pm

Great article George, and very true!
sexyme
May 6th, 2009 at 2:54 am

As I cannot get across an answer ,
here it is…..

DYSLEXIA IS A DISEASE OF DISCORDINATION BETWEEN MIND BODY AND SOUL.
HIGHLY INTELLECTUAL FOLKS,
like EINSTEIN,
PICASSO and now urs truly,
whose mind works faster than the hands,
are or likely to fall in this category, intelligence notwithstanding.
Till today EINSTEIN STANDS UNSURPASSABLE, NEXT perhaps will be L.H.
I just wrote a paper for someone on the subject.

Do u think that I am too??????????
Thanks
lh
marisolflamenco
May 6th, 2009 at 1:52 pm

I have always thought that behind a writing, of a photo, or a commentary a person with dreams exists, with illusions, and that in spite of the tests that appear to him in the life, she is there sharing through a article leaves from its time, showing its work. Thanks for so excellent article and thanks to make us reflect.
Anne McNew
May 7th, 2009 at 12:25 am

I agree.
For me, I don’t write without a purpose: the purpose of conveying new thoughts and lessons to the reader, and it should truly deserve a recognition.
Thanks for sharing this piece.
Melody Arcamo Lagrimas
May 8th, 2009 at 3:44 am

Five stars for this one, George, thanks for writing it.
C. Jordan
May 8th, 2009 at 3:57 am

A very good article George and some well made points.
pablina
May 9th, 2009 at 4:10 am

great piece. i have writers block at the moment, but have found something in pictures instead, as you know. Thanks
maranatha
May 14th, 2009 at 11:51 pm

So well done, George! I have been doing a fair share of articles, and I keep saying, ‘this will get easier; I will get faster’. But I don’t know, there’s no way to rush it if you care about the final product.

Bravo!
denus
May 15th, 2009 at 8:52 pm

amazing..well done.

Denus is back.
payge
May 18th, 2009 at 10:44 pm

A great article George, a writers work isnt always appreciated.The work behind it dependig on what you are doing can take ages to do.The trilogy Im working on has taken me months,so I can relate.Again…great article.
Mrs M
May 20th, 2009 at 4:48 pm

It is so much hard to write about things that contain facts. There is so much research that goes into. It is so time consuming. I appreciate all types of works and love when I read a factual article that is easy for me to understand and contains REAL facts. Not just someone assuming that it is the truth or right answer. Loved this article!
swatilohani
May 22nd, 2009 at 3:01 am

great tips
Gijo George
June 4th, 2009 at 7:46 pm

Great Article. Writer has got a responsibility towards his or her readers. Presenting the facts is one that making the article more reliable and resourceful.
Cashmere Lashkari
June 15th, 2009 at 10:43 pm

Some topics do flow while others need much research. The effort can only be understood by a fellow author.
R J Evans
June 27th, 2009 at 3:26 pm

One of the things I love about the internet is the fact that, for many, it is a true liberator. While very few of us would actually pursue a full time writing career, sites like this enable us to express ourselves in our own time and to an audience – it doesn’t really matter if that audience is real, imagined or a combination of the two in my own mind. Plus, as long as we are not writing about breaking news then the timescale we have is as long as we choose it to be.

Personally, I spend as much time, pretty much, marketing my own work (and those as others) as I do writing it. Although the size of the audience is an irrelevence to me ultimately, I would agree with Louie that just earning a few cents for something over which we have laboured is dispiriting. So, I spent some time learning about internet marketing and so on – and a great deal connecting with other bloggers. It works(ish).

I have almost stopped playing the strategy games that used to take up a fair amount of my time (such as the wonderful Civilisation). Instead I have found myself treating (probably rather perversely) my writing as the starting point for an online marketing strategy game. I am still at level 1 but it is getting better!

Thanks for the read, here. Although I do not spend as much time researching as you do it is very time consuming. The hardest part of my own online writing ‘career’ has been marrying the combination of writing for an audience (and finding out what people online like to read) and writing for myself. Fortunately, being something of a nerd, the two meet fairly often.

And yes! The point you make about taking a moment or two to consider the feelings of the writer before making pointless and hurtful comments is quite true. One of the reasons I spend little to no time in the Triond forum is it has too many trolls out to wreck things for the tyros and the aspirants.

Thanks again for an interesting and thought provoking read. This is the longest comment I have made in ages! I will check out your blog (mine is webphemera.com). Cheers!
Ruby Hawk
July 12th, 2009 at 7:28 pm

George, my friend thanks for such an interesting article. I am not the writer you are but even the short articles I do takes time and research.I appreciate writers such as you. More luck to you and don’t ever stop writing.
gaby7
July 24th, 2009 at 8:58 am

How true to the point this article really is, especially when you talk about conflict of facts! Without proper comparision of these facts, you could leave the web more confused than you got there! I must say I liked this article!
Sonia Doreen
July 27th, 2009 at 3:58 pm

Very insightful and honest and thats one reason why I hate writing for free..Thks for your opinion, worth the mention really!
Rajiv Sighamony
July 30th, 2009 at 2:35 am

great article, George, and I certainly agree with what you wrote. In fact, 30 pounds for an article is good, but a write has to be lucky to get his article published in a magazine.
gaby7
August 16th, 2009 at 6:56 am

I didnt even know there any kind of article writing! LOL! Now I have no reason not write a good article, thanks George!