Writing Tutorial for Beginners

Want to Be a Famous Writer? Learn what it takes to be the best you can be. Listen to these tips and tricks and make thousands of $$$$ by doing what you love!!!!

The Title is KING

The most important thing for an online writer is the title they use for their piece. Most online readers take only 3 seconds to determine if they want to read an article or not. If they like what they see, then they will scan the first few sentences near the top of your content.

The intro to a piece is the second most important thing to write about. Since most readers focus on the top part of your article, it's important to create enough reader interest to scan further down the article.

Another thing, the layout changes the reader's perspective. An article with a lot of pictorial coverage will be more pleasing to the eyes than long paragraphs of writing.

Readers Scan, Not Read

Reading online feels longer to read than something on paper. The lower resolution and fuzzy text tires the eyes a lot faster than reading a newspaper.

Most online articles are scanned by the reader for relevancy, headings, images, and boldfaced terms. One boldfaced word has a lot more meaning to it than a 20 sentence bland paragraph.

Short and Sweet

Don't waste a lot of time making 50 word sentences! Cut things down and Get To The Point! Whether it's a speech, a job interview, a blind date, or an online article, you only have a few seconds to make an impression.

Readers will only spend 2-3 seconds on your content. If it bores them, they will move on! Keep it simple, keep it short, and entice them. Put yourself in their shoes. Would you want to keep reading your content if it kept going and going like the Energizer Bunny. I don't think so!

Make 1 or 2 points per paragraph and front-load your content. The most important material should go on the upper-left part of your screen. Emphasize important details, use sub-headings, eliminate the fluff, and use SEO.

SEO stands for search engine optimization. Readers tend to search for important keywords in search engines. styleguide.yahoo.com/resources/optimize-search-engines/seo-basics

The more keywords you use, the more readers you'll get. Also, use simple words in your sentences. They are easier to understand, easy to scan, and put less stress on the eyes. Use this link for more information about finding appropriate keywords. styleguide.yahoo.com/resources/research-tools/keyword-research-tools

Grammar and Spelling

You don't have to be a professional writer, and most people don't want you to be. They want to read something that's short, simple, and effective. Still, grammar and spelling is very important if you want credibility. People won't waste time reading your content if it's full of grammar mistakes.

For example, "If your going to right well, than you should pay closely attention to what I'm tried, to teach your".

I don't know about you, but I'll close out of that article pretty quickly. Be mindful of words like there, their, they're or than, then. "Their" means possession, "there" refers to location, and "they're" is a contraction of they are. "Than" is comparing two things, "Then" refers to a sequence of events or a time marker.

Learn about punctuation, capitalization, nouns, pronouns, verbs, subject-verb agreement, titles, acronyms, and abbreviations. I'm not saying that every piece has to be perfect, but it should be ledgable and have a shred of reliability. Click this link to know more about grammar. www.world-english.org/grammar.htm

Try not to make spelling mistakes, and avoid mixing up similar sounding words. The words "right" and "write" sound exactly the same but have completely different meanings. If you're writing an article online, then make sure to use spell check constantly. Don't let a simple spelling mistake plague your content.

Find Your Audience

Who are you writing to? With every piece of content, you have a variety of people that are more inclined to listen to you. If your content revolves around pop music, Disney shows, or pop culture, then it may appeal to preteens or teens more so than senior citizens.

If you're writing about politics and foreign affairs, then you're aiming your content toward politicians and an older crowd. Writers can often figure out what kind of people are reading their content.

For blog writers and people creating their own websites, the audience is very important. If your content interests a certain group of people, then you might be able to find yourself a loyal audience. A loyal audience means they'll likely read any additional content that you write in the future.

A lot of writers try to generalize their content, so it applies to everyone. That's nearly impossible! Not everyone will like or want to read what you write, so don't try to please everyone. You should write what you want to write and not care about receiving mass appeal.

Still, using plenty of keywords or key phrases is important to hook readers in. If you're lacking keywords, then readers are less likely to find you content on any search engine.

Spread the Word

Writers need an audience! Why write if no one will read it? Blog, post, bookmark, submit links, go on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and other social networking sites.

So, first, write a grammar free, spell checked article. Online articles should have anywhere from 2-4% keyword or SEO usage throughout your content. Next, post it on social networking sites, bookmark your content, and submit links all over the place.

Not everyone can spread the word. Some freelance writing sites give you straightforward assignments that you are required to complete. Unfortunately, your published content doesn't belong to you but rather to the client. You'll get paid for your articles, but you may never get the credit for writing them.

On sites like Associated Content, you have the freedom to spread your content all over the internet. So, make the best of what you have and let others read it.

Practice, Practice, Practice

For newbie writers, it's all about practicing your writing skills. Nobody starts out as a professional writer; you have to work for it.

The more you write, the better you'll get.

Edit your articles carefully. If you can, let someone else edit your content. If your content is all over the place, then use bullet points, lists, short paragraphs, short statements, headings, and sub-headings.

Eventually, writers will be able to catch simple mistakes that they wouldn't have ever identified before. Practice your grammar with simple quizzes listed below.

owl.english.purdue.edu/exercises/

www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/commas.html

lilt.ilstu.edu/golson/punctuation/colon.html

www.grammarbook.com/grammar_quiz/punctuation_mastery.asp

Try to get a perfect score with some of the grammar quizzes I listed above. I guarantee that if you're able to score a 90 or greater, then you'll have no trouble with grammar use in your content. Keep track of what you've learned and work on your negatives.

You're Now a Writer!!!!

Once you know how to eliminate "the fluff", scrap the bad grammar and spelling, and find a voice, then you're ready for the final phase.

You are now a writer! You have credibility, an audience, high marks, reliability, and so much more. Writing for profit starts out slow, but once the wheels are in motion, the gains are tremendous.

Successful writers can make thousands of dollars a month, receive millions of views on their web pages, and benefit from doing what they love.

Writing may not be for everyone. It requires patience, motivation, and discipline. There are people who write because they want to be rich, but that is not how it works. If you're not into writing, then you'll never become a writer.

Just think about this. Would you pick-up garbage for a living if you hated doing it? Unless you're absolutely desperate, the answer is probably a no.

For those who do want to write, follow some of the tips listed above, click on the links, learn about spelling and grammar, let others read your content, and become the writer that you've always wanted to be.