Follow This Simple Approach to Write Better

Plan (40%)— write (20%) — edit (40%)

What if I say writing is all about planning and editing? Do I sound a little crazy? No, I am not.

First, change your mindset that one day a fantastic idea will pop up in your mind and force you to produce an excellent article that everyone will admire. If that’s all you want, then I have nothing to say. Keep waiting for your eureka moment. But remember, by doing so, you are digging your own grave.

Writing is not an automatic job as it takes time and deliberate efforts from you. The approach includes three major factors; planning, writing, and editing.

Today, we will focus on these three, followed by an example. Trust me — it will help you write better than ever.

Let’s dive in.

Plan (40%)

Planning is the first and most crucial step. Benjamin Franklin famously said, if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. Now, if you take this stage seriously, you will produce concrete, concise, clear, and coherent writing.

Spend 40% of the time planning your article.

You can write it down, or you can plan in mind. But writing on a piece of paper or in your phone’s notebook is a great idea. Because if you plan in mind, very likely, you are going to forget most of it while writing.

How to Plan an Article

It’s simple, and anyone can do it. Remember the following tips:

✏️Find your objective or purpose Be clear about what your readers will get from this writing.

✏️Categorize your thoughts Decide the sub-headings of the article and write a few points in each category.

✏️Decide your writing tone Choose a suitable tone. Is it formal, informal, friendly, casual, persuasive, descriptive, optimistic, sad, sincere, or academic? Choose your tone carefully.

✏️Select a format How you want to structure your content. A general format can be like this: introduction — main arguments/description — conclusion/CTAs. You can make a suitable format to organize your content and give it a stunning look.

Spend the majority of your time planning your content.

Remember, you don’t have to always sit on your desk to plan. You can do it while a writing idea strikes your mind. It can be while you are walking outside or even having dinner with your family.

Make sure that you take note of the plan as early as possible.

Taking a voice note on your mobile or writing a few words on the note-pad is enough to remind it later. But if you ignore it, the content idea will vanish away in no time.

Yes, there are times when you can write thousands of words without having any plan. But it doesn’t happen frequently, and no better writers wait for miraculous moments like that. They make miracles by planing their writings beforehand.

So, make sure you have a solid plan even before starting the article.

Write (20%)

When you have a proper plan in mind or at hand, you don’t have to worry about a thing. You know the purpose of your article, you have a structure of how it will look like, and you have already categorized your thoughts accordingly.

Now, if needed, research the topic well to get more information at hand. Read a few similar articles to see what other writers have written so far.

Now start writing your thoughts on the blank white canvas in front of you. Write your ass off. Don’t think about anything. Just write, and finish your first draft anyhow.

While writing your first draft, never look for perfection or any correction. You don’t need to correct grammatical mistakes, spelling, tone, style, etc. You will take care of it later.

Finish your first shitty-draft according to your plan.

Now relax. Take your time. Because, in the next step, you will turn your shitty-draft into an excellent piece of work.

Edit (40%)

It is the final stage to polish your writing like a pro. Editing means giving life to your article with the necessary addition and reduction. It includes content edit, structure edit, style edit, and presentation edit.

I have already discussed it in detail in an article titled ‘To Err Is Human; To Edit, Divine.’ Anyway, I am giving you a concise idea about it here.

The Content Edit

In this stage, choose your purpose. Ask yourself why you’ve written this piece? What will your content try to convey?

Then, check individual points — make sure it’s relevant, worthwhile, unique, and makes sense — delete irrelevant sentences, repetitions, and rambling — verify the facts and finally add missing links.

The Structure Edit

Think from a reader’s perspective and select your angle. Don’t offer scattered information to readers. Be focused on what you are saying.

Then, identify the key sections — create categories — build a narrative and keep your points in proper order.

The Style Edit

After doing the above two edit, your article is now well-organized. Now, read it aloud and remove it if there is any clutter.

Tidy up the paragraphs and references. And finally, make your introduction more evocative.

The Presentation Edit

It’s the final stage before hitting the publish button. Check the basics; grammar, spelling, etc., and fix inconsistencies.

Now, read it aloud. Look at the title, sub-title, and section-headings. You may trim those, if necessary.

When you finish your editing, you are all set to share the article with your readers. Hit the publish button with full confidence and a sense of satisfaction.

Live Example

How I Get the Idea for This Article

I was taking an online course on Business Writing in the morning. At one point, the instructor was discussing a topic about planning and revising.

Then suddenly, an idea sparked in mind. So, I planned this article.

How I Planned

The title came up first. I made a clear and concise title: Plan — Write — Edit. Then quickly, I took a note in the Medium draft section like the following.

➰Title Plan — Write — Edit (though I changed it in my final edit)

➰Purpose To give readers an understanding of how to plan an article easily.

➰Body Introduction — Description of planning, writing, and editing — Example — Conclusion

I Started Writing Immediately

As I had enough time in hand, I started writing immediately. I had enough information in mind already, as I have already completed tons of writing courses this month.

So without further delay, I made my first shitty-draft. Then, I took a break, and later in the evening, I did my editing.

I Edited This a Few Times

In the evening, I edited the article carefully. I checked for spelling errors, grammar, style, tone, etc. Moreover, I removed unnecessary sentences and redundancy.

I tried not being too academic or too casual in this particular writing. So I checked my narrative and made sure everything is sounding well.

Finally, I read it aloud a few times before hitting the publish button.

Final Thoughts

Tell yourself that writing is a skill and anyone can learn it with proper knowledge and understanding.

Yes, it takes time, and you have to spend the time wisely by planning, writing, and editing your content. You have to do one thing at a time.

So, why waiting? Follow the described techniques and write better than ever.

Keep shining.

Thank you for reading.

If you want to learn a simple formula to structure your writing, read the following article published in The Masterpiece.