Learning how to write articles.

[Midwifery Online]

I am by no means a writer. I lack imagination, my spelling sucks and my grammar is pretty poor but I am so jealous of bloggers out there amongst my niche.

It would be so much easier if I could write interesting articles relating to my niche birth/midwifery which creates discussion amongst readers and most them myself on our site.

I want to change!!!

For example a few good articles we have had published on our site from outside sources -

http://www.midwiferyonline.co.uk/con...eeding-Support

http://www.midwiferyonline.co.uk/con...dwifery-System

http://www.midwiferyonline.co.uk/con...Midwifery-Care

I'll start with - How do you go about 'finding a topic' to write about.

Any other tips welcome!

[deucegmarketing]

A good thing to do is find great articles on your topic online and rewrite them to be original. These aren't really for publishing but they are great practice and the skill will come along with more practice.

[carlhenson]

I agree with deuce.

You only need to practice more in order to get better. You can take an existing articles from the web, get some idea from it, then write it on your own words. It would also be helpful if somebody good in written English to proofread your work. That will improve your skill tremendously within a short span of time.

[annushka]

Well, I suggest You to read interesting articles by good bloggers. You can learn many things and take some good ideas

[Webby49]

Write about topics that you are interested in in your niche, and your folloers probably will be too.

Also, if you have social profiles, facebook and twitter and so on, ask your fans what they want you to write about and give them what you want.

Lastly, use a tool like google keyword tool analyse and look for topics relating to your niche and see what google suggests back, this should give you some idea of what people are looking for, then you can see what other articles are out there and if you can better them with your own.

[ScriptMan]

Some days I can write and other days I can't. Good suggestions above because it is true that the more you write the easier it gets. As a variant of what Deuce suggested, I would suggest you sit down and write on any subject that crosses your mind. You may never publish it but you will have the right to do so. You may be able to use it as a guest post somewhere in the future.

Sometimes I find myself with lots of random thoughts in my head about a subject. Capture them when they are fresh and expand on them. Here's a few short suggestions:
Work in notepad for the first few drafts so you won't be distracted by the word processor correcting you or all the colored underlines
Don't worry about spelling, grammar, paragraphs or even complete sentences. Get the thoughts out of your head into the computer.
As you type sentences or fragments you may feel the need to cut, paste rearrange or expand one of them, do it!

An entire article starts with one key though expressed as single sentence.
It is than surrounded, supported, documented by all the sentences and paragraphs around it.

When you start to think it pretty good, then copy it to word for the spelling and grammar checking. I never use auto-correct because no software is perfect. Fragments can be converted to sentences with minimal work. Spelling can be verified or corrected and you can now polish the rough edges.

[Maa]

You can do a search on google about writing tips and a lot of information will come up. I would presume with you doing a midwifery site that you would have to look up information regarding that topic. One question to ask yourself is what do people want to know about midwifery especially women who are having their first child. What questions would they want answered?

[UWTELECOM]

Originally Posted by deucegmarketing

A good thing to do is find great articles on your topic online and rewrite them to be original. These aren't really for publishing but they are great practice and the skill will come along with more practice.

that idea actually sound interesting, rewriting articles not to copy their content in any way but like, thoughtfully substitutes every part of the article main ideas with the ones on your article and makes it all correlate in a way that makes sense

[ScriptMan]

Just studying the sentence structure of a well written article can improve your skills immensely. You can do that with anything you read even books.

[Midwifery Online]

Thank you for all your tips!

I had a crack at it and came up with my first ever article - http://www.midwiferyonline.co.uk/con...-effect-it-has not perfect but it explains my story and is emotive.

I've also written another article which hasn't been published yet but only shown to a few people.

It was such a good topic that I had written about that a very well known person in my field has asked if she can rewrite it and split the topics in my article into a article of their own, like mini series which she will write and have published on my site

[WebOut]

I think you need to master two of the basic communication skills:reading and listening. Reading and Listening are receptive skills that can help you acquire insights or topic that you might want to discuss.

[dame016]

Writers read. If you want to write, then you must read. You need to find inspiration. And of course, you have to practice and develop your skills. Enroll in an online English course or something.

[marknel]

I agree..you need practice and this does not come overnight and let me tell you, its a gift, not everyone has the talent to put their thoughts into words.(me too ) If you find its difficult, you can always outsource your work.

[m@verick]

I've never written articles but here's a really good book that might help - it's called Bird By Bird - it's a great book resource that I've heard plenty of good article and book writers use to help them with their writings!!!

[Cricket]

Imagine sitting across the table from your very best friend, just sharing some quality time over a cup of coffee. Think about how excited you sound when you talk about your business, a new product, or even a new idea you have. You don’t sit there and think about how you are going to say things, right?

You just talk…

We tend to over complicate it all when all we really need to do is talk from our hearts...

[WebOutGateway]

Originally Posted by Midwifery Online

I am by no means a writer. I lack imagination, my spelling sucks and my grammar is pretty poor but I am so jealous of bloggers out there amongst my niche.

It would be so much easier if I could write interesting articles relating to my niche birth/midwifery which creates discussion amongst readers and most them myself on our site.

I want to change!!!

For example a few good articles we have had published on our site from outside sources -

http://www.midwiferyonline.co.uk/con...eeding-Support

http://www.midwiferyonline.co.uk/con...dwifery-System

http://www.midwiferyonline.co.uk/con...Midwifery-Care

I'll start with - How do you go about 'finding a topic' to write about.

Any other tips welcome!

I don't think that you need creativity when writing something about your niche because your business is about midwifery. Since it's part of medicine, It's a science and science deals with fact. All you have to do is gather factual information, do some research and write it down. You don't have to use flowery words, just leave the medical terms as is. Ask medicine experts for sure, you'll learn so many things from them. Grammar books will help you improve your grammar or you may also ask for some grammarians to proofread your work. You can even use grammar checker software to check your grammar.

[Cricket]

Respectfully, I completely disagree. Facts belong in an FAQ in this case. People who are looking for a midwife (in my humble opinion) are looking for the human side of childbirth - the emotion. They likely are very much against the way doctors and hospitals have complicated birth and are looking for a more natural approach. Although I was surrounded in doctors and "facts" during the following story, what I craved was a human who spoke to me as if I was a person, as if I wasn't one of 10 others they had to deal with right then, as if I truly mattered while I tried to care for my child. In many case (in hospitals with "doctors") the family is just a distraction for them.... http://www.cricketwalker.com/moments-not-captured/

If you just relax and "talk" to your visitors, I think you will find they want to listen....


Just my 2 cents.

[Dreamrage]

Originally Posted by Chaelet

It's good to practice and polish your grammar skills as well. It takes creativity for a writer to produce a good and interesting article. I say, a lot can do the job but not everyone can make write ups that can spark attention.

Hmmm, not really. You don't have to be that creative to write. You just need a topic you're comfortable with, and then just write. Cricket is a wonderful writer, and the advice she gave in previous posts here could be a goldmine if you take them to heart.

You could be the most unimaginative person in the world, but still write compelling articles if you believe in what you are writing about and stop making everything seem more complicated than it is.

[snakeair]

I don't have the perfect grammar in the world but when i write, i just write what comes to mind and feel proud that i wrote something that is unique and done by myself.

I don't worry about adding keywords into the article but just write. To much thinking about writing the perfect article will make it harder for you to write it. Just clear your mind and keep typing. Now if i could only get a coffee refill without getting up right now, i would be a happy camper. Still not awake.

[BuriedAlive1]

I started writing when I was 9, so it goes without saying that I have an unconditional love for the written word. Writing isn't my first love though, it was reading. Envy became my primary motivation. I envied my favorite authors and wanted to learn to write like they did. I learned to write articles because I read, read, read AND wrote, wrote, wrote. And writers write about what they know, how they perceive and feel about things. There's just no faking it. Hackneyed as it may sound, but writing is a product of the heart and mind. If you write about things you know and care about it should be a lot easier.