Category: Writing

Here are some approaches and tips to help you write better articles and build a better site, irrespective of the platform you write them on.

1Writing 2y: Writing is a low-cost creative exercise that can be very fulfilling.
2Body of knowledge 10w: A body of knowledge is a substantive, enduring and coherent collection of information about a subject.
3Writing an article 30w: As you become more experienced at writing, you will develop an approach that consistently works for you. This article provides a starting approach that you can modify as you learn.
4Identify your target audience 2y: Identifying who your target audience is goes a long way to framing the language and content of your article.
5Reader end state 6y: A reader of your article will be expecting your article to fulfil them in some way. You can manage their expectations and how they feel about it.
6Approach to the topic 1y: How you approach the topic is dependent upon how your audience sees it in relation to their own lives.
7Words tell the story 24w: While a picture may be useful for gaining our site's visitors' immediate attention, words will directly engage and modify their beliefs.
8Researching 22w: When writing, whether it be fiction or nonfiction, there will need to be some research to help build and flesh out the narrative.
9The all-important narrative 22w: Having a consistent and engaging narrative makes the content worth reading.
10Article heading 38w: The best way to think of an article heading is like a headline in a newspaper billboard, which is about getting people's attention.
11Introductions 38w: An introduction sets the tone and expectation for what follows, and the reader will use it to decide whether to continue reading.
12Structured content 13w: There is a tendency for people to think they need to cover everything in what they write, and so try to cram in information. That may be counter-productive.
13Navigation 38w: If an article is also meant to be used for reference, where a reader may want to jump to specific information, navigation becomes very important.
14Paragraphs 38w: Paragraphs provide a block of text centred around one step in a narrative. However, a lot about the writer and their approach to the topic can be gleaned just by looking at their shapes on a page.
15Points of view 51w: All writing is presented from a particular point of view, and the ones chosen will largely define how engaged the reader will feel.
16Choosing words 19w: Words have their dictionary meanings, but that is not all that they can convey.
17Beware of metaphors and analogies 2y: Common devices used in explanations are metaphors and analogies because they have some level of equivalence to the topic, but they have limitations.
18The following is obvious!38w: When reading, the visual layout often makes it obvious what is related together. The most obvious is what is following what.
19Grammar 38w: Correct use of grammar, or the ordering of words, will help ensure that the reader will correctly interpret who is doing what to whom, and what conditons apply to that.
20Punctuation 51w: When talking, we insert pauses of different lengths to help the listener interpret what parts of what we are saying are more closely related to each other. Punctuation provides that in writing.
21Pronoun usage 18w: Pronouns save us from having to repeatedly use names or long-winded descriptions of who we are writing about or to. However, their use must take into account the usage context.
22Gender-neutral language 18w: There is an increasing focus upon the way language still reflects millennia-old prejudices against women. Pronouns are one area where writers are having some difficulty coming to a consensus.
23Making up new words 37w: Language is dynamic, and so anyone can make up new words, but there are some caveats.
24Take a break before editing 38w: Writing can be a very intense process, with a lot of trains of thought. However, while what is written may have made sense at the time, after a break away from it, the thought process may not be as obvious in the words anymore.
25Revisit 30w: Having finished our article, we usually want to leave it all alone, and get on with other articles. However, we and the world evolve, making some of our existing content less relevant.
26Frequently asked questions (FAQ)30w: Many sites provide FAQs, but are they really as useful as they think?
27Who cares if designers are bored?7w: We see web interface design fads over the years as designers supposedly vie to garner visitor attention, but is that really what they are doing?