Behind every magazine is an idea. Each article is a facet of that idea. Each issue has its own unique facet to the overall theme. Combine issues into a volume, and you'll get a gem. Or a piece of jagged coal. Depends on how good you are at polishing.

If you're interested in writing for a magazine, then I would hope you already know which one. If you don't, then figure out what topic, theme, or issue you want to address. Then do your diligent research to determine which magazine or e-zine would be most appropriate. It's okay if you decide on more than just the one. The submission process will come later, after all. For now, you need to keep your eye on the gem of choice and figure out which facet you want to show.

If you're already familiar with whatever topic you've chosen, great. Get crackin' on a first draft. Just like any other length of writing, this is going to take more than just the one fly-by writing sprint to get it done right. And if you're not familiar with the topic, get thee to a book depository post haste to do some research. Or, y'know, use the digital equivalents and hone your Google-fu.

Considering my interests I'd target a writing magazine, probably something like Writer's Digest, or Poets & Writers. I have a handful of article topics I could play with; let's say I select the ever-arguable topic of print vs. digital. I have a lot of biases between the tangible printed word and the intangible dots on a screen "printed" word. So, topic chosen, magazines chosen. Time to write me an article.

I'll outline the main points I want to make, how I prefer the tangible for reasons X, Y, Z, and how I plan to hold onto my paperback books until the day I die. (Well, I'll probably donate several of them to second hand stores over the coming years and swap them out for different books, but you get the point.) I'll make concessions to the digital options out there. And I'll finish off with my in-between solution: expand on the micro-printing presses that can handle an entire library's worth of books in one machine and then print on demand.

The machine can track the costs easily enough and divvy out royalties accordingly, as well as integrate a universal porting system for e-readers either via cord or, preferably, Wi-Fi. Use the P.o.D. machine to select e-books and buy them there, and it'll transfer to your e-reader. The best for both worlds, and the machines would be built small enough to fit within bookstores/libraries.

It'll take several revisions and pokage to get the whole article the way I want. And then I'll have to smack it with a hammer here and there to fit the style guidelines of whatever magazine I submit to. Their guidelines take precedence over my own preferences. Then, submit according their process, whether it's query first, or send to a particular contact with a cover letter. Always do some digging to find out who it should go to, and it doesn't hurt to call the magazine to confirm that person is still there. (People shuffle about jobs so often that even the Writer's Market has trouble keeping up.)

There are probably better methods for going about writing an article, and I'm sure you'll find your own. But the basics tend to hold true: Idea, target market, draft, revision, submission. What's your method for article creation? How has it worked for you?