For some people getting from idea to fleshed out article becomes a challenge. How do you organize your ideas? How can you get them into a form on paper that makes sense? Many of us were taught to outline is school but depending on how your brain works (I am definitely a visual person) that isn't always comfortable. Another way is to use concept mapping. Put the topic down on a piece of paper or in a computer program (one that I use that isn't really expensive and works well is Inspiration (http://www.inspiration.com/). Then start to put down all your thoughts about what you want to include in the paper in circles, boxes, etc. and link them by drawing lines from them to other topics. Eventually you will see all the interconnections and can move this to an outline or a more fleshed out paper. If you use a computer program it can convert it to an outline for you. You can play with this at Inspiration's beta test of Webspiration (http://www.mywebspiration.com/). For additional information do some searching on concept mapping and enjoy the process!
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