Part 2 - Tools and Resources to Write a Thousand Articles This Year

Here are more key resources that are invaluable to almost every writer regardless of genre or topics. Let’s continue to look at what these additional ones are and then acquire them for our referral when researching information and writing a thousand articles (or more) in a year.

photo: ELT professional Pablo Lozano organized to write

4. An Almanac – For quick references to key facts and data on a broad range of topics and areas, you simply can’t beat an Almanac and Book of Facts. I even keep two or three older ones from previous years on hand for details regarding a specific year or time frame. I also take the time to tab index my copy for quick and easy reference to frequently-searched topics. Want to know how the population of a certain city or country has grown in the last few years? Need details on a cult figure of the 80s, 70s or 60s? Quickly researching this kind of comparative information is a snap with two, three or more back-issue year almanacs on hand. It’s especially easy if the almanacs are the same series.

5. An Encyclopedia – For a compendium of historic dates, facts and figures, you can’t be a concise encyclopedia. Whether on CD ROMs, online or in print, this essential reference is still useful and up-to-date if you’re using an online or digital version. There are many from which to choose, although one of my personal favorites is Encarta. It’s a good idea to have access to several different kinds of encyclopedias too. This will ensure adequate cover when quickly researching a topic for its principal facts.

6. Technical References – If you’re specialized at all, you’ll definitely need to pick up reference materials, likely on CDs, from a relevant professional organization or trade group. I’m an English as a Foreign language professor and Intellectual Development Specialist, so I need to have technical papers, research and articles on reference CDs acquired from TESOL, Inc. (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) and other trade groups in that field. Don’t forget to subscribe to a few key trade / technical or consumer magazines or periodicals you’ll need to help keep your finger on the pulse of things too.

7. English grammar and Other Reference Books – An assortment of specialized reference books can help you to, jumpstart ideas and topic lines as well as provide some good, general over view information. Writing references are always welcomed. As is a good English grammar book. This includes genre-related books too.

8. Online Resources – Not only are many of the above-listed resources available in print form, but are also available online. List and bookmark frequently-referenced websites including video sites, technical information sites,
writer’s resources and local, national and international news resources online.
Remember to include feeds for any foreign countries or cultures which are relevant to your writing.

Having any, most or all of these suggested resources available during your article-writing and production will greatly enhance your writing by providing you with ready access to key information you’ll need to craft, concise, informative articles. These are the types of articles that get noticed, get read and generate traffic and sales.



If you’d like to join my FREE “Write a Thousand Articles This Year” program, just contact me at writeathousandarticles@gmail.com and we’ll get you started, put you on track and keep you going along with the other dedicated writing professionals in our rapidly growing group. (I’ve just put some freshly re-charged batteries in my Uncle Buzzy’s cattle prod) Just think, a year or less from now, you’ll be the proud author of a thousand or more articles. And your “writer” friends? Gosh, they’ll just be sick with envy. And you? You’ll love every moment of it, you thousand-article-writing devil you.