Read on Twitter
So you want to write for a site like @Strategy_Bridge or a similar one. How do you get started? The biggest point I try to make to my students when writing is to try to write something original rather than reinventing the wheel. 1/
Let's take Joanna Gaines' love for shiplap in home remodeling. It's not very helpful if your idea is just to throw shiplap on something like Joanna. However, if your new idea=shiplap with polka dots or shiplap out of sustainably harvested bamboo then you're off to the races. 2/
Writing something original may sound like a tall order. What can you add when you may not feel like an expert? First, do a literature review. Figure out what has already been said. Read 5-10 articles on the topic and figure out the right and left limits of the basic debates 3/
Pick the five best articles and summarize the previous tweet in a paragraph. Boom. You've just started writing your article. 4/
Now pick ONE idea that you want to stress. You can't solve everything about hybrid warfare or your area of interest in one article. As @notabattlechick stresses, you get ONE idea to develop in 2000 words. That's it. 5/
But you should write a few broad paragraphs to set the stage. Boom. That's an entire page. You're getting there 
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But what is the ONE thing you would say in an elevator to someone who could make changes? That's your thesis. That's where the polka dots on shiplap come in. Inspiration still hasn't struck? 7/
Go to one of your key sources and read it. And then read it again. And then again. It is only by closely reading something that a document's essence becomes clear, and it will become clear to your brain once you become immersed in how and why the words come together as they do 8/
Still aren't having an aha moment? Go on a walk. You don't even have to think consciously about your article, but the ideas will come. You might want to have your phone in case the ideas do start flowing and you want to record them. 9/
And if the ideas and words still aren't coming, go back and repeat these steps. Your brain is an amazing thing--it does a lot of the work for you without you even knowing. All you have to do is give it some food for thought 
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Once you do have a draft and are about to hit send, do your editors a favor and walk away. Come back the next day with fresh eyes so you can see your work with fresh eyes and make the argument that much stronger. 11/
Case in point. I wrote "work with fresh eyes" twice 
