Has anyone wrote an article?

MarkM88

I don’t want to go into too much detail but I agreed to write an article for a charity publication and now I’m at a standstill as I don’t even know where to start. 

Any tips? 

janer1967

Hi Mark 

Not something I have ever done but I would start by bullet pointing the details you want to include,  then put them into some logical order then try and make a start

Good luck 

chiarieds

It depends on what you want to achieve. As woodbine has suggested, telling your own personal story may be the way forward, or the beginning, if you have something further to add after that.

I wrote a chapter for the latest book on my disorder a while ago; that was hard work, as I knew what I wanted to say, but they wanted both a glossary & references, as it was all new info. So, it depends on what they want, & the depth needed.

Consider, why does the charity matter to you; explain why in your own words.

Ami2301

I've found it really depends on what the article will be about. Are you comfortable with sharing if the article is about a personal experience (not asking for details but whether the topic of the article will be about a personal experience)?

Another thing that helps me is thinking about what I would like the reader to gain from the article - insight, awareness, etc. I find it helps sets the tone

MarkM88

Yeah it’s more on a specific subject matter but at this stage I don’t want to start giving details away. 

Thanks for the tips though, I’m going to start on it this weekend. 

Ross_Alumni

I always find that a good place to start is to write a few bullet points that cover the main points you want to get across, and then you will start seeing your structure come together. From there, you can expand on your points until you get paragraphs, and can edit accordingly.

Good luck!

66Mustang

I have never written an article but when I am writing I tend to just start somewhere in the middle then add to it before and after, until I have a complete written piece.

That’s the beauty of writing on a computer - you don’t have to start at the beginning - you can just write whatever comes to mind then come back to it tomorrow and slot something in before or after if you want to

L_Volunteer

Hi @MarkM88

You don't need to go into any more detail than you feel comfortable with sharing. I would say write the idea in the middle of a page and then bullet point ideas around it is a good starting point 

Reg

Hello @MarkM88

I write freelance articles. Despite writing for years, I never know where to start or how to end but somehow you get inspiration and it just comes to you.

Walk away from the piece , think of something completely different and the first sentence will come to you - hopefully.

Main thing is to think of what your key point is and then it should sort of come together. I find if it does not then a break is the very best thing

leeCal

I sometimes use a mind map to map out related ideas, then fill in details. It all comes together eventually.

Alex_Alumni

@MarkM88 everyone has given some great advice here! After you've got your main structure sorted, I would only add: Do you know the audience you are writing for, and what tone or style they relate to most? Does the charity publication have any particular things it wants you to mention?

These are by no means the most important things, but making some notes to yourself about them, and checking them occasionally will help draw the whole piece together so that it 'flows', and covers all the topics (if any are requested). Those topic might be your own ones, but the same process applies. 

Good luck with it, sounds like an exciting opportunity!