
How to Write Actionable Content
Actionable content:
Action content is not limited to fiction, other professions such as journalism also mostly focuses on actionable content since that attracts more audiences in their fields. However, action content is probably the hardest one to write since you need a strong grasp on the story. You need to make the plot dominate the entire article or story, however, you can't escape the storyline or else the content is all wrong. Cases when you need to write actionable articles/stories:
1) In case of stories, it is entirely up to you to write whichever way you prefer. However, you can't change the story line. For example, if you're writing a series and it's predominant theme is action. Then you can't just change it into a romantic story somewhere along the way. You can add romantic elements, sure, but you can't change the story line all together.
2) Action articles are mostly used in journalism where you need to focus your story on the topic which, in most cases, is suspense filled. For example; in an article about a robbery, you need to title your content in such a way that it gives the audience a general idea about the robbery itself. It shouldn't be so plain to just say it’s not about a robbery nor should it be so complex that the person thinks of it to be something else entirely.
Tips on how to write an actionable article:
These tips are all given in reference to the different parts of articles such as headings, plots etc.
Title:
1) First and foremost, come up with an article which tells the reader about the article. In DIY articles, for example, the title is basically just telling you about the project at hand. Similarly, in articles about scandals then you need to write the title in a way in which the reader is wondering about the article at hand since they have no idea what it's about and only go for the picture provided with the article. A title for an actionable article is supposed to be written in such a way that the reader has a general idea of what the content is about and what happened exactly, however, you need to establish a certain amount of mystery to the article so the reader is compelled to read the article.
2) Do not make it sound any more dramatic than it actually is. If you're writing an action article then surely the title is dramatic since, well, action. People often over-do it by adding something extra to the title even though it wasn't necessary. When writing romantic content, you add more words and use metaphorical details to compel the reader. This is done since the article is revolving around a certain plot and the writer tries to intensify the title rather than the article. If you're writing action content such as something related to an abduction, then you can't intensify the already intense story or else you'll sound way off course.
Introductory Paragraph:
The introductory paragraph basically provides an overview of what's ahead in the article or in the story. In a story it is often a brief summary or an extract taken from the story itself which provides the most insight on the entire story. The introductory paragraph is essential to write to perfection since it determines whether the reader wants to go ahead with the content or not. In action articles, you need to write it in such a way that it remains short but full of details. The reason being that the plot is supposed to be the dominating part, not this. Hence, make it short, filled with enough details but not with all the details since you need to write something left for the plot.
Plot:
1) The plot is the most important part of whatever it is that you're writing. It is essential for any good article or story but even more important for action articles. Without the plot, the reader is just reading into nothing. A strong plot is enough for you to be known to the readers as someone who can write good. If you're able to write a few articles with a good plot, you'll earn writer credit i.e people would want to read more and more of what you write and with more good plots, they'll read more and so on. However, it is more easy to get a plot wrong than right. This will only discredit you.
2) Add all the details into the plot even details you've mentioned in the introduction or the title, elaborate them or put them in as it is but add them nonetheless. Primarily focus on elaboration. A good action article is filled with more description. Write more and more in detail to get the most reaction out of your audience. They need to be able to feel every aspect of your story.
3) The length of the plot has to be roughly 1/2 of the entire story. The other half is distributed amongst the beginning, ending and all the images. Hence, the plot is the longest.
Ending:
1) The ending is supposed to give the reader the conclusion of all that has just been described - the summary and the writers views on everything. It tells everyone the 'in short'. If your content is about an ongoing story then end the article on a note such as 'more will be added later on' or 'this doesn't end here'. Leave the suspense so that the reader keeps coming back to your story to know what's going on.
2) Keep on adding more to the ending. If the story is ongoing then don't just leave the reader at a cliff-hanger and forget all about the article, keep adding more and more so that you'll earn writers credit hence establishing you as a writer who'll finish what he or she begins.
Pictures:
1) I've already mentioned that you shouldn't add more drama to an already dramatized content. Similarly, you can't add more horrifying pictures or more censored pictures than what you should.
2) If you can't find pictures relating to the article itself, than find images which relate to the article. Leave the more suspense image for the thumbnail and then distribute the other images in a way that the plot gets the second most suspense filled image.
Content That Converts
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