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"You can get rich by going back in time."

No, wait, that's not it.

"Your money will have no value if you wait long enough."

The writer's block was killing me. I could feel it pounding on my head like a rubber mallet. How was I ever going to explain the future value of money in every day terms? Things were not clicking and this article I was writing was feeling forced and jumbled. Taking break, I went into the kitchen for some coffee. As I began to pour it hit me; why not just tell the reader a story? A fable to get my point across; it worked for Jesus!

ENTERTAIN YOUR READER

They key is to teaching is to entertain. Even if you are writing a technical piece, a first person story point of view can still be employed. People like to read fiction (stories) but often need to read non-fiction (technical) to get the info they need. The solution then is to give them the facts in an interesting format that is both entertaining as well as informative.

CATCHY OPENINGS

$100 says you usually don't read articles that suck. Grab your reader's attention by opening with catchy or controversial phrases. Famous quotes also make good introductions for this same reason, just be sure to properly site the source. Your opening should be dramatic but relative; readers won't appreciate being duped into reading something that has nothing to do with the intro.

BULLETS AND LISTS

Bullets are your friend. Make good use of the white space between paragraphs or points. Compositions that are in "bulletized" format, weather complete sentences or not, always catch the reader's eye more than long paragraphs. If relative, you can carry this to the extreme by making use of short lists. This works particularly well for groups of things that need no explanation.

SHORTER IS BETTER

Be as brief as possible. Anyone can write a long explanation for their point, but a good writer can get the same point across in much less words. Think of yourself as an engineer, the best design is one that completes the task with the minimum complexity, weight, and cost. Being brief is even more important when writing for an internet audience.

OPEN AND CLOSE WELL

Finally, make a positive first and last impression. Just like your English teacher said, you need a good opening to set the tone and a good closing to wrap up the issue. You have to catch their eye, dazzle them with brilliance, and get out of there while they're still impressed!

Learn more about this author, Joe Symmes.
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