Article Writing

Hello everyone, Winnie Griggs here. Today I'd like to talk to you about writing articles (and I include blog posts under that umbrella).

First, let’s talk about WHY a fiction writer should pen articles. After all, writing articles takes time and creative energy away from your ‘real writing’ and who has time or energy to spare?

Well, there are several reasons.. 

• We’ll start with an altruistic one: - Sharing what you’ve learned is a good way to ‘give back’ to the writing and reading community.  Think of all the people who have helped you along your own writer’s journey - don’t you want to do your part as well?
   
• Then there’s the opportunity to learn something new. It never fails that when I write an article, I end up coming away with some new bit of knowledge.
   
• Another reason is that it’s a good vehicle for growing  Name recognition. We all know that, as authors, the more you get your name ‘out there’ the better it is for your career.  Publishing articles provides an excellent means to get your name in front of a large number of people in a positive light.    And, just by the fact that you’ve written and published this article,  you acquire a certain air of authority over this particular subject matter.
   
• It’s also a good way to cure writer’s block. If you find yourself blocked on your current WIP, one good way to address it is to go off and do something else while your subconscious works to untangle your story issue. And if that something else is writing an article you are still exercising that writing muscle.
   
• They can drive traffic to your website, always a good thing.
   
• Then there is the serendipity aspect. You never know who will see your article and what it will lead to. Here are two examples from my personal experience:
  Back in February of 2016 I wrote a blog post titled Presidential Love Stories for another group blog I belong to, Petticoats and Pistols. That post was read by the host of a Little Rock radio station who contacted me after reading it and invited me to take part in a live radio interview as part of her Valentine’s Day broadcast.
  On another more recent occasion, the 10 Writer Takeaways From My Disney Trip post that I did here at Seekerville in January was picked up by blogger Elizabeth Craig in her TwitterificWriting Links post. Not only was that link tweeted and retweeted numerous times, but all the links included in her article were added into the Writers Knowledge Base search engine.
  And those are just two examples of how far reaching the exposure can be.
   
• And of course, there are certain markets that will pay you to write articles for them.

So now that I’ve convinced you that it is indeed a good idea to write articles, the next decision is WHAT should you write about. Here are some options, assuming your target audience is writers or those interested in authors and writing.

You can play to your strengths.   Do you have non-writing experience that would interest your audience?  For instance:

• Are you a psychologist - how about something on getting inside the head of our alpha hero or serial-killer villain
• Are you in the military, or the spouse or child of someone who is - then you can provide some unique insights into that world for a writer
• Maybe you’re in the medical profession - how about something on the inner workings of a hospital

You get the idea.  Everyone has something to offer along those lines.

Another approach I like to use is what I call trivia and fun facts.  Have you had to research a particular topic for your current WIP? If  you’re like me, you’ve probably gathered much more info than you can (or should!) fit into your WIP. So why not let that information you’ve gathered do double duty by putting it into an article or blog. 

Or maybe you’d rather focus on craft offerings (my personal favorite).  There are a number of approaches you can take to brainstorming possible topics in this category. Some of them are: 

• Take stock of your strengths and experience as a writer, then analyze how you do what it is you do, including any missteps you made along the way, and share that knowledge with the rest of us in your article.
  But what if you have no idea what your personal strengths are as a writer?  Then talk to one or more candid friends or critique partners who have read your writing and ask them to help you figure this out.  Another source is reviewer or contest feedback - look through them and see if there are any common themes about what they like in your work.
   
• Base it on a personal ah-ha moment.   Did you recently have an epiphany as you were writing your latest work, one that led to strengthening some aspect of your writing?  These can become seeds to very powerful articles.  Use the experience to tell us of both your writing struggles and how you overcame them.  Chances are if something worked for you it will work for other writers as well.
   
• A method I personally use a lot, is to take the opposite approach.   Here you actually take stock of your weaknesses and/or areas you want to learn more about.  This allows you to kill two birds with one stone.  You’ll dig deeper than you might have otherwise to focus on that aspect of craft, so that both you and your audience will come out ahead.  And you’ll also be able to discuss with your audience all your struggles to nail down this particular skill
   
• Then there’s the interview.  You can either find one author and get her perspective on the writing process or find a number of authors to provide various viewpoints and tips on just one aspect of writing.
  A variation of this is the Poll Report. Conduct a poll on social media or in some forums you belong to on a topic of interest to writers and/or readers – for example favorite story tropes, favorite time periods for historicals, least favorite hero types, marketing tips, etc. Then fashion an article reporting the results. Just make sure to add disclaimers about survey pool and make-up, without disclosing respondents personal info without permission.
   
• You can also use a method I call the compare method. You do this by taking something unrelated to writing and either show in what ways it is actually similar or show how it can actually teach us something about your topic. I did this with my 10 Writer Takeaways From My Trip to Disney post.

 Just remember, your topic should be something that is of interest to both you and your audience.  If you have no interest in the topic, or you feel it’s not something you’re ready to tackle at this point in your career, then your lack of interest or confidence will come through in your article and you will be doing both your audience and yourself a disservice. 

So we’ve covered the WHY and WHAT, let’s talk a little bit about the HOW.

There are a number of ways to research your topic, and I normally use some mix of all of them.  I've already mentioned some of these above but it doesn't hurt to repeat them here

• Personal interviews - if you can obtain access to an expert in this field, getting their take on the subject can add additional credibility to your article, as well as provide insights that might have you looking at your topic in a new light.
     
• Internet - surf the web for information about your particular topic.  Or use social media – post a question on facebook to get other perspectives on your topic.
• Your local library - dig through the card catalog and talk to your reference librarian to locate books and periodicals that discuss your topic
• Your own bookshelves - In addition to craft and specialty books, look to your keeper shelf when you want to pull out examples that illustrate a particular point you want to make
• Your own experience.  What mistakes have you made in this area and how did you go about correcting them.  What has worked for you may work for others
• The experience of other writers -  Writers love to share their knowledge and I have found this to be an excellent source of information, adding depth and spins to my articles that would not have been there otherwise.  Always make certain you give full credit to the contributing authors unless they ask for anonymity.

Again, think outside the box.  Look for tidbits, details, and possible spins in unexpected places.  For instance, when I was gathering info for this article I found some notes on how to structure a workshop that sparked new ideas for message points in this article.

That’s it from my end. What about you, have you written articles/blog posts before? Do you have any other benefits or tips to add to the list?

Leave a comment to be entered in a drawing for winner’s choice of any book from my backlist.

Award winning author Winnie Griggs has written both single title and category romances. She has published with three different houses since her debut in 2001 and has 25 books (and counting) in print.  Her work has won a number of regional and national awards, including an RT Reviewers’ Choice Award. 

Winnie is the wife of a rancher and the mother of four exceptional children. She has a BS in Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science, as well as an advanced degree in the art of procrastination. Winnie is also a list maker, a tea drinker and lover of dragonflies.