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The Best Advice We’ve Heard About Four Steps Writing Process

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Knowing how to execute the four steps writing process properly is critical. Whether you’re writing a blog post, a book, or an article — we can all benefit from knowing how.

It’s not just about sitting down and hammering out some words. It’s about learning how to do it in a way that will get you the results you want. This post will tell you everything you need to know about the writing process.

people brainstorming the four step writing process

The First Writing Process: “Brainstorming.”

The first stage of writing is brainstorming. Brainstorming helps generate content ideas, but it’s essential to know when to stop brainstorming and start writing. The more you write, the easier it will be to develop ideas. With this post, you’ll learn how to write better and faster.

We’ll cover some helpful content ideas here, some of which you will immediately see in your head during the writing process. We’ll protect when we’re sure to stop and when the writing isn’t over yet for those who write externally.

We also cover some other tips (for example: if I were writing one of my client’s presentations on topic X., I’d look at brainstorming ideas from various online sources). Why should you care about this?

Because content is still king when it comes to getting your content seen, shared, and, of course, linked to.

Although great content attracts links, it’s only half the battle. Get this post written, and you’ll be the one sharing it, not your client.

Who cares if your client sees an article about your travel blog if they don’t know that it was once the British arm of Google?

Content marketing is a long-term business.

copy smith advertisement

Don’t think of content as a process that stops when your client reads it — think of it as a process that continues after your client reads it.

If that process works, your client will likely share it immediately afterward! Research showed that people see content up to 37 times before they share it.

Get this post written, and your client will see content 37 times before you even consult! What was your not-so-obvious answer when you saw this question coming?

Or perhaps what you found unexpected was that your client was crying out for help! This post is for you.

Understand what engines they’re on top of what’s right: people write for engines. Even billionaire Richard Branson wrote a blog for Yahoo! earlier in 2014.

finding the puzzle piece

The Second Writing Process: “Outlining.”

Outlining is the second writing stage, and it’s all about figuring out what you’ll say.

This is often the most challenging part because it’s the stage where you must think about your writing and how you want to say it.

Just like anything else, if you don’t do it — you won’t get anything done.

It’s the same with your writing: You want to make it well-structured, well-organized, and information-rich.

Your article will be more effective than if you didn’t do yours. But it will also reduce the editing you need to make it approved for publication.

So let’s take a look at the process with some examples below.
Example 1:

It’s nighttime. Your girlfriend is fussing over you while you’re in bed.

You just got off work after a long day at work.

You can still relax — you have to get rid of that device in your hand that’s keeping you awake at 2:30 a.m.

You open your laptop and do what’s natural.

However, before you get halfway done reading articles on your phone, you look at your screen and see a notification.

It says you just got an email that’s about to fill you with questions you don’t even know to ask.

This is your first sign that there was a problem.

You scoot your chair out of bed and lay down on the floor so you can answer the email more quickly, but you also want to avoid accidents.

You’ll eventually get to it, but it’d be best not to answer any emails before you even finish reading them.

As frustrating as it can be to read hundreds of emails full of unhelpful questions, writing them down makes them less likely to pop up in a future article.

They may even save you from facing that “what ifs” question.

You answer the email, and the words begin to pour out of you.

people drafting the idea

The Third Writing Process: “Drafting.”

When writing a blog post, you should always complete the first draft in one sitting. This is because you’ll get the ideas out of your head and onto the paper, and it’s easier to edit when you’re not writing.

Use a notecard or regular notebook. Pick a topic/key idea from the post that you think someone would be interested in, and write a rough draft before moving forward.

copy Smith

Doing it saves you time, removes distractions, and makes perfect sense. Now, how do we write?

Here are the three essential parts of writing: Brainstorming:

This includes everything after the words “I want to write.” “Try this,” “Skip this,” “Sounds interesting.”

It includes the things you think up while sitting on the couch sifting through the news or brainstorming.

Writing: This consists of the actual words that you write. In this section, you determine how you will structure the terms and construct your paragraphs.

Editing: This is the final section where you revise your draft and get ready for the next round of editing.

So… Let’s talk about the first part: brainstorms. It’s essential to develop a few ideas/paragraphs that you should write down and have a specific plan during your writing session.

Some of these can be general ideas you want to accomplish later, but others you need to have defined now.

Here are Some Key Ideas:

Google Trends: Stop me when you’re high! Did you know that for any search term, there is a search trend for that specific search term?

We just uncovered a big one off the coast of Australia for “how to win your first Grammy”!

World Cup Totals: Multiple outlets report that this weekend’s games are set to feature some of the highest viewership numbers.

person finally finished writing

The Fourth and Final Writing Process: “Editing.”

Editing is vital.
The four stages of writing:
 1) writing, 
2) self-editing, 
3) Editing 
4) proofreading. 

Editing is the final stage of the writing process. It reviews your work to ensure it is complete, consistent, and free of errors.

We go through all the stages of editing a story when we write an article. Not to get too deep in writing theory, but the first draft of any piece of writing is a blank slate.

Grammarly Writing Support

This is your starting point. Whenever you sit down to write, much effort goes into structuring the words so that your story flows and leaves you with the results you are looking for.

Here are some crucial tips to perfect your writing. Exercise before writing Writing is a headspace exercise. It’s not just coffee in the morning.

Commit to doing a few writing exercises, even if it’s just sending out an email with some random ideas or ideas you’ve had stuck in your mind.

For writers, it is imperative to write exercises on sticky notes. These can be sticky notes from your computer.

Or they can be paper “note-ers,” like actual business cards you have circled in your mind.

There’s no right or wrong way to use sticky notes. However, these can be helpful. For instance, many might be referring to sticky notes as strategies.

You can use many different sticky note strategies. Such as color-coded sticky notes for tasks, sticky mail notes, sticky post-it notes, pen-and-paper sticky notes, your own homemade sticky note plan, and the list.

Just remember, the more you do it (ideally multiple times a day), the better you’ll become at writing with a sticky note.

Rest Before Writing

Keep your posture and marching orders in mind.

Concentrate on your stride.

You’ll be walking a lot. Take a few minutes to get your head into the correct position to power through the next few steps.

As a writer, you should know that it’s not enough to write.

You should take some steps before your work is ready for prime time.

This post covered the middle stages of writing — outlining and drafting — which you must master to become a better writer.

And the tools that will help you become the writer you desire to become. They are free to check out and test each one.

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Conclusion,

We would love to know what you think. Would you do us a favor and leave a comment if you have a moment?

It enables us to improve upon everything we do.

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Some of the links in this article are affiliate links. If you were to buy something after clicking on one of these links, I would get a small commission. 

Thanks for being part of the community!

Kevin

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Kevin Meyer

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