by Cyd Madsen

Created on: March 04, 2009   Last Updated: April 27, 2009

Although he was writing about the visual arts, in his novel Duma Key, Stephen King imparts a nugget of wisdom for writers, and particularly writers on Helium. He states that the artist should paint what they know, then re-invent it. Because Helium is a site where knowledge is shared, it's best if writers write about what they know, then "re-invent" it by giving it a unique twist that either defines an engaging writing style, digs deeper into specialized knowledge, or presents information in a unique way that holds the reader's attention and causes them to better understand what they assumed they already knew.

At first glance, King's advice sounds old hat. Every person who has ever studied the fine art of writing has heard that tired old saw cutting through the words "write what you know about." But as Helium's mission is stated on their banner, "Learn what you need, share what you know." You don't have to stick with what you know at the moment, although that is a good place to start developing your writing skills. But go ahead and stretch, venture off into new territory, explore subject matter beyond your quick and easy knowledge. Not only will this expand your writting opportunities, it will infuse what you write with the enthusiasm we find so appealing in a child discovering the world for the first time. If you're going to hammer out a grocery shopping list of information you know and have known for so long it bores you to tears, it will definitely show in your writing.

Your objective should be developing articles that cover all the bases: Stimulating information, a strong voice of authority on your subject matter, well-crafted and structured writing, as well as anything and everything that simplifies your information and makes it entertaining. All through history, from Homer to Chaucer to Shakespeare to John Grisham, the dictate that writing should inform and entertain has either been blatantly stated or executed within their writing. As Helium has stated, it is changing the way that writing is published. Inherent in that statement is that what we now write is written primarily for the internet and must meet those evolving requirements.

Here is a brief summary of how best to thoroughly develop your articles for Helium. If you follow them, you'll not only find success on Helium but in your writing in general.

1. Develop a solid foundation in the mechanics of writing. For this you can do a search of "how to write" on Amazon.com and find enough books to keep

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