It is said that if a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing well; and this applies to writing, too. Writing any piece of content is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. It is like embarking on a journey, and before you set out, some things need to be put in place. Here are three critical questions that should lay the foundation for anything you want to write.

1. Why do I want to write?

You know what? It’s tricky to extract thoughts from our head and pen them down – yea it is! To do this successfully, you must first establish the purpose for which you want to write. Are you writing to educate, entertain, inspire, or just to share some experiences and ideas? What do you hope to achieve through the piece? Do you just want your voice to be heard as a solution to a problem you care about? Are there questions you are trying to provide answers to? Why you want to write will determine a lot of things, including how you will go about the writing, the voice/tone, structure, language, style, etc. Get clear on this question before you begin writing.

2. Who am I writing for?

This is an essential question that many writers miss or fail to answer thoroughly. Except you’re just putting down your thoughts in your diary, my guess is that you want to communicate something to someone, and you need to know exactly who you want to talk to. To ensure the end goal is met, you must know who will consume your content. As a writer give concern for both yourself and your reader; create a detailed psychographic profile of your potential readers, then approach them using your story.

3. What’s my message?

Once you are clear on why you need to write and who you’re writing for, only then you can structure a clear message. So, what exactly do you want to talk about? What point do you want to convey? When someone is done reading your piece, what do you want them to get out of it? Call back an experience, research knowledge, explore other ways to dig out information that conveys the message that when sent to your audience, will help you achieve the purpose of your writing.