HOW to make articles FASCINATING?

@staroj (28)
China
May 2, 2010 6:25am CST
Though I have rich vocabularies,I find my articles really simple and boring.I just wonder how to make my article more fascinating and complicated. Maybe more complex sentence or rare words?What should I do? I will really appreciate your kind help.
1 person likes this
5 responses
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
2 May 10
Articles work best when they are straight to the point, concise, well constructed and well written (good grammar/spelling). Fancy words, complex sentences and idiosyncratic phrases turn readers off, If you want people to read your articles: 1) KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. If you don't know who you want to read your article and how they like to be addressed, you have already lost them. 2) Write as if you were talking to them individually and face to face. 3) Be honest, plain, descriptive ... but concise! Cut to the chase immediately: you have, perhaps, 5 or 10 seconds to 'hook' your audience - use it wisely and to effect! 4) Break up what you have to say into short paragraphs; use bullet points or numbered lists when appropriate; use subheadings to make the article easy to scan for relevant information. 5) Research your keywords. Your article will gain more credence if it talks about things people are actually searching for information on. There are many keyword research tools (some of them free). Learn to use them and include relevant keywords - especially 'long tail' keywords (key phrases) NATURALLY in your articles (don't try to stuff your article full of keywords - it will not read comfortably). 6) Title. Write your article first and THEN spend nearly as much time giving it a title. There are certain phrases and words which get more attention than others. "X [easy/simple] steps to ...", "How to ... " and so on. Your title should describe in brief (5 to 10 words at the most) what your article is about. Go to article sites and look at the titles of articles. Which ones seem to grab your attention more than others? These are just a few of the basics. There are many more things to consider and there are plenty of good articles on article writing available for free. One of the best ways of learning is to read what others have written, especially if you can see how often others have read their articles and how they have rated them. A very good site to join is Readbud. They (reputedly) pay you to read and rate articles. Personally, I have reservations about whether they will pay or not ... but that is by the by. There's more information in my Profile.
1 person likes this
• India
2 May 10
Quite a good post! I would have saved it, but it happens I remember it already. Umm.. sometimes I wonder about readbud. Is it really that good? What topics do you read? I may get some knowledge too reading them
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
2 May 10
I selected 50 Interests but I have found that about 40% of them were delivering 90% of the articles so I am currently revising my selection. The articles, to be honest, are very variable in quality and can all be found published on numerous sites but having them presented to one (and having to read them) is convenient and quite good discipline. 30 minutes or so a day reading mostly fairly indifferent material (which can, all the same, be the basis for a much better job ) with the occasional one worth keeping seems not a bad way of passing the time. Something that I have noticed, which I have seen mentioned by someone else, is that once I reached the 'half way point' of $25, the number of articles available per day seems to have reduced somewhat. I am wondering if this is just a temporary state of affairs of if it is a conscious policy which means that the nearer you get to payout, the longer it takes to reach it!
@staroj (28)
• China
3 May 10
You mean I should read more?
@hora_fugit (5862)
• India
2 May 10
Using complex sentences and rare words may increase your marks in exams, but they sure don't make a fascinating article. Maybe in high-nose society.. Fascinating is not complicated! Write in easy and interesting way, relating to your readers. That makes them feel for the article. Now that's all I can say. I'm still trying to apply that in MY writing...
@staroj (28)
• China
3 May 10
But how can I make my article interesting and easy at the same time?
@snowy22315 (181965)
• United States
2 May 10
I would post things online and ask people to critique your work. There are different writer forums and communities such as Helium that has people that will do that for you. Take the feedback you get and utilize that in your writing to make your next article better.
@staroj (28)
• China
2 May 10
Helium?I may have a try.Can tell me in detail? Thank you :)
• United Arab Emirates
25 May 10
Just let it come from inside you and for me i will advice you to read about writing techniques which you can get from other prominent writers blogs, mine is not up yet but when it is i will let you know. I think when you read similar articles about what you are writing about it gives you more idea. For me i describe, explain, analyze and compare and give my opinions or general public opinions because most articles are best when it's not been written in a personal view or from a personal view position.
@Jules01 (131)
2 May 10
You should keep your writing simple and straight forwards. Use sentences of varying lengths, but not too long. If you use rare words and your sentences are too long, then some people will not understand it and they will lose interest. What you are writing about should be interesting. It sounds to me as though you need to think about changing your subject matter.