7 Simple Steps to Write Creative Content

And prove that you’re an expert in your domain.

Most of us aren’t geniuses, but we are capable of writing intelligent, expert articles. These 7 simple steps will help you write better because they help you think better:

1. Read or at least scan as much as you can about a topic before you start writing. Research is important.

‘I do most of my research by opening up as many tabs as humanly possible and scanning articles like a machine-human hybrid.’

- Andrea Ayres, lead writer at Crew (formerly Ooomf).

2. Don’t freeze a title when you begin.

It’s okay to start with something and end up with something different, but better. So just draft a working title that’s not great, but will do for the moment.

I recently began writing a post about how normal people react to marketers (it was kind of boring) but instead, ended up writing an 8-min read about how to spread the ideas that matter the most to us which people seem to like recommending.

3. Jot down, remember, copy-paste and doodle arrows between anything that catches your eye as interesting or relevant to your topic.

Bonus points if it’s not something by Steve Jobs that everyone on the Internet is already quoting.

Authors like Sylvia Plath, William Faulkner and J.K. Rowling all made extensive notes before they penned their novels. You can see photos of their actual notes here.

4. Now fit together all the pieces of the puzzle. Discard pieces that don’t seem to fit anywhere.

This could take a while because you have no final picture for reference. But it’s extremely satisfying when you’re done (like popping bubble wrap, only better).

You can do this by:

· Identifying a common thread that runs through several things you’ve jotted down.

· Finding a linear link between ideas i.e., one idea logically leads to the other.

· Using several ideas to support a main idea i.e, imagine the supporting ideas as the legs of a table that are separate but hold up one, large slab of wood.

5. Organize and sequence the connections you’ve made.

Your post needs to be organized into an introduction, sub headings, quotes, data, and everything in between before you get to the ending.

For instance, Mignon Fogarty - you might know her as the very popular Grammar Girl- used plain old paper, pen and tape to organize her book ‘Grammar Devotional’. The book has 365 separate grammar tips that still need to follow a sequence so people can go to the advanced stuff after they've read the basics and have separate sections like ‘Language Rockstars’ and ‘Punctuation’ and so on.

6. Sketch in the details.

Add logical arguments, transitions and commentary. This is where your tone of voice and personal style stamps the article indelibly as yours. So have some fun.

7. Finally, write the tightest title you can think of.

This is much easier to do at this stage because you can see the big picture.

Now, all you need to do is take 2 minutes to start typing. I wish you all the best and I hope you write a shitty first draft, a passable second and end up with something truly awesome today.

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And if you’d like get into the habit of reading regularly before you attempt to write, this is how you can get a book into bed every night.