s an editor and a creative non-fiction instructor, I see many articles and essays that lack focus. The ideas are there, but the pieces seem to lack a core. Somewhere along the line, the authors have lost their way.

This problem can happen to any of us. Sometimes, it’s because of too much information. We have some good ideas; we decide to do a little more research—at least a few Google searches—and suddenly we’re overloaded. We have enough for a book or two. The problem has become not what to include, but what not to.

Other times, we get off track because we focus so much on what we want to say that we ignore who we are and what compelled us to write about this topic in the first place.

Here’s an easy way to bring your ideas into focus.

Take a piece of paper and turn it sideways. Make 4 columns, one for each of these headers:

WHO?	Wants to say WHAT?	To WHOM?	WHY?

Now, use the questions below to brainstorm your answers to these questions.

Part I. Writing Articles

I’m using an example of someone writing an article about five affordable ways to maintain a swimming pool with environmentally-friendly chemicals.

In the WHO? column

Think about which part(s) of your personality are driving you to write this piece.

• Which are you:
  • a knowledgeable person
  • an experienced person
  • an advice giver
  • a storyteller
  • a comedian
  • a disgruntled consumer
  • an angry citizen
  • a caring parent/grandparent
  • a whistleblower
  • ?

WHO?	Wants to say WHAT?	To WHOM?	WHY?
a parent owner of a swimming pool for 20 years someone very concerned about the environment

In the WHAT? column

Think about the content of your piece.

• What do you want to tell the world about?
• What interests you about this topic?
• What is the core message you want your readers to hear when they read your piece? That is, which parts of your message are vital, and which are extra?

In our example:

WHO?	Wants to say WHAT?	To WHOM?	WHY?
a parent owner of a swimming pool for 20 years someone very concerned about the environment	here are 5 easy, affordable ways to keep your pool clean and not hurt the environment these chemicals are also safer for the swimmers

In the TO WHOM? column

Think about the target audience for your piece. If you are writing for people exactly like yourself, then you already know your audience. However, if you’re writing for a broader audience, you’ll need to think carefully about the people you are trying to reach. 

The more you know about your audience, the better you can match your piece to their needs, their interests, and their experiences. The more you know about them, the better you can use words and images they are familiar with. Try to be as specific as you can be about your intended readers. Consider their:

• • age
  • gender
  • language
  • cultural background
  • economic background
  • educational background
  • lifestyle
  • geographic region
• Ask yourself what they might already know about your topic. Most people don’t need to hear that the environment is in danger, but do they know that their pool chemicals are adding to the problem? Do they know the extent of the harm? Do they have any erroneous ideas you should address?
• Then ask yourself what they might not know. For example, would pool owners already know about pH levels, or do you have to explain this concept? Would they have an adequate knowledge of math to figure out how to mix pool chemicals in the right proportion? Do these new products require any background information in order to use them properly?
• Consider what your audience might feel about your topic. Perhaps you know that many people will be sceptical about your suggestions because earlier environmentally-friendly pool chemicals were both expensive and useless. How will you persuade them to listen to you? Do you need to appeal to their conscience, their vanity, their concern about maintaining the planet for their children, their bank account, their busy schedules, or what?

The best way to make a good fit between your piece and the interests, needs, and opinions of your target audience is to go and talk to some of them.

In our example:

WHO?	Wants to say WHAT?	To WHOM?	WHY?
a parent owner of a swimming pool for 20 years someone very concerned about the environment	here are 5 easy, affordable ways to keep your pool clean and not hurt the environment these chemicals are also safer for the swimmers	pool owners people who care about the environment parents, especially those with young kids

In the WHY? column

Think about your motivation for writing this piece, aside from wanting to earn a few dollars. Ask yourself what you feel about the issue. We often write because of an emotion, e.g., anger or fear or love or the desire to set something right.

• What pulled you toward this topic in the first place?
• What is pulling you now?
• What do you want to achieve by writing it?

In our example:

WHO?	Wants to say WHAT?	To WHOM?	WHY?
a parent owner of a swimming pool for 20 years someone very concerned about the environment	here are 5 easy, affordable ways to keep your pool clean and not hurt the environment these chemicals are also safer for the swimmers	pool owners people who care about the environment parents, especially those with young kids	I am concerned about the harm done by common pool chemicals that people use without thinking about the consequences I’m worried about the environment I want people to stop using these chemicals

After you fill in the four columns, you should know much more about what your piece is really about. In this example, working through these questions might serve as a reminder that you don’t need to include the history of Roman aqueducts or modern swimming pools, or the perils of chlorinated water, in order to make your point. People read how-to articles for practical information, not for a history lesson. Stick to your original ideas, and save all the interesting extra stuff for your book.

Part II. Writing Personal Essays

Here is an example of the same technique used when writing a personal essay. The same questions apply.

I am using an example of a personal essay about the effects of losing both parents at a young age.

In the WHO? Column

Since you, the writer, are the most important character in a personal essay, your essay will reveal some aspects of your personality. (That’s what makes it a personal essay.) So, go ahead and admit to your quirks and pet peeves. Don’t worry: your chances are good that your audience has some of the same ones and will be able to relate. There is nothing more tedious than an essay written by a saint.

Which part(s) of your personality are driving you to write?

• the storyteller
• the family historian
• the comedian
• the negotiator
• the advice giver
• the parent
• the angry daughter/son
• the grateful daughter/son
• the seeker after justice
• the truth teller
• ?

Remember: if you are writing about something traumatic in your childhood, considerable time has elapsed since the event. This means that two different authors are at work here—the child-you and the adult-you—and these two authors have different perspectives on what happened. For example, if you were orphaned as a child and you are now a psychiatrist or a social worker, your essay will probably reflect the voice of a frightened child and the voice of an adult who is knowledgeable about traumas of this kind. What you have learned since those events might be what your essay is about.

WHO?	Wants to say WHAT?	To WHOM?	WHY?
an orphan— parents killed when I was 8 a parent a former daycare worker

In the WHAT? column

Here is where you focus on the content of your piece. It’s fine to know what you plan to write about before you begin, but the direction and the core of the essay—what it’s really about—often doesn’t emerge until the actual writing. For example, you may start out thinking you want to write about being a mother and end up writing about your own mother instead.

WHO?	Wants to say WHAT?	To WHOM?	WHY?
an orphan— parents killed when I was 8 a parent a former daycare worker	I want to explore how my parents’ deaths affect the kind of mother I am

In the TO WHOM? column

Essentially, personal essays are written for ourselves. However, essays about family issues are often also written for family members. In addition, well-written essays can speak to many people from a variety of backgrounds because they reveal the universality of human experiences.

WHO?	Wants to say WHAT?	To WHOM?	WHY?
an orphan— parents killed when I was 8 a parent a former daycare worker	I want to explore how my parents’ deaths affect the kind of mother I am	me my parents (in absentia) my kids my husband

In the WHY? column

Writing personal essays is a way to understand and come to terms with some aspect of your life. That’s why reading a good essay is like being inside a friend’s head, listening to her think something through.

Ask yourself:

• Is there something you want to achieve by writing this piece?
• What pulled you toward this topic in the first place? Was it anger, fear, love, the desire to set something right, or what?
• What is still interesting to you about this topic? It is here where the energy lies to complete a piece.

WHO?	Wants to say WHAT?	To WHOM?	WHY?
an orphan— parents killed when I was 8 a parent a former daycare worker	I want to explore how my parents’ deaths affect the kind of mother I am	me my parents (in absentia) my kids my husband	I want to understand these events better I want my kids to know more about this so they’ll understand me better I want to be a better parent and get rid of some of these ghosts

Whether you’re writing an article or an essay, walk yourself through these questions and you’ll have a much better idea of whose voice you are using, what you want to say, whom you want to say it to, and why.

BIO:

Mary J. Breen has been a freelance writer and editor for the last twenty-five years. She also teaches creative non-fiction and memoir writing in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. She has published two books about women’s health, essays, article, and short fiction. She is currently working on a book about memoir writing for seniors.