<center>https://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/08/08/creativityfbad9.jpg</center> 

Are you wondering how journalists and professional writers dish out article after article in record time?
There’s a technique to researching a topic, choosing the best sources, and then being able to write an article on that topic as quickly and accurately as possible. Einstein was on to something when he said creativity is the art of hiding your sources. Almost everything you can imagine has already been written. It might be buried in an academic paper or some obscure Kindle book, but the chances are that your incredible insight you thought nobody knew, is noted down somewhere already.

Finding this content and condensing the information into a well-written and useful piece is an art by itself. Let’s get things straight, I’m not saying you should start copying stuff. Our sources are there to inspire us, to find connections that have not been made before, to curate the best insights you can find, and then create a stellar Steemit post on it!

## Step #1 – Research
 
Step 1 is all about gathering content. This process is very similar to what people do in high school or college when preparing to write an essay or term paper. Gather as much information as possible from a variety of sources. Start with a simple Google search and then take it to the next level by searching for scientific studies, news articles, images, and videos. Then expand you search with additional keywords you are finding. Try synonyms and different spellings. Try these on various search engines so you can paint a clear picture of the information that is currently available. 

Here’s a few to consider:
http://www.wolframalpha.com
https://scholar.google.com
http://academic.research.microsoft.com
https://news.google.com

When creating your note taking system, some information you'll want to consider capturing includes:
•	The link to the content
•	The title of the content
•	The main keyword you plan on using and any interesting points you can expand on later
•	Related keywords
•	Graphs and statistics (if available)

Capture any details that you find relevant. Personally, I like to throw everything in a mindmap and use that as a basis to design my posts. But any note taking software will do. Evernote definitely springs to mind. Or even a simple Google spreadsheet. Mindmaps work the best as you will see later in this post.

## Step #2 – Assessment 

We are going to validate your post idea to make sure that people actually care about what you are saying. This will increase the engagement and relevancy of your post.
Validating your idea answers the question: Is your post idea interesting to your readers?
Go through all the links that you have found in step 1. 

Specifically, take a closer look at the following items:
#### 1) Online blogs that talk about your topic
Check out online blogs that have written on the same subject. Do you think you can improve the content they’ve created? Don’t forget to check the comments, the feedback from people who are searching for those keywords is invaluable. They might give you an insight into why they need this information.
#### 2) Popular Content Created by Others on Steemit
What other content has been published on this topic before? Have people engaged with it? Who has linked back to this content? Again, pay close attention to the comments.
#### 3) Relevant Conversations
Are your people talking about this topic? What specific challenges are they facing? To find this information, you can use Twitter advanced search or Google+ Communities. But the real value often comes from industry forums -- they are a gold mine of hopes, dreams, and challenges. Here’s where you can find hidden insights that can boost your post to epic levels.

Before moving onto Step 3, it is important you document the best bits of the content you just found in your system. You will use this information later to write your article. This is where a mindmap really shines, you can add an entire train of thought without losing sight of the big picture.

## Step #3 – Mine your content

<center>https://bufferblog-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/word-count-social-shares-1024x6681.png</center> 
<center>Image by bufferapp.com</center> 
By now you will have a proven idea for your content.  No doubt you have also captured a bunch of interesting content along the way that will shape your understanding of the subject.
Now it is time to think about how you can stand out from other posts on the same topic. The best way to do this is to add dramatically more value to your posts than anyone else has. Write long-form content, with more detail, depth,  and media types in your post. 

Let’s have a look at some of the types of content you may like to include and where to find them:

Images and infographics: Google image search, Pinterest, Instagram, Infographic directories
Podcasts and webinars: Search in podcast and webinar directories, or use Google search
Video: YouTube, Vimeo, TED talks
Presentations: SlideShare and Prezi
Stats and quotes: Wolphram alpha
Tools, widgets and resource downloads: Open source software, Google or Apple iTunes app store.

## Step #4 – Start Writing!

You’ve come this far and have a clear idea of what you are going to write about. Your mindmap is filled with intricate connections, relevant images, and golden nuggets. You can’t wait to share this info with the world!

This is where the mindmap has its moment in the spotlight again. You can completely map out your post from start to finish on it. Then you have to pour it all into a coherent whole without losing sight of the big picture. A picture is worth a thousand words, so I cannot give a better example than showing you the exact mindmap I used to create this very post:

<center><a href="https://www.steemimg.com/image/96TWh"><img src="https://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/08/08/mindmappostwriting496e8.jpg" alt="mindmappostwriting496e8.jpg" border="0" /></a></center> 
<center>Click the picture for a bigger view</center> 

The entire thought process and flow of this post are outlined in that mindmap. This facilitates the writing process considerably! It took me about 2 hours to research this post, and another hour to create the mindmap and write it all up. 

What do you think of this technique of churning out content? Do you have a different way of researching or note taking? I'd love to hear your opinion on this!

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Here are some other posts that can help you get a quality post done:
[Use these resources to get royalty-free images for your posts](https://steemit.com/steemit/@menta/make-your-posts-legal-by-using-these-royalty-free-media-sites)
[Get rid of your grammar mistakes by installing Grammarly](https://steemit.com/steemit/@menta/get-rid-of-your-spelling-and-grammar-mistakes-in-your-steemit-posts-for-free)

**[Make sure to follow me by clicking here and hitting the big 'follow' on the top right of your screen](https://steemit.com/@menta)**