Here's an article about 'article writing'. Yes, there actually is one - and a cheer to those who decided on doing it... specially Burt Dubin, its author/writer. I'm posting it here for others to look at - and as a reminder to me at times.

You can also follow the link to see it in its original form (or at least in the form I saw it originally) at the success.org website, from which I occassion to read up on wisdom-adding articles. http://successnet.org/cms/How-to-Write-Articles.html

It is my hope that if anyone stumbles inot this page, they may read this article and be impressed enough - and interested in plunging into the world of article-writing. I know it took me a while to have enough guts to start sharing my ideas... and an article like this might have mace me start earlier than I did.

Barring that, I hope that someone else will serendipitously find this article useful - even if they do occasionally write... and to me, thats enough reason to share it with others.

---article starts ---

How to Write Articles:
by Burt Dubin

How to write articles editors love and readers treasure—articles that build your name, increase your fame, enhance your reputation, magnify your credibility and boost your bookings. Whether we like it or not, as speakers we also are writers. Here's the secret strategy you can use to create winning articles every time.

Editor's Note: This article is directed toward professional speakers and writers. However, we felt that it offered real wisdom into how to write for your audience—whether that be in an auditorium, a prospect or your boss.

Start by having something to write about. Something that is targeted at a particular audience. Something this audience longs to know about. Something that adds value to their lives, their career. Something that empowers the members of your target audience. Something your target audience yearns for. Something that guides them to get somewhere they want to get.

Continue by being in love with words. By delighting in using your thesaurus and your dictionary to find the right word to convey your meaning. It doesn't hurt to have a copy of Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style" handy. And Theodore M. Bernstein's "The Careful Writer." Throw in William Zinsser's "On Writing Well."

Next, have a passion for your topic or issue—whatever you're to write about. And more than your passion, know what you're writing about. Know it inside out, upside down, backward and forward. Then with that as your starting point, do your homework. Research your subject.

Research your subject exhaustively. Invest in every book, every recorded program by every expert you can find. Read the journals, magazines and newsletters that treat any aspect of your subject. Make yourself a hungry, restless, greedy seeker after data, knowledge, wisdom and truth regarding your subject.

Now get to know the experts in the field. Call them. Write them. Meet with them at conferences and conventions, trade shows, every convocation they gather at. Create peerships.
I almost forgot—live your subject. Get out of your aerie into the street. Get your hands dirty, your face besmirched. Make a few hundred blunders and suffer as many pratfalls in the process. Get embarrassed and hurt, red-faced, eyes stinging with your held-back tears—all on your way to mastership.

After a few years of all of the above, you're ready to write.

Almost.

Now ask yourself. What value do you have to offer in this piece you're about to write, fingers trembling over the keys? What benefits are you ready to confer on your reader? What joys and pleasures are to ensue for your reader as a result of reading and then acting on the hard-won wisdom you're about to share?

Now—you're ready to write.

Tell the truth. Tell your perceived truth. You're unique, one-of-a-kind. You see the world outside you through your eyes. You see life and conditions outside you through the prism of your perceptions—and through the prism of your misperceptions. Don't deny it. We all have misperceptions. John F. Kennedy misperceived matters and created the Bay of Pigs fiasco, circa 1961. A few years later Richard M. Nixon misperceived matters and brought his presidency down, disgracing himself in the process.

As for William Jefferson Clinton, his stained honor and his misperceptions, the less said the better! These cases were sad. If presidents can misperceive, so can you! Your truth is yours. Be proud of it. Share it simply. Plainly. Directly. Share it with your head high.

Write like you talk! People prefer vernacular. Give it to 'em. Forget English 101. You're writing to communicate your ideas and feelings on stuff that matters with readers who care.

Cut down commas. Every comma slows your reader down. You don't want that. The rule here is simple. If in doubt, leave it out. Review what you write a few hours later. Better yet review the next morning. Mercilessly rip out every comma that isn't crucial to your meaning.

Your readers gotta be sold on the value of reading the fruit of your mind. In your opening paragraphs paint vivid pictures of the rapture and sweetness, the thrills and exultation, the excitement and delight that await the reader who absorbs and then acts on your message. And in addition, it's your responsibility to paint black images of the tortures and torment, the punishment and agony, the misery and wretchedness and the distress and adversity, that await those who choose to ignore your words.

Start with a survey, a summary of what is here for your reader. Phrase your summary as benefits to be made available in this piece of prose. Folks, professionals in particular, are interested in benefits to be harvested when they read your words.

Continue with your presentation of facts, data, information and wisdom, seasoned by a story, maybe several illustrations and metaphors. Short sentences. Simple sentences. Avoid compound sentences. One and two syllable words for the most part. The front page of the Wall Street Journal and all of USA Today are edited for the 8th grade level.

Successful writer and self-publisher, Gordon Burgett, says, "Remember that almost all successful articles contain facts, quotes and anecdotes. Beginners underquote. Editors seldom buy without them. Often, repeating a phrase that was in the lead gives the sense of having completed a valuable excursion."

Conclude with an Action Plan, a series of steps to take now in order to enjoy the benefits you outlined. And that's how to write articles editors love and readers treasure, articles that build your name and increase your fame, enhance your reputation, magnify your credibility and increase your bookings.