Introduction
How does one go about writing a great efficient article? Many ask this question as they spend hours on their computer thinking of a story idea, typing, and editing their content. Is this you? I bet it is. Why can't we just sit down for one hour, type a story and publish it with great results? One reason is due to a lack of preparation. We tend to sit down and finish a story in one sitting but I know this is the inefficient way to attack this task. We also tend to edit as we type slowing down the overall editing and writing process due to impromptu changes based off of new content that doesn't match. We should rather write the first draft, and then edit to create the final draft. This will speed up the overall writing process, but only if your article is formatted properly. Yes, many have said that looks don't matter if your content is great. Quick tip, people will judge your article by its appearance, so make it pretty.
How do I format my article properly?
Have you ever been told to wear a suit or dress for your interview to "show that you care about the job"? Well, that isn't the only reason you dress up. Dressing up and wearing properly fitting clothes often create a great impression of trust and comfort. You have to gain the trust and comfort of your reader, and having an article that looks like a fifth grader took a crayon and wrote a story on A4 copy paper often doesn't do the job. People like articles that look professional, well edited, and beautiful. Try adding bolded headings using the "<h1-6>" heading tags for each section of your article. This will create the image of organized and clean content. One should use images that are HD and general. Images like money can be used for an economy related articles often get more votes but try to stay true to your content rather than using bait and switch images. My favorite image search is Pixabay ('https://pixabay.com/') so if you need a start, definitely visit this site.
Why is editing and writing at the same time a slow idea?
How many time have you started typing and during the middle of a sentence, you see that you previously made a grammar mistake, so you go back and fix it and forgot your train of thought. It happens to the best of us, but we must resist this temptation. It is bad for one to constantly lose their train of thought because not only will it make your content inconsistent, but it will slow down your editing process as you will have to fix the inconsistency. The best way to write your article is to type the goal of your article in your title and just typing your first draft entirely. Once this step is complete and all your thoughts are on the computer, now you can focus on making your thoughts clear and concise in order to retain the reader's attention. Now as long as you have a proper direction for your article, you will have a much more organized and speedy writing process.
What are some ways I can prepare to write my article?
When cooking, we often have a better time if we prepare our ingredients ahead of time. When running a marathon, we often survive longer if we have prepared a few weeks in advance. So when writing an article, we often write faster, if we know what we are typing about and have a clear direction for the article. To do this, we can keep an idea journal, and just write down anything that you feel would be a good topic to write about. We can also take our topic and collect our sources and do our research in order to prevent writer's block, this research of the topic will allow you to strengthen the topic for yourself and once you are knowledgeable about your topic, you can write free of writer's block.
Conclusion
So in conclusion, if you want to write a great article you should prepare by researching your topics in your idea book, write the first draft, then edit rather than editing at the same time as you write, and finally, properly format your article to make it look professional. If you follow these steps and tips, you will write much better articles in an efficient manner.
