Creativity comes in all shapes and sizes, from a masterfully created visual work of art to an interactive video game with no holds barred. Words also hold their own when it comes to creative entertainment: think about the last oral presentation or speech that had an impact on you, or a well-written best seller that kept you hooked from the first chapter to the last.
Article writers are, themselves, a special breed when it comes to creativity. While some may believe “anyone can write website content,” those who do it on a professional basis understand there’s a lot more to writing content than meets the eye.
Creative Writing 101
Can we all put down words to create a coherent sentence? Sure. We learned how to do that in school. Can we make sentences rhyme? Again, that’s something we learned early on. Can we pen a novel or short story? Well, there’s nothing stopping us, but will anyone read it? This is the key question when it comes to writing for the Internet.
As an extremely competitive venue for information, you need to have a few tools in your writing belt before venturing forward into the realm of successful article writers where you will be competing for clients and well-paying writing assignments.
Personal Blogs
With numerous websites available for people to post and share stories and pictures, blogs are fantastic and a good place to start to “find your creative voice.” Can you automatically switch from blog writing to content writing in one easy motion? Truth be told, it’s not likely, but possible, if you have or acquire the following basics:
- Previous experience writing for a website, magazine, or newspaper
- Understand sentence structure
- Use precise punctuation and grammar and follow it up with a professional service
- Understand the word “plagiarism”
- Know what AP and Chicago style are all about
- Understand how to effectively use SEO strategy
- Know what a client means when they request a META tag and title
- Understand what it means to create a “hook” in the initial intro
- Can accept feedback, revisions, and positive feedback in a professional manner
Add to the basic list of tools a compelling voice and the ability to:
- Flip between a professional tone and style to casual-creative
- Write with a splash of humor
- Create content in first, second, or third person with ease
- Provide exceptional resources and references from credible sources
- Make readers want to read more
- Write clearly and concisely without excessive fluff and filler
Creative writing for the web requires that you are able to manipulate and organize multiple pans in the fire and still maintain client deadlines.
Article Writers and Creative Basics
Whether you’re considering taking the first step into content writing or you’ve already begun your career, article writers are a vital cog in the wheel that keeps the Internet full of informative, factual, entertaining, creative, and well-written content.
In a Nutshell
- Don’t be afraid to write outside of the box
- Expanding your knowledge base keeps you diversified and fresh
- Writing for the Internet is an ongoing learning process
- Take classes and sign up for webinars
- Keep your writing tools sharp and yourself up-to-date
