Stymied. It’s a good word to describe those poor, unfortunate souls who have knowledge to write a content-rich article but who run from idea like a quarter horse headed for finish line. Why do they run? Too often because when they sit down with a blank sheet of paper or a blank computer screen, it all seems too overwhelming to even begin, and so they don’t.

However, even if this describes you, it doesn’t have to forever. If you will follow these simple steps and practice a few times, you will be filling in those dead sections of your e-zine with aplomb.

The Idea

Obviously all articles start with an idea. This should be something in your chosen field or in your area of interest—some area that you can shed light on for others. When you find your idea, write it down immediately. Don’t try to write it into paragraph form, just take a moment and jot down a sentence or two—or even a few words—describing what you would like to write article about.

For example, idea for this article might state:

A step-by-step how-to guide to writing articles for people who think they can’t.

The development

This step, I think, is where countless English teachers have completely set up brick walls in minds of their students for years. The teacher gives a writing assignment, and a student asks, “How am I ever going to write two pages?” To which teacher responds, “Just write.”

Of course most English teachers don’t set these blocks up intentionally. The problem is almost invariably, you teach what you’re good at. When you’re good at something, it comes naturally, and you don’t have to think about every single little step you’re doing. However, when you teach, you must think about every single step, and this is where train runs off track.

If we would teach following secret to children as far back as elementary school, fear factor when an adult sits down at a blank computer screen years later would be nearly non-existent.

Here’s secret. Once you have your idea, break it down into three separate sub-topics. For example:

A step-by-step guide to writing articles for people who think they can’t.

1.Have or find an idea

2.Develop idea

3.The five-paragraph model

Each sub-topic is then written about and expounded upon by using supportive information. Think of this supporting information like legs under a table. If you have a table with one leg, obviously it will fall. Two legs will make it wobbly. With three legs table will be more stable, but with four legs it will easily stand on its own. This is your goal with your article—to make each sub-topic supported by enough legs so that it can stand on its own.

So, under each sub-topic, list three to four supporting information bits. For example:

A step-by-step how-to guide to writing articles for people who think they can’t.