A bad outline makes a good topic impossible to write because most of the time, the actual writing process is just executing decisions made during outline one by one. No prose can save an article if the structure itself is terrible. And the biggest tell? If you follow the topic too literally, you’re highly likely to write an article that nobody will want to read. Let’s see how to fix that.
Surface-Level vs. Personality-Driven
Over my writing career, which has now spanned a good 12 years of double-guessing my life choices, I’ve seen writers see the title and immediately proceed to turn obvious subtopics into headings. That’s kind of the first thing they do when the brief doesn’t come with its own subtopics. That’s not creative; that’s the formula for creating a predictable, surface-level, thin article.
An article about running shoes? Break it down into Types, Benefits, How to Choose, and FAQs. Something like this will technically cover the topic, but it won’t give you anything interesting to say.
The whole point of me typing away in this blog section is to tell new writers that article writing is about writing interesting articles worth a reader’s time, even if your clients themselves don’t care for the readers! And this ranks pretty high on my list of things to tell new writers. Your article must have something interesting to talk about if it can be helped.
If you’re too rigid, you’ll make a predictable structure/outline for your article. And without even realizing it, you’ll lose your capability to mention interesting stuff, write a creative angle, or introduce an excellent point within your article. It will feel like you’ve done the job. But what separates this article from all the others? Nothing.
Never frame your outline literally. An outline should always have a point of view so that your final article can have personality and perhaps uniqueness as well (not possible in all niches).
Do this:
- Decide what the article is actually trying to tell the reader or what a reader’s actual problem might be.
- Identify the main argument or takeaway before creating headings.
- Make sure you have a clear picture of how to build this out based on some initial research.
- Use that picture to think about how to best present this matter in a structure.
- And the answer will come naturally.
Two writers can cover the same topic but produce completely different articles because their outlines take different approaches. A good outline should make the intended angle obvious.
Moving Forward in an Article
In many cases, a good way to go about it is to think of the article as a story that’s moving forward. This isn’t possible in every scenario, such as guides or technical documentation. But many articles become better with this strategy. Your clients will appreciate it.
Often, outlines contain so much detail that they become miniature drafts themselves. Some are so vague that they’re practically useless (I still remember an order that was a single line, “write anything about carpentry just put [url] somewhere,” and nothing else—clearly a guest post order from someone who clearly didn’t understand how SEO works).
The sweet spot for an outline is to write something in the middle. Each point should ideally cover what’s to be discussed without dictating every sentence that’s to be written. This is the only way you can actually use headings as a writing device to move the article forward.
How?
- Each section will add something new
- No more headings that essentially repeat the previous section in different words
- No scattered ideas, all related ideas together in their own tidy sections
It’s important to think about what the reader needs to know next. Not “what else can I add to this subject.”
Readers often have specific questions, and your headings will naturally answer them one by one in a flow. This is how your article will move forward. Another exercise you might need to do in order to ensure this is starting with what the reader needs to understand the most, then moving on to answering obvious questions, more complicated questions, and maybe even anticipating follow-up questions.
And stop thinking of the outline as a contract! It’s just a tool. More research can often reveal new insights and weaken your original structure. You’ll feel this in your gut. Sometimes, you’ll push the feeling aside and stick to your outline. Don’t do that. That’s not what professionals do. Don’t be afraid to move, combine, or even remove sections. If research changes your understanding of the topic, the outline should change with it. And this can happen at any point during the process.
A good test is to try to see the article before writing it. Read only the headings and bullet points. Does the argument make sense? Does each section have a clear purpose? Is anything missing? And most importantly, is anything there simply because “articles usually have a section about this”?
Phil has been writing professionally for over 12 years. He specializes in well-researched, high-quality content across niches. Over the years, he has developed a vast wealth of knowledge across topics, and tackles any brief confidently and expertly. In his free time, he’s big on collecting limited edition Hot Wheels and other die-cast model cars.
