Writing technical articles is a challenge. There you sit, surrounded by reams of research, notes and interviews. Where do you start?
Remember 5th grade English? You start with an outline.
Outlining has fallen on hard times lately. Mind mapping and brainstorming are much more fashionable. These techniques are great when generating ideas, but once you've got your ideas germinating you've got to outline them. Without an outline, your article will:
Don't let this happen to you ? outline. If it's been a while since 5th grade ? or if your "progressive" school didn't stoop to teach you actual English skills ? let me remind you why it's important and how to do it.
Once you've done your research it's simple to assign pieces to different sections. Believe me, it'll light a fire under your writing time.
Christine Taylor is president of Keyword Copywriting, which helps marketing and PR pros leverage their relationships with technology clients. E-mail her at chris@keywordcopy.com, call her at 760-249-6071, or check out Keyword's Website at chris@keywordcopy.com
About The Author
Christine writes technical marketing communications for data storage, networking and pharmaceutical clients, including:
EMC
Commvault
Quantum
StoneFly Networks
Sybase
Maranti Networks
ClariStor
Fujitsu
AES
Obagi Medical Products
She specializes in trade journal articles, white papers, press kits and online content. She serves as a contributing editor to Computer Technology Review and acts as editor-in-chief for Storage Inc. and Storage Management Solutions.
Before moving into technical journalism and marketing she served 20 years in the IT trenches, including systems administration at Avery Dennison's Research and Development division.
apartment cleaning near Highland Park ..Whether you're interviewing for a new job, trying to woo... Read More
ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. It is a... Read More
If you're getting rejections from your submissions, please don't quit... Read More
User documentation is all too often written by programmers for... Read More
There is no doubt that a staff writer enjoys advantages... Read More
When I first started tracking the information preferences of people... Read More
Sailors had it for years. Great explorers had it as... Read More
Short Story Writing Tips:Your title is your selling tool. It's... Read More
The process of developing a working title for your nonfiction... Read More
When you get stuck for ideas, and the words won't... Read More
When you run an online agency for freelance writers, editors... Read More
Real Estate has "Location, location, location," and writing has "Clips,... Read More
Working on my first humorous novel, I started with a... Read More
In the current job market, many editorial workers have turned... Read More
It's 6:00 p.m. You're dead tired, but instead of an... Read More
No one is born a novel writer. But do you... Read More
Simply put, it is the art of writing scripts for... Read More
Do you know what a query letter is? If so,... Read More
BAITED, BATEDBaited usually refers to traps or snares. When the... Read More
As writers, we initially tend to be either more cerebral... Read More
How long should your chapters be?I can't resist... I have... Read More
The works you've written are numerous, ranging from short stories... Read More
It is certainly true that we don't get a second... Read More
Q and A.Best choice when subject is very verbal or... Read More
Winning writing contests can provide several advantages to writers. For... Read More
cleaning lady near Arlington Heights ..It turns out that "tips and templates on how to... Read More
What to do when you get rejected.You've just finished your... Read More
By far, I have found that the lack of discipline... Read More
It never ceases to amaze me when a prospective writer... Read More
Reading through a writer's notebook or journal is like discovering... Read More
Sometimes I can be dense when it comes to realizing... Read More
Writers are often are greatly surprised or disappointed by how... Read More
Obtaining the skills for writing good business correpondence is important;... Read More
Have you been guilty of procrastinating on your book project,... Read More
Do you love someone very deeply? A spouse, son, daughter,... Read More
Why is it that so many people don't take writing-as-a-job... Read More
1. Write it fast, fix it later.2. Commit to writing... Read More
No user manual? Surely you jest!It may seem comical, but... Read More
Every part of your book can be a sales tool.... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?It's no use coming up with a... Read More
With the advent of email communications in the workplace, it's... Read More
About two weeks ago I received an article submissionthat immediately... Read More
The biggest mistake authors make when trying to get free... Read More
Without denigrating the work and contribution of Syd Field to... Read More
In one of the exercises in my "Getting Started as... Read More
Griselda spent hours polishing up her resume. No detail was... Read More
How to get a lot of traffic to your website... Read More
ELICIT, ILLICITElicit means to extract or draw out; illicit means... Read More
Around eighty percent of nonfiction books today are written by... Read More
It would be very selfless or noble of me to... Read More
Writing |