7 Simple Steps to Write a Meaningful Article
Written by Naren on November 22, 2008
Everyone can write but not everyone can write well. I always had a great fear myself when I had to write papers in my college. Part of the reason was my educational background in Nepal that neither encouraged nor mandated writing. So the question is how to write a great, meaningful and valuable article, and what makes it everlasting? What are the ingredients that make up an article that will drive a huge traffic to your site?
In this entry, I am going to discuss seven simple steps that will help you create an article that truly resonates and strikes a chord in millions of readers in every corner of the web wide universe. If your article is great, convincing, and likeable, then there is no doubt your site will draw lots of traffic in a short period. So, if you are a beginner and in a state of apprehension that your site may not be popular, then just drop your fear and start working hard on creating an article that offers everything a reader is looking for.
Please pay close attention to the following list of sutras, as it took me quite a long time and great courage to comprehend them myself. These sutras have had a magical effect on my writing and above all have boosted my confidence to its highest level. Now I feel ready to tackle any impediments to good writing. I am not as afraid as I used to be, and moreover, I love writing, and every time I write, I aim for better. My writing sutras include:
1. A strong idea
To write something, first you need to have an idea floating in your mind. Do you have an idea? If yes, then what it is? Is it strong or weak? This is very important – because you cannot have any content without an idea. An idea is small, but it is up to you to expand it, adding flesh and meat to make your content rich. But, how rich is your idea? Do you think you can really develop a fully fledged article with it? Please meditate on your idea first. Watch, analyze and see if it is appealing, compelling and expandable. Lots of people might say that you need to have an original idea to create something. I totally disagree with this notion. This is discouraging and morale breaking advice. Don’t listen to these motivation crushers. They have no idea what they are talking about. I will devote a whole article on this topic in one of my future posts, but since I have already scratched the skin, I ought to dedicate a few sentences to my thoughts...
First of all, what is an original idea? How do you define it? To me, originality is an expression of your true self and the conscious discovery of what existence has already offered us. Everything is out there in this existence. All we have to do is discover what is there and bring it to the surface. For instance, Newton discovered the Gravitational Law when an apple struck him while he was sitting under an apple tree. The Gravitational Law was simply an accident, a discovery. Newton was the first human to realize what was already there. He had sat under apple trees before, yet that day when that apple struck him, he become conscious of a common event, and look what happened – a great milestone in the field of science. Newton didn’t do anything new or original; he just made a discovery that rocked the whole humanity. If he hadn’t been sitting under an apple tree that day, and if an apple hadn’t fallen on him, and if Newton hadn’t become aware and contemplated on why the apple fell on him, we would not have become aware of the organization of space, the moon, and the beauty of stars.
So the key is to be aware. I am not saying not to be original, and copy somebody else’s content. I am just saying that ideas are already there. Just discover it and expand it in your own ways. For instance, do you have any idea how many bloggers have written on this topic? If you type the following sentences in Google or Yahoo:
- How to write a great article?
- How to drive traffic to your sites?
- How to create original content?
A million of articles will pop up on the search page leaving you with a huge dilemma of which one to look at and whose advice to follow. So, if I get discouraged and decide not to write thinking that, Oh, it is not an original topic, people have already written on it,” I would have not written anything. And you see, I have already written 833 words and I still haven’t gone through the other sutras.
So my suggestion is, do not get discouraged or pressure yourself into thinking that you have to create an entirely original idea which has not been influenced from any source whatsoever – this kind of attitude will never let your creative energy flow. Just be conscious, mediate on your idea, and write. Just sit down and write, and soon you will give birth to something entirely your own, and you will know when you finish your article that it has the sweet aroma of your own inner self and beauty in it. It will be a completely true expression of your own original self, and a true mirror of your individuality.
2. Meaningful Content
Yes, content – and yes, it has to be meaningful, and convey an essential significance that readers can relate to themselves. Your content should have value and an enriching message that will encourage and motivate them towards their goal. Your content should not be a jumble of convoluted paragraphs that lead the readers nowhere. Every sentence, every word, and every paragraph should hammer your readers hard, so they don’t go astray from their path. Your content shouldn’t just be whatever comes into your mind. It shouldn’t just be your meaningless ramblings; it should be worthy and something immensely valuable so that your readers can draw something out of it in the end.
Here are some tips to build meaningful content for your article:
- Before you sit down and start expanding your idea, organize your thoughts and make a blueprint of your whole article.
- Outline your ideas, points, arguments, and thoughts. Write several sentences and later you can develop paragraphs out of them.
- Divide your article into a perennial three act structure conceived by Aristotle a long time ago. If you want to learn more about structure, there is a tiny book written by Aristotle titled Poetics
, which illuminates the true meaning of poetry and its origin. It is a must read for everyone, and those who love literature would definitely enjoy this book. This book is also extremely popular among screenwriters, dramatists, and story analysts. I would highly recommend going through this book if you get a chance. In the first act, introduce your topic and raise issues. In the middle act, expand your ideas and answer all the questions with arguments and lots of examples. In the final act, summarize all your points and end your article effortlessly. Don’t drag too much in the end.
Again, the key to meditate upon is that one has to strive hard to create an article with meaningful content that will stamp an everlasting mark on the reader’s mind, so that they will come back to you again and again. You don’t want to create something momentary. Aim for something that lasts for a long time. Speaking in movie terms, try to create classic content that will always be evergreen, and every time the readers read it, they discover something meaningful. The content should be enjoyable, tightly organized, motivating and inspiring. It shouldn’t be unnecessarily verbose.
Some writers and bloggers tend to stretch their content in all directions just to make it lengthy. They think that the longer the article is the longer the reader will stay on their site. I think this is a wrong and dishonest approach. Don’t just meander around, aim at hitting the right points and keep your readers with you as much as you can. The world today is fast paced, and you should be grateful that people afford some time to visit your site and read your article. Respect their time, and be thankful to them for reading something which is entirely your perspective. Strive towards creating content that is to the point, and aim towards simplicity. The article should be goal oriented. If you cannot achieve the goal and convey the true meaning then there is no point in overly exaggerating and stretching the content. Some bloggers pride themselves on how long they can write, and openly criticize others who write short posts. In my view, you shouldn’t be worried about the length of the article. Focus instead on enhancing your content, and do what feels the best for you. Many bloggers are apprehensive about the length of the posts and how many they should posts in a week. My suggestion is that instead of writing 25 tiny nonsense posts in a week that blather about what you did, what you ate, potentially boring readers out of their mind, put your effort towards creating something which is enjoyable, intelligent, and valuable. As they always say, “Quality is better than quantity.”
3. Don’t only write from your Heart
You might have heard many other writers and bloggers saying that whenever you could, you should always write from your heart. I don’t think it is necessarily true. It is a bogus and bias statement to make. Why? Because, if you only write from your heart then you are totally ignoring two other significant parts of yourself, one is your mind and the other is your soul. Writing from heart, makes your content too emotional, melodramatic, and hopelessly one dimensional. I am talking about making your content multi-dimensional. Yes, your writing should strive for multi-dimensional capabilities to reach the readers, and only then can it cast a spell upon them.
For instance in this article, My goal is to unravel the secrets of writing that will keep your readers hooked. I don’t want readers to have a fleeting experience while they are reading my article; I want them to be totally absorbed and immersed in it. I want them to have an ultimate experience of ecstasy and joy in it. This is only possible if you endeavor towards creating a multi dimensional article that comes from your heart, soul and mind. Let your article be thought provoking, touching, and spiritual. Let it be the combination of the three. And, when you combine all these three elements then it will be a trinity. And remember, trinity is always beautiful.
Please go to Next Page » for:
7 Simple Steps to Write a Meaningful Article (Part II)
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