Writing technical articles is a challenge. There you sit, surrounded by reams of research, notes and interviews. Where do you start?

Remember 5th grade English? You start with an outline.

Outlining has fallen on hard times lately. Mind mapping and brainstorming are much more fashionable. These techniques are great when generating ideas, but once you’ve got your ideas germinating you’ve got to outline them. Without an outline, your article will:

1. Be an unstructured mess.
2. Take three times as long to write.

Don’t let this happen to you – outline. If it’s been a while since 5th grade – or if your “progressive” school didn’t stoop to teach you actual English skills – let me remind you why it’s important and how to do it.

• Outlining keeps you from writing an unstructured mess. Readers, especially American readers, prefer distinct sections in their media. For example, look at American screenplays. Movies invariably have three acts, and anything that doesn’t have them is considered an art film. Effective speeches often contain three parts, and readers like three points because the structure makes easier to retain information.

• Outlining shrinks your writing time by a third to a half. How do you whittle down that pile of research notes and interviews into an article or white paper? You guess it – outline it. By assigning sections to your notes before you start writing, you’ll categorize, simplify and clarify. Not bad before you’ve even written an introduction. For example, let’s say you’re writing an article about mirroring. You can divide such an article into several different sections depending on what your client wants to get across. Here are some examples of different outlines:
  1. 1) Explanation of mirroring 2) Differences between local and remote mirroring, 3) Contrasting mirroring with other forms of replication, or
  2. 1) Define mirroring 2) List environments that require mirroring 3) Decision matrix for assigning different mirroring levels.

Once you’ve done your research it’s simple to assign pieces to different sections. Believe me, it’ll light a fire under your writing time.

Christine Taylor is president of Keyword Copywriting, which helps marketing and PR pros leverage their relationships with technology clients. E-mail her at chris@keywordcopy.com, call her at 760-249-6071, or check out Keyword’s Website at www.keywordcopy.com

Christine writes technical marketing communications for data storage, networking and pharmaceutical clients, including:

• EMC
• Commvault
• Quantum
• StoneFly Networks
• Sybase
• Maranti Networks
• ClariStor
• Fujitsu
• AES
• Obagi Medical Products

She specializes in trade journal articles, white papers, press kits and online content. She serves as a contributing editor to Computer Technology Review and acts as editor-in-chief for Storage Inc. and Storage Management Solutions.

Before moving into technical journalism and marketing she served 20 years in the IT trenches, including systems administration at Avery Dennison’s Research and Development division.

chris@keywordcopy.com

Do You “Do” Voices?
Copyright 2003, The Write Exposure

When you write an article, is it all about you? Your thoughts, your insights, your opinions, your voice? Or do you include other people’s voices in the form of interviews and research?

If your articles are nothing but a monologue, it’s time to start adding voices.

Voices make your piece more compelling. They make you look more knowledgeable. Plus, they’re visually appealing. “Readers love quotes,” says Marjorie, a freelance writer. “What’s more,” she says, “they impart texture. No two people talk the same way.”

How do you go about getting quotes? Here are some of the ways we do it at The Write Exposure:

Ask people you know. “Talk to customers, employees, and friends. Everyone likes to be quoted,” reports Daniel “what-are-you-writing-about-and-can-I-be-quoted-in-it” an accountant with The Write Exposure.

Ask people you don’t know. “After I’ve exhausted my network, I pull out the yellow pages,” Marjorie says. “I just start at the top of the listings and work my way down. I always find someone to talk to before I make call number six.”

Surf the Internet. “I love interviewing online,” Greg, a desktop publisher, says. “It’s quick and easy. You don’t have to worry about misquoting someone and it enables me to interview, like, someone in Bangladesh or Australia.”

Use a resource. “Lots of people like ProfNet.com, because it’s online,” David, a journalist, says. “But I prefer [the printed version of] The Yearbook because I can skim through it and something always catches my eye.”

Ask someone else. For myself, I often find all the leads I turn up doing research lead to more leads. The trick is to end each interview with a request for another source. “Who knows almost as much about this topic as you do?” or “Who has the worst argument for why you’re wrong?” often work well. Make sure you’re talking to people on both sides of the issue so that your article will be well-balanced.

Quotes are the spice for your piece. The, as Marjorie said, “texture.” They show you’ve done your research and that you’re not the only one who feels a certain way. They also add visual interest. In fact, some readers only read articles with quotation marks in them. So go to the trouble to find a few extra quotes. Your reader will appreciate it.

About the Author

Is it your job to increase company profits? The Write Exposure offers the resources you need to do just that at http://www.designdoodles.com