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[Ep 225]\n\n\n\nYou\u2019re inspired. An idea seizes you and before the energy fizzles, you whip out a laptop, open a new document, and slam out words. Get it down fast\u2014start writing and discover along the way what you want to say.\n\nI support this approach! Capture the core idea while your creativity sizzles\u2014before your vision fades!\n\nAt some point, however, you need to take a minute to be sure you know four key elements of this project or else your final product may miss the mark.\n\nFor everything we write, we really do need to know:\n\n \ttopic\n \taudience\n \tpurpose\n \tmedium\n\nImagine if today\u2019s article had been titled \u201cFollow These 3 Rules to Organize and Optimize Your RV Kitchen.\u201d You\u2019d wonder if you clicked on the wrong link or cued up the wrong podcast. I do like RV travel and could probably write about it, but because this website provides writing input to readers, an RV article might suit the medium of a podcast that focused on RV owners, but it would not fit the topic, audience, or purpose of a writing coach podcast or website.\n\nUnderstand these fundamental elements of your project, and you\u2019ll save time in the editing stage and ultimately impress publishers and serve readers. You'll build an audience that can tell you are knowledgeable and you understand them.\nBuild This Step into Your Writing Process\nExperienced writers who publish regularly often work through this instinctively because they\u2019ve written for years about a particular subject matter for an outlet that follows a specific format.\xa0These professionals may be able to sit down and tap out an impressive draft that follows style and formatting guidelines, and falls close to the ideal word count.\n\nBut if you\u2019re\u2026\n\n \tnew to writing\n \treturning to it after a long break\n \tcraving a refresher on the basics\n \tconcerned your work isn\u2019t connecting with readers\n \tstepping out to write new subject matter, reach a new audience, or publish in a new media style or outlet\n\n\u2026I recommend you build this step into your writing process more intentionally.\n\nConsciously, deliberately pause in the early stages of development to think through\u2014even write out\u2014brief descriptions of your project\u2019s topic, audience, purpose, and medium.\n\nKnow what you\u2019re setting out to accomplish and why. Determine what you\u2019re writing about and who it\u2019s for. Consider where it\u2019ll be published and distributed, because that affects its depth and design, tone and topic, length and layout.\n\nLock this in before you brainstorm, research, outline, or free write and you\u2019ll find the writing, revising, and editing process more efficient and the finished project\u2019s impact more effective.\nTopic\nLet\u2019s start with that initial inspiration. That creative spark. That idea.\n\nTHE TOPIC QUESTION: What\u2019s this project about?\n\nSometimes you\u2019re assigned a topic; other times the idea blooms from within. Either way, you\u2019ll need to confirm the high-level topic and then articulate how this project will narrow and focus on a particular aspect of it.\n\nFor example, your high-level topic may be vegetable gardening. Are you writing an article for a local garden shop\u2019s newsletter about growing potatoes or how to plant a Three Sisters garden? That\u2019s how you would narrow the high-level topic to be more focused.\n\nIf you function as your own publisher, your \u201cbrand\u201d may cover three or four categories that lead to obvious topic choices that always fit the audience, purpose, and medium.\n\nThe food blogger writes about the high-level topic of food, but narrows it to a few categories like main dishes, side dishes, slow-cooker instructions. Then, she publishes specific articles and recipes under each of those. So any given project\u2014in this case, it\u2019s probably a blog post\u2014will have a specific topic. And that\u2019s what her project is about: it\u2019s an eggplant recipe or instructions for cooking steel cut oats.\n\nYou may find it helpful to express the big idea of this project in one-sentence, as you would a thesis. Or maybe writing the headline will help you answer the topic q...