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How to Get Creative While Writing Articles for Magazine

If you are looking for a way to improve your writing skills and get some cash, you have come to the right place. Here are some of the best tips from experts on how to get creative while writing articles for magazine.

Find Your Niche

As the name suggests, an article writing agency takes on a large number of different topics, so it is essential that you identify your niche. What is your speciality? What do you know a lot about? Determining your niche can be a difficult task, so make sure that you work on this for a few days before you begin to write. You should also ask yourself questions about the topic and try to answer them as much as possible. If you are struggling to come up with ideas, try looking at current affairs or events for inspiration.

Brainstorming

When you have finally identified your niche, you need to start brainstorming ideas for the articles that you will write. It is essential that you come up with as many ideas as possible, and that you do not censor yourself while doing so. This will help you form a rough draft of the article and start developing content.

You can use a number of different techniques to brainstorm. One of the best and most effective techniques is to use a mind mapping software like Clio to generate ideas. You can load your niche onto the software, and it will connect the dots for you. You can generate ideas from different angles and perspectives, and you can also review the ideas that it generates for you. As you write your first draft, you can also bring up the ideas in Clio to see how others view your niche.

Write A Few Tests

After you have a rough draft of an article, you need to do a few more drafts in which you try out various styles and words. Always write a few tests, even if it is only a few paragraphs long, and see how the piece flows and whether you can make it interesting. You should not rush this stage as it can be very difficult to go back and change something that you have already written. If you write tests with a Narrator – a person who will read your work and judge how well you have written it – they will be able to point out any errors in your work before you go to print. It is also advisable to have someone else read through your work, as it will make them more acclimatised to your writing style and prevent any potential errors. A final draft should be perfect before you send it to the magazine, so take your time.

Get Inspired

If you are looking for inspiration, you can always look to the news for stories or even personal anecdotes that you can use for a story. There are a number of creative writing apps and sites that can be helpful in this stage. If you are struggling to find an idea, try looking at other articles or websites in your niche to see how others have approached the topic and whether you can create original and striking content that will make the magazine sit up and take notice.

Style And Format

Now that you have an idea of the general idea of the article and you have begun to write it, you need to make some minor adjustments to the style and format of your piece. You should use your rough draft to make these adjustments, as it will be easier to go back and change things later on if you have not used all the available space. Even if you write the article for a magazine that has a word limit of two thousand words, make sure that you do not use more than two to three hundred words per paragraph. The rest can be a bullet point list of the main ideas. It is also advisable to check with the magazine to see whether there are any preferences for format and style of articles as this will make a difference in the way your write up will be received. Some magazines may ask you to follow a certain pattern or use a particular format, so be sure to check with them before you begin to write to ensure that you do not deviate from the pattern that they have set for similar pieces.

Manipulate The Data

If you are writing about a topic that you have researched and have references and statistics to back up your claims, make sure that you do not just throw those numbers out there without any context. You should try and find a way of fitting all the data that you have collected into an interesting and compelling story. For example, if you have gathered data about the rise in domestic violence against women in the twenty-first century, you can use this to create something like a call to action to end violence against women. You may also want to include interviews with experts in the field to add further weight to your argument.

Check For Spelling And Grammar

Always proofread your work before you send it to the magazine, and make sure that you have spelled everything correctly and that the correct grammar has been used. Doing these few simple things will make a huge difference in the way your work is perceived. If you find any errors in spelling or grammar, you should edit these before you send it to the magazine. Grammarly is a popular online English grammar checker that you can use to proofread and edit your work before you send it to the magazine. Having a close friend or family member look over your work will also increase the chances of catching errors that you may have missed.

Final Draft

Once you have finished all the edits and revisions, it is time to put the polish on your work and create the final draft. Always work on a separate piece of paper, and make sure that you save this draft as a backup. There is no use in trying to rush this stage as it can be very difficult to go back and change something that you have already written. If you write articles for various magazines, make sure that you follow the established pattern for similar articles, as this will make a difference in the way your write up is perceived. You should also make sure that the piece is a nice size for the magazine as this will also impact how well it is received. It is not advisable to put more words than necessary in your final draft, as this will make it difficult to revise later on if needed. Once you have finished your final draft, make sure that you save it in a word processor as a backup and proofread it one last time before sending it to print. If you follow all of these simple steps, you will be able to write creative and compelling articles that will make the magazine sit up and take notice.