Here is my Dead Simple but Successful Writing Process

You just had an idea.

That’s great.

It’s a wonderful thing when inspiration finds you right out of the blue. Instead of looking for an idea; one found you.

Too often, most of writing is really just sitting around waiting for the spark, that little ember of an idea that one can kindle and blow it into flame.

Should inspiration hit, then one should cherish it because it is often not the case.

Now it’s time to get to work.

While it’s great to have an idea, it just means that the hard work is just beginning.

But, if you keep reading I will walk you through the writing of an article from conception to finished product.

1. Write The Idea Down

This is the first thing to do and I cannot stress it enough.

You need to write the idea down. I don’t know how many times I’ve gone to write something and then for the life of me I cannot remember what I was just going to write.

For the longest time I had this little sticky note app on my computer and no matter what I was going to write I’d write a quick note about the main idea for the article, or a portion of the headline. Just something to remind me of what I wanted to say.

It sounds silly, but if you find yourself one day thinking “Now what was I going to write about?” you’ll do this every time.

Sidenote: The list on the digital sticky note got super long and was just line after line of half written ideas that must have looked like the ranting of a crazy person. I accidentally deleted them and it’s one of my biggest regrets. It was like this weird little monument to all the work I’ve written.

2. Pick Your Picture

No matter what platform you are writing on you probably need to pick a picture for your article.

Unless of course you’re just submitting writing and an editor or someone else will do the picture in that case please move on to number 3.

Don’t just pick the first image that pops on Unsplash or Pixabay.

Find something that fits your article.

And, find something that pops. This is like 50 percent of the reason people click on your article. Yes, I made up that number, but I’m sure it’s right.

It is important. The Internet is a crowded place and if your title and picture work together then you stand a good chance of getting that click.

3. Write The Ending

Doesn’t matter if it’s fiction or some boring nonfiction piece like this one. You need a good ending. Yes, the intro is important, but how many articles do you read where it seems to just stop?

Don’t do that. You need to leave the reader with something. You want them thinking about your article, and if you do it well they might seek out more of your writing.

So, write the end. Then you know the point you’re trying to make and now the job is just to get there.

4. Turn Your Internet Off

If you really want to get some work done then the Internet has to go.

I just go up and turn the wifi off for my computer. Then you’re less tempted to click over to Twitter or Youtube which are both infinitely more entertaining than writing.

If you can limit the distractions then the writing will be much easier.

5. Set A Timer

This sounds like some Internet guru bull crap but it really works. 90 percent of all writing is procrastination (the other ten percent is made up statistics).

You can knock out the bulk of a 1000 word article in 15 minutes if you buckle down. Then you’re just doing touch ups after. The timer forces you to write and once it goes off you can keep writing if you need to.

Just the subtle pressure is sometimes all you need to let the creative juices flow.

6. Double Check You Made All The Points You Wanted To Make

Once the writing is done do a cursory read through of all your major points and make sure that you’ve covered everything you’ve wanted to cover.

I don’t know how many times I’ve written something a day later I realize I left out a major point. Then you either have to edit it back in or leave a comment clarifying that you left something out.

Neither of which is fun to do.

So avoid it altogether and make sure you’ve enumerated all the ideas you wanted to write.

7. Proofread

This one is self explanatory and something honestly I’m not very good about. But go through and catch all the typos you can and fill in all the words you left out because you were trying to write an article in 15 minutes because some guy on the Internet told you to.

8. Proofread Again

Yep. Go through it again. This is more “do as I say not as I do territory” because there will be a typo in this article and someone will point it out in which case I will look like a dummy.

But, it’s important to go through it again. Maybe even read it aloud. That’s a good way to catch mistakes.

9. Go Through Your Article And Delete 3 Sentences

I know what you’re thinking, “Why would I do that? I just spent all this time writing,” but there is a good chance there’s a little fluff in your article and if you force yourself to delete at least three sentences it will sharpen up your writing. It makes it so every sentence in the final copy is pulling its weight. You need to whittle your writing down to what’s most important.

Plus, it works as a final read through and a last chance to catch any errors.

And it will make sure all your points are clear and well thought out.

10. Write The Headline

I know. Why write the headline last?

I’ll tell you.

First off, the headline is the most important part of your article. It’s the main reason people are going to click on your piece.

And there’s another reason to do this.

I used to write the headline first and I don’t know how many times I finished the article I looked at it and the title no longer fit. If you write the headline last you’ll avoid this and make sure it is tailored perfectly to your article.

So how do you write a good one?

Look at your work, and then write the click bait-iest headline you can think of and then dial it back 10 percent.

Chances are it will sound more promotional than if you just tried to write a solid headline.

It’s what is selling your article so it needs to sound that way. People don’t like doing it, but those same people complain no one reads their work.

If your article is solid no one will care if the title was a little cringey.

So

If you follow these steps you can go from initial idea to finished article pretty quickly.

Try the next time you sit down and have a great idea.

And if you need some help getting started, checkout my ebook 500 Headlines That Always Work which has hundreds if ideas for articles.