Actually, I think those are the proper steps in writing. 
My writing process were usually like this:
- Prepare my mind by thinking thoughts that everything will be easy and ideas will just flow into my mind
- Open up ehow or ezinearticles
- Find articles that are written good and with an embedded idea
- Read and understand the articles
- Start typing on my own article, basically typing whatever comes into my mind
Rinse and repeat =)
Itās great that you take the time to research. I donāt see many posts by those that do, but you could try some much better sources than article farms. Real experts donāt contribute to them. A great place to start is Internet Resources-Writers, which is a catalog of writer research and writing tips resources. We also have several listed in the the thread, [URL=āhttp://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?529530-Online-Web-Content-Writer-Resourcesā]Online Web Content Writersā Resources.
Writing is a natural gift. Everyone has his or her own writing procedure. The general process involves mind setting, research, and ensuring perfect grammar. These thing are based on my writing experience.
Everyoneās writing process is different from others but you should have enough knowledge what you are going to write about and most important thing you have to passion about the niche and also have passion for writing.
Reading this thread it seemsā¦ writing comes in naturally for some peopleā¦ I have very recntly started writing articles for my blog and for me it is a pretty time consuming jobā¦ choose topic, find appropriate keywords for it, read 5 to 10 good articles on the subject, in a doc file note all points i want to include and then start typingā¦
Writing is ok for me, when i have some specific content to write. Itās kinda hard when i have to throw ideas out of my head and write freely, like articles or that kind of stuff. Iām in my first steps in web design and the web pages i`ve created so far are tourist guides about some places in greece, so writing was easy because i had a lot of information from already existed tourist books and guides, so i just wrote all that in my own words.
Looks like you are on the right track, but IMO, you can skip the second step. An article should have only one keyword because the meaning of keyword is the topic of the article (key-word). Your content should be built around that topic and, if you do things right, anyone searching that topic should find your article.
Good writing is time-consuming. There is no way around that. When you see someone tell you they can bang out two articles and hour, that is exactly what they are doing ā banging them out. Good writing is much more than typing. Iām glad youāre discovering that.
Read Jacques Barzunās On Writing, Editing and Publishing.
The On Writing part is quite short.
I deals with the process of writing directly in The Writerās Discipline.
Reading it is a pleasure and a treasury of ideas from the master teacher.
The book deserves to be a classic so purchase a copy rather than borrow it.
If you like On Writing, ā¦ you might also like his Barzunās Simple and Direct.
It is rather pedantic in tone. But if youāre somewhat of a language puritan then you will love it.
If you read it and retain what it teaches youāll be on your royal road to mastering the rather difficult task of writing.
Everyone will have a different writing process. Personally I like to generate my general article outline using sub headings and dot points.
My writing style is little bit hybridā¦ whenever I get ready for writing for some any general topic or niche I immediaitely get my face in front of my Screen and me and my fingers flow in the concept while typing, On the other hand for writing any awesome content, i prepare myself to gather some data and then arranging them on a white paper and then writing them in proper manner!!
I tend to start with the plate and then break it into groups. Once those groups are laid out then I am able to start to sub categorize those and then I being to lay out the base details I want to hit on each. Once I have those details for each group out in the air it is then that I am able to start to get the real words and layout started. It is easy to finish it up with a heading sentence and a final paragraph sentence for each after that. Then a conclusion paragraph wraps it all up tight.
Goodness, I see that a lot of writers are highly organized and follow a strict process. Those are things that I lack, sadly. But then again, everybodyās different. I donāt have a real āprocessā as I just sit and let it flow. What I find most helpful for me is writing early in the morning. It seems like the new day brings with it fresh ideas and a good whiff or energy.
Lucky you! :tup: I once wrote a poem about what the new day brings me. Generally my āinspirationā comes just before I fall asleep!
I wish that at eight
It wasnāt too late
For the poetry to rise to the top
That the ideas, that woke me at two and four,
Hadnāt ground to a stop.
That the dreams which seemed so reachable
Remained with me
Fresh and new.
But alas, instead,
When I lift my head,
They run into the bed
And are forever hidden
From view.
True enough, many great ideas come late in the night. I used to be an owl and I could stay up all night writing until the sun would rise. I could never sleep until I was able to pen down my thoughts and was satisfied with the outcome. But then all that changed when I had kids. I finally found the best remedy for my insomnia: exhaustion. If youāre too exhausted to think of anything before bed or even dream about ideas and such, like I am, there wonāt be any to forget. Come morning my mind is tabula rasa and very open to new ideas.
It really depends on what Iām writing.
If Iām writing a long form sales letter, Iāll develop an outline based on the features and benefits I have identified.
If Iām writing an article, Iāll pretty much just wing it.
Thanks Lindaā¦
My writing process includes:
- Researching relevant information.
- Researching for various keywords related to the topic.
- Outlining, writing and formatting the details
- Editing the entire written content
I like to write all my article ideas down on a notepad, then once I eventually get motivated to start writing I can quickly see what I jotted down and get straight to work.
I start with some brainstorming and research. Then jot an outline of the article and finally spend the time to write it.