So, you've been regularly posting at web sites and reading what everyone else is writing! But what you'd really like to do, is get your own hands dirty: Grovel around in the fertile soil of your imagination and grow a little article of your own. Tell everyone more about what you really think!

Well, nothing could be easier.

Honestly!

Let's start with the basics and toss in a few of those other little details that make someone's writing more user friendly to readers.

Take a look at your hand. What is it made of? Nails, skin, knuckles, lines, freckles, muscle, blood and a myriad of other things too numerous to mention here. Layer upon layer, wrapped around and attached to bones: Your skeleton. In fact, without your skeleton, you'd be a great gluggy glob of undefined humanity. unable to achieve anything beyond sitting somewhere. And thinking.

The same is true of an article. Every article has a structure or skeleton, if you will.

Imagine the first paragraph as the article's "head". That's where you introduce your topic. You state what the article is about and what your article is trying to prove about that topic or theme.

In your following paragraphs, you are going to state your main points and explain what you mean by them. One point per paragraph. You write as many paragraphs as you have points you want to make to prove what you've stated in paragraph one. Imagine these as the "ribs", "pelvis" and "leg" bones of your article.

The final paragraph are the "feet" or foundation of your article. It's where you summarize what you've said and demonstrate how you've reached the conclusions you've originally stated in paragraph one.

Now, before you do anything else, you have to decide what your article is going to be about. The theme of your piece. Don't worry about your title yet; we'll get to that later.

Next, you have to decide what your angle is. In other words, what is it you want to say about your theme?

Let's take a simple example. My article is going to be about "nursery rhymes."  This is the point of time when you decide what sort of article it's going to be. Is it going to be a humorous piece or humorless?  Academic or personal? Because it's your article, you can make it into anything you want. But it's best to be guided by what is going to most effectively communicate what you want to say.

In my case, my angle is going to be on the theme of  "today's parents should be careful when using nursery rhymes". I'm going to make it humorous with some serious undertones. I'll use commonly known nursery rhymes and quotes from children to introduce the humor.

Next, you gather your resources. Find out whatever you need to know. It's formally called research but that's basically all it is: Gathering your material. Write down what points you want to make and find material that supports them. If you'd like to add interest to your article, make sure your information gathering includes facts, quotes and/or anecdotes, centered around your main theme and in support of your points. If necessary, organize interviews for your quotes (grab a friend, colleague, relative or use your contacts). It isn't necessary to include all three types of material. You will always need facts. Anecdotes and quotes can be gathered from programs, press kits, comments you've heard people make or even other books and articles (as long as you quote your source).

You can decide on your title at any time in the process. You want to treat it like a headline in a newspaper. Make it a tease: Something that draws your reader in but doesn't give everything away. Or, to put it another way, show them some shoulder and they only see the whole act once they're committed!

In my case, I'm going to call this article, " Cooking Mother's Goose!"

Take all your notes and references and sort them into some rational order. It's best if one point/paragraph leads on to the next, in a logical fashion. Let's look at a possible plan of "Mother's Goose". (By the way, ¶ is the symbol meaning paragraph).

Points I want to make about the topic:

a/ History of Nursery Rhymes
b/ Their use in past society's
c/ Are nursery rhymes still interpreted in today's western societies in the same way they were originally interpreted?
d/ Do they serve the same purpose?
e/ What are nursery rhymes really communicating in this day and age?
f/ Should past nursery rhymes still be used?
g/ How do we judge what should or shouldn't be used?

Let's plan our article! I haven't included everything I'd need for this article in my notes here. You can include as much detail as you need or want for your own planning purposes: It's your article so you judge what information you'd need for your planning. Make sure you include such information as the names of references, page numbers, tape numbers etc., (see ¶ 4) in your notes or on your planning sheet.

¶ One: Introduction.

My theme: Nursery rhymes and their inappropriate values in today's society.
My angle: Many nursery rhymes in their original forms meant something totally different to what they're interpreted as today.

¶ Two: History of Nursery Rhymes.

From adult amusement to childhood morality tale:. Summarize this progression briefly.
Quote: An early example of a well known nursery rhyme. "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary".
Anecdote: Tell the story behind the rhyme.

¶ Three: Their Use in  Past Western Societies

Quote nursery rhymes and write anecdotes demonstrating their past uses.
Morality plays: "Come When You're Called"
Political comment: "Sing A Song of Sixpence"
Teaching concepts when there were no schools: "Thirty Days Hath September".

¶ Four: Are nursery rhymes interpreted today as they once were?

Anecdotes and Quotes: Original appropriateness behind nursery rhymes and quotes from elementary school kids and teachers saying what they think they mean and whether they should/should not be used today.
One example considered cruel by today's understanding:

"Don't Care"
Don't-care didn't care,
Don't-care was wild.
Don't-care stole plum and pear
Like any beggar's child.

Don't-care was made to care,
Don't-care was hung.
Don't-care was put in a pot
And boiled till he was done.

One example of irrelevant material or content not understood by most today:
"A Red Sky In The Morning"
A red sky in the morning
Is the shepherd's warning;
A red sky at night
Is the shepherd's delight.

- quotes from interviews at Sir Chakotay's Elementary School, Starfleet Academy. Grade 5. Tape 4. Starting at:345. Teacher: Ms. Janeway. Students: Jey Tuvok and Ellery Kim.

¶ Five: Are nursery rhymes serving the same purpose?

Modern day rhymes used by students at Sir Chakotay's.
How they're used by students.
Compare with earlier examples and their use.

¶ Six: What are yesterday's nursery rhymes really communicating?

Examples of today's attitudes that differ from past values or morality. Examples of past nursery rhymes that contradict today's values and morality.
 

 ¶ Seven: Should past nursery rhymes still be used?

Quotes from parent/s about whether or not they use nursery rhymes and why.
Quote from librarian about what is included in collection and why.
Present contradictory views.

¶ Eight: What criteria?

Present a quote about criteria to use from:
- a child
- a parent
- a teacher
- a librarian

¶ Nine: Summary

Conclude that nursery rhymes have a place in today's society if used selectively. Re-state the criteria suggested and clarify that all responsible for guiding today's children should pre-read what they're going to present to children and consider exactly what it is they're communicating. If they are going to be concerned about what current literature and media are presenting to children then they need to be concerned what nursery rhymes are teaching their young. Nursery rhymes include some of the earliest forms of oral literature and must be treated as carefully and selectively as any other form or literature or media.
 

This is your article. You get to say what goes in and stays out. If you haven't got enough to say, do some more research and some more thinking about your topic.

Remember that nobody writes great articles or material off the top of their heads. They write and re-read and correct. They hone it until they're happy with it and then present it to their public. The more you write, the more efficient you become at saying exactly what it is you want to say.

There's no magic to writing: Just trying things out and seeing if they work or not. Experiment. If something doesn't work, throw it out. If you're not sure how to do something, find out. If something works, use it again.

And always remember, mistakes are why editors were created. If they had nothing to correct, they'd feel unloved and unwanted! And we wouldn't want that now, would we?
 

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