How to Write a 2,000-Word How-to Post

Have you been tasked to write a medium length post and have no idea how to go about doing it? Most people will have a hard time writing a 500-word post. What more can they feel when they are tasked to write 3x that length right? 

There’s actually a simple and easy to follow trick in writing a 2,000-word post and I will teach you how to do it.  

The first thing you have to bear in mind, writer or not, is that a 2,000-word how-to post is doable and that like any other task you are initially unfamiliar or uncomfortable with, it always comes down to your mindset. Writing a 2,000-word post for the first few times is like being asked to write a three-paragraph essay in your primary/elementary school days! Do you still remember those days? But once you get the hang of writing medium-length posts, it’ll all come easy.

If you follow my how-to post, you’ll be able to write a 2,000-word article like a professional writer in no time! 

The first tip is to divide your writeup into 3 parts namely:

1. Introduction - This is the part where you have to define your topic to give the reader an idea of what you’re talking about. For example, your topic is about how to take care of indoor plants. Your introduction can include the unique traits of indoor plants and/or the science behind why they thrive with minimal light/sunlight. 
2. Body - This is where you extensively talk about your topic. In our indoor plant example, you can write about the different kinds of indoor plants and how one can take care of each. You can also talk about the pros and cons of each example. A rating of each say a 5 star rating scale would help a lot. 
3. Conclusion - Here, you can summarize the things you discussed in the introduction and body of your post. Generally, you want to help the reader come up with a decision in this part. In our example, we can help the reader choose which plants are best for an apartment vs. a bungalow vs. a mansion.

You can also treat this like a movie. A movie has three acts namely:

1. Setup - This is the part where we introduce characters and a specific problem or conflict. 

In the movie Beauty and the Beast, an enchantress cursed a prince along with his servants. She turned the prince into a beast and his servants into random stuff. The curse can only be broken if the prince (the Beast) finds true love. 

For example, you are tasked to write about fitness. One of the simplest things you can write about is your own fitness journey. Let’s say you were obese in the past. Then you can write about the pain of being obese. And finally, the realization that you need to get fit.   

2. Confrontation - Also known as the “climax.” 

In the movie Beauty and the Beast, the Beast softens his heart towards Belle and Belle realizes she loves Beast. However, Gaston the protagonist marches his way to the Beast’s castle to slay him. Gaston succeeds in killing the Beast (using treachery of course). 

For our fitness journey post, there you can write about the specific steps you did to get fit. Maybe you can share a specific diet you followed and any exercise routine you used. Be as detailed as you can to get. Write down where you found the exercise routine. Did you find it from the internet? What websites did you look into? Were there any forums where you consulted people? Did you enroll in a gym? Let the reader engross himself with your experience. Let the reader avoid the mistakes you did. Your reader might even find your mistakes funny because he or she had the same experience. 

3. Resolution - The last part involves the conclusion to the story. It’s usually a happy ending. Or sometimes, it’s an open ended ending where nobody knows what happened next. For Beauty and the Beast, Beast dies but Belle professes her love. The Beast finally finds true love so the enchantress releases him and his servants from the curse. 

...and they lived happily ever after.

Your possible resolution post can be your success in losing weight and how you feel. This can include a conclusion where you detail your plans for the future and how you can maintain a healthy lifestyle. 

What’s your favorite movie and does it fit this model?

Or use the scientific method:

1. Define the problem - This is like writing an introduction but only in the form a problem. List down the things that you and the reader might be having trouble with. Being able to nail down most of the things a reader is experiencing is a great hook for him or her to read further. Try to ask questions who, what, when where and how.

For example, the topic is how to become a better learner. You can write down the symptoms of a slow learner say, not being able to concentrate, easily gets distracted, trouble memorizing, not retaining any information after reading chapters over and over again, not understanding advanced concepts, etc. 

And then...

2. Make a hypothesis and test it - Then you can start writing how you plan/planned on tackling the problem. You can list several probable solutions to your problem and then detailing the pros and cons of each. Next, write one or a few options you’re going to experiment doing. 

In the having trouble learning example, you can list down the possible solutions to the common problems and then elaborate why: 

Not being able to concentrate - Remove distractions, study in a quiet place (library or a specific room), alot specific times of the day to study (late at night, early morning), have enough sleep

Easily gets distracted - turn off cellphones and other gadgets, remove notifications in the browser, study away from the fridge

Have trouble memorizing - have enough sleep, be healthy, memory techniques (memory palace, mnemonics, etc.)

Not retaining any information after reading chapters over and over again - Have enough sleep, taking breaks, Pomodoro technique, answering quizzes instead of just reading and trying to memorize

Not understanding advanced concepts - not understanding basic concepts to the core, consulting peers and/or experts, looking for other learning resources

3. Form the conclusion - After detailing the steps on how to solve a problem, it’s time to come up with a conclusion. Write down the most effective and most efficient way of solving things. The answer should come from the possible solutions you listed. Sometimes, it’s okay to write down multiple answers because people aren’t the same. In the last sentence, it’s good practice to write it in the form of a call to action. 

From our learning example, you can write the things that worked and haven’t worked for you. 

I’ve listed some of the most common ways to help people study and honestly, not all of these worked for me. For not being able to concentrate, I would’ve written that I studied best in the wee hours of the night between 11pm to 2am and a few hours after I wake up. 

For having trouble memorizing stuff, I would have written that not having enough sleep messed up my memory and that just having enough sleep boosted my memory. 

Next, reading chapters over and over again and then not retaining any information simply didn’t work for me because I regularly needed short breaks to rest my mind. I found that a 25 minute study session mixed with a 5 minute break worked best for me. It was also easier to manage since I can break down my study time into 30-minute chunks. I would have also added that a 30-minute session wasn’t always possible and that finishing early or late was okay as long as I was able to retain something. I would add that everyone is different so experimenting what works best for you is the most effective way. 

Lastly, not understanding concepts meant I didn’t understand its connection from the basic concepts and that relying on only one resource is not good. The best way is relying on one main learning resource and having multiple sources like the internet, YouTube or another book. 

After listing down what works for me, I would have written the call to action asking my readers what they think worked for them or maybe challenging them to experiment and then sharing down what worked. 

Now go back to my first paragraph and read it again. Notice what I did there? I wrote about the problem of writing a 2,000-word post and elaborated the common pain points of being tasked to write one. This can be treated as my introduction, setup or problem depending on what point of view you would like to see it with. 

This brings us to my list of techniques in writing a 2,000-word post:

1. Use Lists - Lists make posts easier to read. Admit it, sometimes you just browse lists for answers. Creating a numbered or bulleted list would help the reader look for a summarized answer. It will also make your post easier to read because it is not cluttered in a wall of text. 
2. Use Images - Images make your composition more interesting. I myself love reading captions on images I see on books. And like lists, it breaks down the monotony of walls and walls of text. 
3. Use Quotes - Quotes from experts or influential people help amplify what you discuss. Try mixing quotes relevant to a point or funny quotes connected enough with your topic. 

“I love quoting people in my posts.”

-Elnel Andrew N. Roque

4. Use the Pronouns “You” and “I” - be an authoritative writer. Always use the word “I” to make it personal and then “You” to engage your reader. 

5. Use Analogies - Compare your statements with easy to understand concepts or scenarios. It will make your writing easy to read and follow along. 

If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough. 

- Albert Einstein

6. Ask Questions - Engage your reader to read and understand your post. Scatter questions on your post. You can use thought provoking questions. I personally like using friendly yes or no questions like “Did you experience something similar?”

7. Be Personal - Since you are writing a how-to post, use personal experience in handling the topic. You can chip-in things you would do or have already done to help the reader understand your thought process.

8. Take Time to Edit Your Work - I usually write something in the morning, finish it by lunch and then edit it in the evening. I let it sit overnight and then go for a last edit in the morning after before I schedule it for posting. Leaving your work and then going back to it is good practice in editing. Sometimes, we don’t spot the mistakes we’ve just written. Leaving it for a while let us read a post we’ve written with fresh eyes. 

9. Write for a specific audience - It’s good practice to write as if you are writing for yourself. But, it’s better practice if you have a specific reader in mind. Like for this post, I’m writing for people who are struggling to write 2,000-word how-to posts. These people need tips that are easy to follow. 

10. Play with Italic and Boldface Text- Like bulleted lists, italic and boldface text break the monotony of plain text. Using boldface text highlights the importance of the subject you are writing about. Generally, you use italics for quotes but I also use it sparingly (+boldface) on the most important text that I want to emphasize. And then use boldface text for titles, lists and other important text. 

Writing a 2,000-word post isn’t hard. It isn’t a walk in the park either. You just have to put in some thought in the process. Structure your work into at least three small parts and then start churning the words. The next thing you know, you might’ve went over the 2,o00-word mark. Trust me, I’ve done this thousands of times!

Now check the word count of this post and tell me what you think.