How to Write 400 Words, 1,500 Words, or 32,000 Words Without Fear

I have a strategy for producing an article that covers a topic adequately, and without fluff. I have a strategy for adding beef, not fluff, if the word count is low. I can write longer articles, or even entire books, by replicating the structure at a larger scale.

Here's how my strategy works for a 400-word article, "Using Dreidels for Self Defense". Anyone who thinks this topic is silly has never been the babysitter for a Jewish toddler who doesn't want to put down the dreidel and go to bed.

First, brainstorm: Keep your fingers off the keyboard until you decide on 3 or 4 points you feel are relevant or persuasive for the topic. You will publish 100 words about each of the three points you want to make about the topic. You will split the remaining 100 words between a strong opening paragraph that introduces the focus of your article, and a closing paragraph that either makes the conclusion your points lead to or supplements the points in some other way.

You quickly think of the usual self defense methods that use solid objects: bashing the assailant over the head as if the dreidel were a rock, or throwing the dreidel hard enough to cause bodily harm. Everyone writing about this topic is going to use those two, so you need a killer (excuse the pun) third method. How about flushing the dreidel down the toilet to make it overflow so the assailant slips on the wet floor? It's been used in the movies.

Make a quick outline: Start writing like this, with the points listed to make sure you cover them. It's a mini-outline with brief notes to yourself.
* Introduction
* Hitting (where, best stance)
* Throwing (where to aim, underhand vs overhand, bank shots)
* Flushing (how to lure assailant onto wet floor)
* Conclusion

Skip the introduction for now, and write three text chunks of a couple hundred words each about hitting, throwing and flushing, for a total of 600 to 800 words. Don't worry about grammar and don't check the word count. Write fast, get it out of your head and onto the screen.

Look at what you wrote. Delete anything, such as those 200 words about your first dreidel, that does not tell your reader how to defend themselves. Organize it - move all text about hitting into the first chunk. Move text about throwing or flushing into the appropriate text chunks.

What do you need to explain about using a dreidel to hit an assailant? Rephrase what you wrote, cutting out the fluff as you rewrite your ideas. Rewrite to use specific nouns and verbs that eliminate the need for modifiers. A "sneaky surprise attack" can become an "ambush", saving you 2 words and making your text easier to read.

Rewrite the other two points in the same manner.

Add the start and finish: Now that you know what the article is about, write the 1-paragraph introduction to your points. Briefly identify a dreidel as a traditional Jewish children's toy, tell the reader a dreidel can also be used for self defense should the need arise, and that the article explains three ways to use a dreidel in self-defense, hitting, throwing, and flushing. The closing paragraph can summarize the important self-defense points. It can be a "call to action" that tells parents to enroll their child in dreidel lessins. It could give a link to your article about unclogging toilets, or your article on how to hide a body. Where to you want to lead them?

Where's the Beef? A common problem for an inexperienced writer is that you have said what you want to say, your writing is clear and concise, and your text is under the minimum required word count. Don't panic! Don't stuff modifiers in your text to pump up the word count. Don't add irrelevant information.

Add useful or entertaining detail. Add an example, or a quote from an expert. Keep the points balanced by doing the same additions to each one.

Adding another discussion point is a valid solution, but only if you develop it as completely as you did the first three. Rewrite your introduction and conclusion to include what you added.

Too much Beef? If you find that you are more than 10% over the requested word count and you know there is no fluff left, delete one of the points and rewrite the introduction and conclusion to match what is left. Add beef to the surviving points if you have to.

Make your article longer by enlarging the structure: It's a repetitive structure that, like funhouse mirrors, can endlessly repeat. It's fractal. It's easy to expand. If you have to write a 1500 word article about dreidels as self-defense weapons, the writing strategy is the same, but you will treat each point as if it is a short article. Use 25% of the words to introduction and conclusion, and split the rest among the ways to use the dreidel.

Point 1 has an introduction paragraph explaining just its contents, followed by 3 or 4 paragraphs focused on Point 1, and a conclusion that sums up point 1. Point 1's conclusion ends by leading the reader towards Point 2. The introduction to Point 2 reaches back to mention Point 1. Both Points 2 and 3 repeat the structure of Point 1.

The introduction to the article will be longer, perhaps two or three paragraphs. You will have room for a bit of history, so you can mention Benjamin ben Benjamin, the great dreidel thrower of the 11th century. The conclusion has room to sum up the contents, and make a call to action.

Even longer? When each point becomes a chapter or two, you have a book, with a introductory chapter. Each chapter and each section of the chapter has the same structure as that 400-word article you started with, just bigger.