The Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of Great Article Writing
I know I covered the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How the last time. But, haven’t you got it yet? There is always more involved than what I let on in my first post on any topic. In fact, entire books have been written about article writing. Entire college courses teach it. So, one simple post isn’t going to cover everything.
Articles that get in depth are what people want to read. Don’t simply answer the questions and move on to other questions. Get in depth information that goes deeper than anyone else writing on that topic. Otherwise, you are simply telling people what they already know.
Example:
Frederick Dominguez and his kids were lost for three days in the mountains of Northern California because they ventured out there to cut down a Christmas tree. They were found on Wednesday by a California Highway Patrol helicopter crew.
If you visit any news site or look in any newspaper where this story is told, you will find this information. Does it answer the six critical questions? Yes.
Who – Frederick Dominguez and his kids.
What – were lost and have been found.
When – Wednesday.
Where – mountains of Northern California.
Why – looking for a Christmas tree.
How – California Highway Patrol helicopter crew.
But if you can find this story anywhere, why would anyone read yours? It makes all the difference in the world that the mother of the children had no idea they were missing until she realized her youngest child didn’t go to school on Monday. It makes all the difference in the world that a new snow storm was about to come and the search was about to be aborted. It makes all the difference in the world that people like Cory Stahl who owns a pest control business shut his business down so that all the employees could help with the search.
There are plenty of answers to those six basic questions. Keep digging. Dig deeper. Make sure you have as much information as you can and discount nothing. Any bit of information can make your article more interesting than the others. That’s the essence of great article writing.
It’s About Your Client, Not You
When you are talking to someone about what you want, what do you want to hear? You most likely want to hear that they know what you’re saying and they know how to get it accomplished. Doesn’t it make you feel better when someone can communicate those things to you?
When you have asked for a very technical process or you think it’s a very technical process, what do you want to hear?
“I no the job you ask and I can do. Luk at my resume. Give me a call.”
Note: Spelling errors were added for effect.
Or:
“I have worked as a business consultant for several companies and I understand that you need an expert in online promotion. There are several techniques I have mastered that will enhance your online promotion efforts. The first thing I would like to do is…”
Exactly! The second project proposal makes me feel like I’m in good hands. But, like I’ve said before that the hardest part of writing a project proposal is changing your mind around. When you wrap your brain around what the client wants and you learn to address those needs, now you are writing an effective proposal.
Passive-v-Active Voice
I have the habit of writing in the passive voice, a hangover from my school days when the difference between the two was never mentioned. I must consciously think of writing in the active voice all of the time and it is not easy. Indeed many writers, new and experienced find writing in the active voice tiring, not least as it requires mental effort from most to keep writing with it.
So what is the difference between an Active Voice and the Passive Voice?
A grammatical definition will go something like this:
"The active voice uses the subject of a sentence to act upon something, whereas the passive voice has the subject itself acted upon."
In plain English, the subject of a sentence is doing something to something else so;
"ERH wrote this using his computer."
The subject is ERH and he is writing, in other words ERH is doing something and this makes it the active voice.
Compare this sentence with;
"This was written on a computer by ERH."
This is written in the passive voice where ERH is still the subject but instead of ERH "doing something" he has "something done" by him - the verb "written" is acting upon the subject "ERH".
When to Use Who and Whom
I thought it time to nobble this particular English language conundrum - when to use Who and when to use Whom.
Supaproofread has a section that goes into far more detail than I will here on this post and you can find it in the writing tips section here.
Who is a subjective pronoun that describes what or which person.
Whom is a pronoun that acts as an object for a verb or preceding preposition.
Phew!
In plain English please!!
A subjective pronoun is a word that is used when the person is a subject of the sentence. So, "I like fast cars but he doesn't" - "I" and "he" are subjective pronouns. We would ask "Who likes fast cars?" but not "Whom likes fast cars?"
A verb object is the person or thing the verb is acting on. So, "ERH flew the plane" has ERH as the subject, the verb is flying and the object is the plane. Except we would never refer to a plane as "whom" so how about "ERH flew her to Paris." In the latter case, "her" would be the object and so we would ask "With whom did ERH fly to Paris?"
Got that?
Here's a cheat tip then.
If you have a sentence using he/she then use "Who" and if it is him/her use "Whom".
Writing the Dynamite Project Proposal
When you walk into a job interview, I certainly hope that you don’t wear jeans with holes in them and your favorite tee shirt. I hope you don’t slouch and talk to the interviewer like you would talk to your friends at a party. If you get my drift, you have to carry yourself into an interview showing respect and that includes what you wear and how you act.
It’s the same game in this online explosion. Just because you might be sitting in your shorts and sandals writing a project proposal doesn’t mean your proposal can be lacking in professionalism. You have to put your best foot forward and there are definite signals that will have your proposal flagged for the can or chosen for further consideration.
Content
The first thing in writing a project proposal is to identify what the client wants. Freelancers make the mistake of thinking that a template project proposal is all they need. I have to admit that it gets tedious writing the same things over and over. But, a good client does not want a template project proposal. They want to see a proposal that identifies their needs.
Writing the Professional Project Proposal
If you are competing in the freelance market, you will need to know the basics of a professional project proposal. No matter where you find yourself, you have to carry your business presentation in a very high manner. You cannot afford to drop your professionalism just because everyone else around you is wasting their efforts.
GetAFreelancer.com
For instance, I view GetAFreelancer.com as a site where you get to cut your teeth in the professional freelance market. There aren’t that many “Professional” writers bidding for projects and you get to see how terrible amateurs write their proposals. But, GetAFreelancer.com is where you can learn the building blocks and build your resume.
You’ll see plenty of jobs that require one hundred articles a day that are completely error free and can pass copyscape.com. They pay about a dollar fifty an article and they won’t pay at all if you don’t meet the deadline. But, there are also some pretty decent writing jobs where you can work with great clients and build your resume with legitimate work. Then, you’ll be ready for a step higher.
Defeating Prevarication and Stating a Position Improves Your Credibility
You are a writer.
OR
In my opinion, as you use the written word, then perhaps you should be considered eligible for the title "writer".
Which statement makes you feel like you really are a writer? Me, telling you that you are a writer or me, waffling about an opinion I have, that maybe, possibly you can be called a writer?
It's not a hard decision to make. Stating a position clearly and straight to the point without any caveat or ambiguous language makes my position clear to a reader, waffling does not. Adding language such as "perhaps", "maybe" and Heaven forbid, "in my opinion" makes you appear to readers as if you are not sure of yourself or the position you are taking.
As a writer, you are taking a leadership role in the community of the written word. Many people may read your work, some may comment upon it, some may use it themselves but you as the creator of that piece of work have taken a lead at that point in order to deliver it to the written community. You are the leader so act like one. After all, if you do not truly believe in what you are creating, how can you expect anyone else to buy into your work?