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Do you want to be successful on Steemit? You will have to improve your writing ability!
Writing well is a matter of 50% practice, 50% knowledge. If you practice writing frequently, eventually you will get decent, even without any theory backing it. However, if you have both writing theory and practice under your belt, you will be able to ascend above others! So, today I will share what I have previously learned in school as I still use those tips today. 

Firstly, you’d want to decide on the structure of your writing. To determine this, you want to determine your FAP! **Format, Audience, Purpose.** *(I know what you were thinking!)*

In the case of a blogging platform like Steemit, Format is more flexible as there aren’t any real restrictions here. However, depending on your Audience and Purpose, writing a post in a different format may work better than the originally planned one. For example, an environmental message may function well as an informational piece but it may be boring to some audiences. It would be interesting to prepare your article in the form of an open letter. There is so much you can play with when it comes to formatting. Inside the Company is an example of playing with formats for creative writing. I chose to use an interactive diary entry format. So, it is as if the main character was updating his own blog as the story progressed. This allows for a more personal aspect to the story, allowing readers to feel more relatable to the character. (Or rather that is the intention)

Next, is the audience you are trying to target. This is exceptionally important! There is no point in writing in a way that would appeal to nobody. There will always be a target market for everything! If you write extremely formally for a children’s magazine, the kids will get bored by the time they get through half of your first paragraph! Similarly, you won’t write to the Queen of England with “Wassup homie! Where the swag at?”. At that point, you will surely be arrested for treason and crimes against the English language! 

Purpose. There is no sense in writing without a purpose. What message are you trying to convey? Sometimes, there are stories where they had a message to begin with but the story ends with another. This is because they poorly structured their story and promptly forgot what was the reason behind writing their story in the first place. Be clear to yourself before writing. Ask yourself, “Why am I writing this?” When you do, you will have an easier time writing a consistent article. 

Now, it is time to go into A FOREST!

**A** – A stands for two things, alliteration and anecdote. Alliteration is when you use the same starting sounds on words. This makes it easier for readers to identify an emphasis due to the “tongue-twisting” aspect of your writing. It is good to alliterate when you are making a point. However, always alliterating above all will place past your piece’s purpose/point. So, use it sparingly and when necessary. Alliteration can be used for both creative and formal writing as the purpose behind this technique is very flexible.

An anecdote is a story or personal account. This is great as a header for persuasive pieces as it immediately builds a personal bond between your readers and you. For example, if you are writing about cyberbullying, starting with the statistics of cyberbullying in your country may be fine. However, sharing a story about when you were harassed online and how you’d wish for it never to happen to anyone else would evoke empathy in the audience. Thus, your words will hold more impact to the audience as they would care more about what you’d have to say. I wouldn’t use many anecdotes for creative writing as there is not much reason for it. However, your characters can use anecdotes when trying to persuade other characters to do things for them!

**F** - F is for Fact! You cannot write an informative article without facts. Make sure that all facts are properly researched. (Buzzfeed doesn’t count) Concrete facts with proper sources will make any informative text more substantial to readers. There is nothing more disappointing to readers when they are promised by the headline that there is a cure for cancer in the article only to discover it is a drug that doesn’t even exist. They would feel cheated for their time because of the lack of research done by the writer.

**O** - Expert Opinion! This is an extension of the previous point. When writing an informative piece, it would be useful to find an expert to comment on the situation. As we are all nobodies, readers will only take our words with the tiniest grain of salt. However, if we were to include an actual quote by someone who is an expert on the matter, it increases the credibility of our article! However, don’t dream up an expert, invested people will look it up. 

**R** - R is another double whammy. Repetition and Rhetorical Question. Repetition is good for building emphasis on a particular word. For example, ‘Real estate is about location, location, location’ However, there is an associated risk that comes with repetition. By frequently repeating a word or phrase, you may run the risk of making your article monotonous or boring. So, use repetition sparingly and only for heavy emphasis on something.

A Rhetorical Question is when you ask a question to the audience that is intended to be answered in your writing. Rhetorical Questions are pretty many staples in speeches. Whenever you are writing a speech or anything meant to be persuasive, a personal bond between the audience and the spokesperson is a necessity. By asking a question, you are effectively voicing out the thoughts that your audience may have. Think about questions that your audience may ask and need clarification on. For example. “You may be asking, “How do you make money on Steemit? Well, you do so by…”

**E** - E means Emotive Language. Avoid the word ‘very’ if possible. Using ‘very’ reduces the impact of certain words, making it less emotive. Use terrified, instead of very scared. Use colossal instead of very large. Language is meant to be played with. The stronger your grasp of the language is, the more impact it will have on the reader. So, read more! Learn what other authors use to woo their audiences! Using emotive words will increase the emotional investment readers have in your writing!

**S** - S is for Statistics. Tied to Facts (as stated above). Statistics are always a great way to make a point. However, it is important to understand some basic statistical concepts. Firstly, sample size matters. If I ask 5 friends whether they like cheese and only one person likes it, I cannot say 1 out of every 5 people likes cheese. If your sample size is too small, your statistic isn’t the most credible. Next, for the more tech savvy, identify the p-value (significance) of the statistic. This will determine if the statistic was purely by chance. Of course, this is more if you run your own surveys. If you are just researching other people’s surveys, the main thing to look out for is their sampling size and sampling method. Why method? Because method matters! For example, should they choose to randomly sample people in an affluent neighbourhood compared to a poor one, it is likely that their buying behaviours may differ! There are many different sampling methods out there that would be too long and convoluted to explain in a single post, so I will spare you the details for now. 

**T** - Tripling! The power of three! Third time’s the charm! Much like repetition, tripling is good to emphasise a point. It flows much better to have it in threes as two is too little and four is too much! Three is the magic number! However, much like repetition, you wouldn’t want to use this too much as it would become redundant. Tripling is also good for short writing like for ads or for poetry! This is because it helps build significance to your point. 

Well, that is it for now! Those are my writing tips to help you get started on your Steemit adventure! A bit more on the theoretical side. If people are interested in this sort of post, maybe I will make more. Let me know in the comments below! Feel free to ask me any questions! 

Image source: 	[Petar Milošević - Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fountain_pen_writing_(literacy).jpg)