Ready to write? Answer these 5 questions first

If you’re ever having a truly difficult time writing an article, you may be surprised to learn the real problem is not at all what you think.

Sure you may chastise yourself for being lazy. You might call yourself a “procrastinator,” and you may think the story itself is simply too complicated, too boring or too wearisome.

But did it ever occur to you that you may have started writing too quickly?

That’s right! You may have started before you were ready. Here are five questions you need to ask to determine whether your story is actually ready for writing.

Don’t write before asking them.

1. How long does the article need to be? Weirdly, bosses don’t always give this information. Even more weirdly, writers don’t always ask for it. But think about it: Doesn’t the eventual length of the piece dictate its form? If I asked you to write a 1,000-word article on your company’s employee safety plan, that would be a very different piece from a 250-word article. Not only would you have to write it differently, you’d also need to research it differently.