Tips for writing good articles

The demand for good creative nonfiction books and articles is growing rapidly. The growing popularity of digital media is creating a growing market for skilled writers of quality creative nonfiction. Taking the time to learn and use a few basic tips will make your work more marketable and enhance your reputation with existing and prospective new clients.

It's important to know what you want to say in general, and who you're saying it to before you put the first word down. Take some time to carefully search for general background information on the topic. Use sources that can be cited in your articles and include links to your sources so that the client or editor can fact check your work.

Good articles contain up-to-date and accurate information that answers a need or an important question are more likely to generate a lot of page views for your client, your blog or your website. More page views equal greater earnings for you or your client.

Writing good articles enhances your reputation

When researching for an article is important to be careful not to assume anything. False assumptions can get you in hot water with the client fairly quickly. Consider this scenario. A writer carefully crafts an article for a website about ways to reuse 3 liter of Coke bottles and assumes (big mistake!) that the client is using the word coke generically to mean soda.

The client means Coke, and not just any kind of soda. The article is sent back to the writer to be corrected, the client is unhappy and the writer loses the sale. The writer assumed instead of doing proper research. Coke no longer produces soda in a 3 L size, the bottles are very difficult to get now and the article would be misleading or inaccurate.

Better research would have produced a piece the client approved and enhanced the writer's reputation for meticulous craftsmanship. Submitting a poorly researched piece damage his credibility and cost him a client.

Good writers are constantly improving

There are several resources available to freelancers that can really help you hone your craft. If you write for Internet publication, you will need to develop a slightly different writing style than for print publication. Whether you are writing for print or the web, The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. is a valuable resource to help you avoid many common grammar and composition errors.

Here is a list of several other books and resources available either in print, or as a digital download:

· Yahoo Style Guide is a collection of articles and helpful tips to guide you in writing for the web. It will give you insight into the way your writing should be structured for Internet publication.

· Writing Creative Non-Fiction, by Theodore A. Rees Cheney can be found in most public libraries. This is a handy little guide to help you make your nonfiction more interesting dramatic and vivid by adapting fiction writing techniques to use in creative nonfiction.

· Associated press style guide--long thought of as the journalist's Bible, this handy guide is worth purchasing because nearly every article you write, whether online or off, will have to be written according to AP style.

Take part in writer’s workshops, if you can. Interacting with other freelancers and having them critique your work will help you to look at your writing objectively. You will be able to more easily see what your strengths are and where you need to improve. It's also a lot of fun to participate in a workshop. Your local community college and some writer’s groups may have workshops and brainstorming sessions that you can participate in. Another helpful idea is auditing creative writing classes at your local college or community college. You can learn a great deal at little or no cost.