Write? Right! by Michael AmbrosioI gotta tell you . . . writing is the one thing about being on the web that I just dont enjoy as much as, say, installing and testing scripts or designing a web Writing has always been a chore for me. Those of you who have been subscribers for a while know this by the amount of time that goes by between my newsletters ;-).Even this one Ive been hemming and hawing for more than a week nowjust trying to decide on a subject.It has been said in so many places that to put out a newsletter is easy because of the amount of fr*e content thats available on the net. And I suppose thats true. I could peruse the net and find articles in fact, I DO. All my newsletters contain an article I have read and particularly enjoy.But I still feel that its necessary to contribute something original.There are several reasons for this:Credibility Why would people want to read your newsletter when you dont even contribute to it yourself?Content If you write your own articles, then you are guaranteed to have fresh content.Visibility Once you start writing articles, you will get to the point where you will start to submit them to ezines, article databases, etc. This is a great traffic builder!Anyone who reads my articles knows I am no writer. Ill never win any awards. But each one I write gets a little easier. Even a little more fun. You start to realize that you really do have something to say. You even start to believe that what you have to say has an impact on SOME one. That maybe one or two of your readers become inspired through one of your articles. Thats where the rush is for me.My problem is imagination. Or lack of one, really. I find it hard to come up with an article idea. Even in this day and age of information at your fingertips you still need to sit and brainstorm for ideas. For me this is the hardest part of writing. Its amazing,though, once you have found the subject you want to write about how it will just flow once you start.Over time I have learned a few tips about preparing your next article or ezine. Some of these tips come from the numerous books I have read on the subject the rest from personal trial and error.1. Always carry a small notebook and pencil or pen. This tip I think has helped me the most. There are times when an idea will pop in to your head, but by the time you get home poof! Its gone. With this handy little tool you can write down your ideas as they come. A small recorder will do the same thing.2. Schedule yourself brainstorming time. You really need to make aconscious effort to brainstorm. If you plan this first, you willfind yourself thinking ahead and putting yourself in the rightframe of mind to do this.3. Create the right environment. It is very important to create thebest environment for yourself. I prefer shutting the door to my office, with my light snack and bottle of water. I prefer doingthis at night, after everyone is in bed. I also enjoy some soothing backround music either easy listening jazz or baroque.4. Focus yourself. If you need the internet for research, thats fine.Just restrict yourself to the research at hand. I cant tell you how often I found myself, two hours later, surfing some unrelated sites and being no closer to my goal. Its easy to get side-tracked so watch yourself.5. LIMIT yourself. Provided you can stay focused on the task at hand, you should limit yourself to a certain amount of time. You dontwant to burn yourself out and end up hating the task. Get youselfa clock or watch and choose a comfortable time limit. I usuallygive myself thirty minutes at a time. It may not seem like a lotof time, but remember if you focus on the task at hand, you willaccomplish a lot.6. Organize your research. You will no doubt find so much informationon your subject. Set yourself up with a file or notebook that isonly for your article information. I cant tell you HOW you shouldset this up because I dont know you. But if you want to read anoutstanding book on creating ezines then you should check out TooBusy To Create A Profitable Ezine by Ann Rusnak. Its one of thebest books Ive read. Write often. Practice makes (almost) perfect. It truly DOES geteasier the more you do it. Dont get discouraged. If your firstarticle isnt all that good, write another one. Then another.There are so many tips and suggestions we could go through. We could behere for hours but there are already so many good books on this subject.The bottom line is that you need to make that commitment to yourself if youwant to write successfully, whether its for your own ezine or to submit toarticle databases.Writing, for most people, requires a little patience. Go easy on yourself. Keep trying. As I am just starting to learn the easier it gets, the morerewarding it gets. And it gets more enjoyable. And as I am also learning,I am starting to get a bigger flow of traffic.After all is said and done, isnt that the overall goal?If you would like to reprint this article, please feel fr*e todo so, just as long as this resource box remains with it.Copyright 2003 Michael Ambrosio