You've received an email stating that you have been accepted as an Open Site editor. You log into your dashboard, maybe poke around a bit in the forum, read the Guidelines, browse the Help section... and then the moment comes. You click on the link that takes you to the edit page of your brand spankin' new category. Which is of course... blank. Your next question might be "What ever possessed me to apply to this category?" or maybe "I don't know enough about these Widgets to fill this out." Well, before you start pulling out your hair, gnashing your teeth, and consider resigning, take a deep breath. You, yes, you are capable of creating an accurate, detailed article on Widgets, with sections, and maybe even some subcategories.

Sometimes it pays to prepare your material before you begin to write. More often than not, you will need to gather sources of information to base your articles from. Writing an outline of what information you would like to provide in your article may help you not only stay focused, but will guide you in your research. If you wish to make certain statements, or answer certain questions about Widgets, this outline will help you gather information that covers those points.

Once you have your sources and an idea of your article's layout, you can now sit down and start piecing together your article. You may find that there are several different types of Widgets, and you have enough information to create a subcategory for each different type of Widget. That is perfectly fine. You may want to break up your information into several sections for easier reading, such as the history behind Widgets, a basic description common to all Widgets, uses for Widgets, heck, maybe even why they are called Widgets. The point here is your content will usually dictate how to divide it up, be it sections or subcategories. And don't be discouraged if you do not have enough information for either one, sometimes there is just not enough to say. Be sure to mention your sources using the "Based On" feature, not only for legal purposes, but for your own reference as well.

This is not meant as an end-all, there are many ways of writing quality articles. This is just meant as a suggestion on how to get started. As you do more, you will develop your own style and method. Good luck, and happy editing!