How to Write What You Don’t Know

Expand your writing horizon and enjoy the journey

A new topic is a new world waiting for you to be discovered. If you dare to step out of your comfort zone and start your journey to the unknown, you will find gold and diamonds on your way.

Writing what you don’t know is not that tough of a job. It takes some deliberate efforts from you. There is a simple process to follow.

Let’s know the process right away.

Select a topic

I have been writing about nature and environmental issues since August 2020. My first article was I Saw Dolphins and Plastics Surfing Together. I had no prior experience in writing about environmental issues. But I choose the environment as a topic because the way people are polluting the environment was bothering me. So, I selected a subject and then figured out how to write on this.

I suggest you do the same. First, select a topic you’ve never written before. The topic that helps you grow as a writer and, of course, benefit your readers in some ways.

Read other’s works

Then the next part is reading. Without reading other’s works, no writer can write better. So, after choosing a particular topic, start reading the existing literature.

Read a good book, some articles, news and know what experts and other writers have written about it. You may listen to podcasts, watch documentaries, or YouTube videos as well.

While writing my first article on plastic pollution, I read many articles related to the topic. From there, I selected an angle and thus planned my article.

For example, if you want to write about marketing, you must know the current or trending issues by reading and researching. Then, you must focus on a particular one to write your article.

Plan your article

The next phase is planning. Planning is inevitable because the topic you are going to write about is quite new to you. So, you must have a detailed plan. The plan may include the following things —

➰ Select a particular issue and an angle ➰ Sort out the relevant articles, news, studies, facts that may help you ➰ Find your objective or purpose ➰ Categorize your thoughts ➰ Decide your writing tone ➰ Select a format

Spend 40% of the time planning your article. It will give you a clear idea of what you are going to write and how to execute it.

Finish a shitty-first-draft

You have your topic, an angle, research materials, and format. You know your purpose. That means what you are offering with this article. Now you are all set to write your heart out.

Write with confidence and finish your first shitty-draft anyhow. Don’t bother about grammar, punctuation, references, etc. You will take care of those later while you edit your document.

While writing an article, if you bother too much about what you write and continuously go back and edit simultaneously, it will certainly kill your flow and take too much time to finish that article. So, no matter how shitty your first draft looks like, don’t bother. Because you will polish it to perfection later.

And, if you cannot write anything at a stretch, you may apply the Pomodoro technique. It will help you manage your time well.

Edit, edit, and edit

After finishing your first draft, it’s necessary to get out of the writing for a moment. So, leave it alone for a few hours, if possible, a few days. Then come back to it and pretend that you are reading someone else’s writings, and you have the power to remove, replace, or add anything to it.

Remember, ‘To Err Is Human; To Edit, Divine.’

Edit your work with patience. It is a tiresome job. But if you don’t edit your writings, you will regret it after publishing. So, never compromise with editing.

Never be in a hurry while editing your writings. Take time and see if everything is sounding well in that piece.

See the content, structure, style, and presentation of your article. Is it an interesting one? Is it giving adequate information to readers in an entertaining way?

Be your own critic and edit your writing to perfection.

Have other person’s opinion on your writing

It is always wise to have other’s views about your writings. I do that many a time. When I write about a new topic, I send it to one of my writer friends to have an opinion.

If no one is available, I give the article to my younger brother to know his opinion. It’s a crucial task. Because when you send your write-up to someone else, in most cases, he/she gives you feedback, and it adds value to your story.

If any paragraph may seem intricate, you can rewrite them and make the message clear. If an important issue is missing, you may add it right away.

Moreover, you may read aloud your article to hear how it sounds. If you are reluctant to read your own writings, you may give this responsibility to an app. There are many free apps to serve your purpose.

Do your final edit and then publish

Now you have come to the very last stage. Read the article from the beginning to the end and do your final edit.

Check the grammar, punctuations, spelling, title, and subheadings. Use the proper tags and do the SEO for text and images. I have seen that almost 99% of writers neglect the image-SEO part. But it can help the readers find your article easily on search engines. So, make sure you have done the image SEO right. If everything is okay, then hit the publish button and put a smile on your face. You did a great job.

Final thoughts

Writing on a topic that you don’t know is like a journey to the unknown. As a writer, don’t be satisfied with what seems easy and comfortable to write. Don’t limit your writing horizon to just one niche.

Expand, and enhance your writing territory by writing on different topics.

Have a happy writing journey ahead.

Thank you for reading.

If you want to read more articles on writing, you may check out the following articles.

1. What 99% of Writers Are Doing Wrong With Their Images
2. Structure Your Writing With the AIDA Formula
3. Why ‘Clarity’ Is a Powerful Tool to Grow Your Audience?
4. Money and Sex — Is That All You’ve Got?
5. Stop Spoon-Feeding Your Readers

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