How to Write an Engaging Article

As a professional blogger, I've found through trial and error that there are a few key things that help me keep my readers engaged in a topic. Keeping readers engaged is what turns casual readers into loyal readers, and that readership fuels my day-to-day income. These same principles are true for writing articles as well.

Articles help pay the bills when you don't have anything else coming in at the moment. They tend to be fairly quick and easy to get out to the editor, and rarely require a ton of rewrites. They can also give your readers and contemporaries a unique glimpse into what goes on in your mind.

Whether you write articles for Associated Content, guest blog spots, your own blog or for publication in print, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Be passionate about your topic:

You should only accept a request for an article if it is on a topic you are passionate about. Contracting to write an article on the process of story outlining is wonderful if you're the type that has notebooks full of story arc, diagrams on your wall detailing the history of the particular region you're writing about and have friends and family members that won't return your calls while you're in the throes of outlining. This kind of passion translates into an interesting read because the author's passion shows through in every word.

If I were to write that same article it would be less palatable than overcooked seafood. I couldn't begin to do the topic justice because I am what is known as a "pantser" or "Fly in the Mist" writer. I keep my story arc in my head and almost never take notes. I spend months in world building, but none of that process ever sees paper. I simply don't have any passion for the subject, and it would show in every word I wrote. Not only would a reader not want to waste his or her time on what I'd written, but I wouldn't want to read it either!

Know your topic:

You might think this should have been the first item on this list, but that's not necessarily true. Being passionate about a topic does not necessarily mean you already know everything that you should to write an informed article on the subject, but that should never stop you from writing about it.

If you're passionate but not-so-much an expert on a topic, take the time to research it! There's nothing you can do to destroy your credibility more quickly and permanently than printing something incorrect and calling it fact. Don't make anything up. It's a career killer. Look it up and then credit the source. It's perfectly all right for them to have made an error that you quoted. It's not O.K. to misquote. Ever.

If you're giving your opinion, make sure you've stated that. You're allowed your opinion. Hell, you're allowed to be overtly opinionated if you choose to be. Just make sure that it's understood that it is your opinion. People can disagree with you all they like, it'll spark discussion and perhaps boost sales. You want to make sure that they can't claim you lied or misrepresented the truth. Your opinion can be incorrect, but your opinion should never be misconstrued as a fact.

Well, that's my opinion, anyway...

Write in your own voice:

Many writers fall into the habit of writing articles in a very monotonous and formal tone. I applaud this in technical articles, when the audience is of the stuffy corporate mindset or if the subject matter warrants it. I don't really think it's necessary in articles on topics such as writing, especially if your audience is other authors.

As an example,

A writer writing an article for other writers (such as this article) has a lot of leeway in not only the tone used, but the language used. This should be taken advantage of. Writers are generally some pretty free-spirited folks. As a group we're in tune with the emotion of the written word. We're used to packing feelings into those words to get our point across. The books we read are the ones that make us feel something as we go. We read to feel something, not necessarily to simply glean the facts.

Let your own tone and language out in your article and you'll be far more likely to keep someone reading along. People are a lot less likely to wade through an article that reads as dry as saltines with nothing to drink than they are to follow along with a piece written in a more conversational tone. If you have a wry sense of humor, then let 'er quip! If a pun comes to mind, let it fly! You'll get a chuckle out of your reader, and she'll be more apt to finish what you've labored to get across.

In simple terms, just be yourself. Grammatically correct if possible, but yourself. And plz no l33t sp33k! It's hard to get through much of it at one time, and it's impossible to take any sentence seriously if it ends in "LOL", "ROTFL" or "LMAO". save that for chats, not professional pieces, unless of course you're actually writing a piece on leetspeak.

Be Succinct, direct, to the point and not too long winded:

Articles written for traditional print venues or online magazines usually have a limit on the number of words the publisher will accept. While some publications may be happy to accept a piece that passes that limit by a bit or even doubles it, others will reject it out of hand. Newspapers, magazines and periodicals have a limited amount of space to work with, and they expect you to follow their guidelines.

Be brutal with your edits. You can't afford an extra word, or to go off on a tangent. Stay on topic no matter how pressing your personal need to expand on something may become. If you absolutely must expand on a topic, perhaps it would be better to write that up as a separate article. Remember, you're getting paid to write about "x", not segue into "y" and "z" on the way there.

If you find that you're a tad over limit once you've gone through your piece and have paired down the word count and removed every extraneous punctuation mark, you should still submit the article. The worst you'll face is rejection or an editor's note stating they think you can live without paragraph fourteen. It's been my experience that you've got a good chance at being accepted anyway, there's always the possibility that someone else submitted a piece came in a bit short, and your piece will help fill in the whitespace.

If you're under the limit, don't pad it out. It's better to have an article that goes right for the jugular. Your publisher will appreciate it. It might give them the opportunity to include another piece that they otherwise would have had to pass on. Hopefully your attention to detail will impress them enough to request more articles from you in the future.

In conclusion

The next time you write an article, ask yourself the following questions.

Do I really care about the subject matter?

Do I know my subject?

Does my personality show through in the piece?

Can I cut anything out? And still have a readable piece?

Just applying this simple list of questions to any article you write will almost surely make it a better experience for your readers, which in the end will translate directly into more people reading your work in the future and possible, larger paychecks for the articles you submit.

And that's the name of the game, isn't it?