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Tips on Writing Great Articles: A Guide for Young Writers

Posted on July 5th, 2010 in Writing by Jimmy Shilaho
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Do you want to write great articles? Here is a guide for young writers who want to gain footing in the world of writing. The tips addressed may also be useful to any writer who feels the need to improve his writing and gain more audience. Sharpen your pencil and lets write on.

Sometimes young writers ask me how one can write great articles or great stories or great poetry. These writers want more views, they want more readership, and they want an audience that appreciates. I may not be an authority when it comes to writing but I know a great article or piece of writing when I come across one. Whatever genre one chooses, the following tips can greatly help.

  1. Know your language – You can’t write great articles minus language. Do you know English, Spanish or Bengali? Write in the language you best understand. The spell check provided by most browsers and office programs isn’t enough. Readers get incensed when they come across poor sentence construction, glaring spelling mistakes, and easily discernible grammar challenges. Just write in your language!
  2. Know your audience – Good writers write with a particular audience in mind. They don’t just put words onto paper; they don’t just scribble what comes to mind. They plan their writing with a specific audience in mind. There is no such thing like a general audience. Target a particular audience first and if your work appeals to other people as well, it will be an added advantage.
  3. Know your subject – I never write on rocket science because if I did it would be 100% research. You need to pick a topic you are well versed in and if not, you will be forced to fill in the missing link with very good research. Do not underestimate your reader. Among your readers are doctors, lawyers and cooks who know their trade so well that they will know it when you lie.
  4. Have a catchy title – Have you ever heard of the saying don’t judge a book by its cover? Well that person lied. If the cover is beautiful then be sure you will get readers and in this case, the cover is the title. Catchy titles attract readers but the work does not stop there. A title alone remains that – just a title. You need to write well so as to bring back your readers.
  5. Have subtitles and sections – Look at how this article is structured. The subtitle is ‘a guide for young writers’ while the tips are numbered as sections. Dividing an article into sections usually helps the reader know what the article is all about and may make him or her read it rather than when provided in block format.
  6. Pick on what sells – I know that you are an expert when it comes to short story writing. I am a novelist and short story writer too but very few readers seem to favor fiction. Keep your short stories for another day and concentrate on what sells: Money, health, and sex. You can write a great article on any topic but then the three I have provided will earn recognition for you and that is what you need so badly, isn’t it?
  7. Proofread your work – Never post an article or a story or a poem before going through and making sure it passes your test. Some writers are too lazy to read through their work and are lucky Triond publishes almost anything! Do not be one of them and hope to get away with it. All those established writers you see out there do proofread their writing, why should you be an exception?
  8. Avoid plagiarism – The mere fact that a particular article is doing well online does not give you the right to copy and paste it and pass it on for your own. Avoid temptation of this sort by trying to read and react on what you have read rather than attempting to say it another way or in the same way. Do not even seek to imitate fellow writers. Plagiarism is illegal and stinks!
  9. Quantity matters as much as quality – You can not write an article a month or a novel in 20 years in the name of quality. The more you write, the better you become at writing. Never let a day pass without writing something. Triond or some other site may reject it or fail to publish but then it builds up on your experience. Never say you lack time. We have 24 hours in a day. Find 1 hour at least for writing.
  10. Writing is not an easy ride – Last but not least, writing was never easy, is not easy and shall never be easy. I have always challenged those who find it hard to try digging trenches. We as writers have no excuse. We either must write well or be written off.
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