Magic 7: A Guide to Writing Better Articles


1. Be confident.
When starting as a writer, fresh new ideas can give you a push to achieve good results.
If you have better confidence in your writing skills, the articles you write will undoubtedly improve. Having a few simple rules to follow can boost your confidence in writing before you even know it.
The more we learn, the more we understand that we can be better than what we think we are. But we must be able to trust ourselves and take one step forward.

2. Know what your readers want.
It doesn't matter what subject you are writing. It is very important that you can think like the reader. Imagine if you are the reader, what would you like to know? What will be the questions you would like to be answered?
If the article you are writing is related to what you have learned from experiences in your life, then use what you can recall in the progression of the article, but don't go beyond your topic.

3. Set goals one level higher each time.
When you write, you have your own set of goals, and that is good. Your goals are different from mine, also with others. What is important is that you aim for something higher than what you were able to achieve now.
Now that you have your personal goals, it would be best if you also set a personal schedule. I personally find it comfortable to sit down, have my coffee and write in almost the same time of the day, usually early in the morning.
Be considerate and realistic in setting your own timetable. Even though the amount of time may vary each time, you have to make sure that you will be able to comply with whatever time you allotted yourself. After a few writing sessions, you will be able to calculate how long it would take you to write certain number of word. This would enable you to approximate the number of words you can expect yourself to write within an "hour".

4. Write comfortably.
Even geniuses need comfortable (well, 'comfort' could subjective, of course) working places to be able to concentrate on what they're doing so make sure that where you do your masterpieces give you comfort. A well lit, quiet, uncluttered and relaxing space will do. It certainly does for me. It helps me think clearly and allows a smooth flow of thoughts.
If you're the type of person whose brain gets stimulated by music, choose the mood of your music based on what you want to write. It could help a lot.

5. Have a title ready.
To help you look forward to the new article you are going to write, try to have a title ready. I think that's the reason why I get so excited on writing another article. Allow the title to tickle your mind on what you would want to write, what you want your content to contain. But don't write it yet, not until your 'scheduled writing time'.

6. Have a good dictionary handy.
Even if you think you are good enough in your vocabulary, it would still be beneficial to keep your friendly dictionary beside you when you are writing. I get annoyed when reading something and I see the same word over and over again, and so does your readers.

It would also be helpful in Jamais vu (when somebody does not recognize a word, person, or place that he or she already knows momentarily, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamais_vu) times. It happens to me too.
Well, there are a number of good and reliable online dictionaries available, if you find a physical dictionary bulky, but just the same, it will help you through your writing and in proofreading and editing. I usually take time to do this a couple of hours after I have completed my draft. You'll be surprised to find better ways to express your ideas on the second and even on the third run through.

These tips, which I follow myself, make me feel that I am a successful writer in-the-making. I know what I want my readers to know, I have personal goals and a good schedule, and I know what to do to achieve it. I have my own space, which I call my "work table" and I have a headline waiting for me there. I know that I can be confident with the preparations I have made for my articles. This makes me even more positive in writing more and more articles to keep my readers informed and interested.

But I'm not done yet. No, not yet. Go back to the title of this article. It says, Magic 7: A Guide to Writing Better Articles. I have identified only six at this point. So what's the last one?

7. Never stop improving.
When you are a writer, you should know and understand that you, as a writer, will never and should never stop improving. There are a lot to learn from ourselves and from others. Our pleasure and satisfaction comes from finding out new ways by which we can make ourselves better for ourselves and for our readers. There is nothing that could give us more pleasure than doing what we love to do and we do it passionately.

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