The secrets to a ready supply of creative topic writing ideas
How do you come up with ideas for your articles? For some writers, this is the most difficult aspect of the job. But this will stop being a problem if you follow this good advice. You may remember the song “My Favorite Things” from the Academy Award-winning film, “The Sound of Music,” written and composed by Rodgers and Hammerstein. In the scene that accompanies the song, the character of Maria encourages children to overcome their fear of thunder and lightning by thinking about their favorite things. This attention redirection trick can also be used when trying to find story topics for articles and features. Writer’s block will be a thing of the past when he uses this technique. Remembering a long list of our favorite things can be the building blocks of the road to action and hopefully a profitable sale.
“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, shiny copper teapots and warm woolen mittens, brown paper parcels tied with string! Cream ponies, crisp apple strudel, doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles, wild geese flying with the moon on their wings, these are some of my favorite things…”
Great idea. Just look at the juicy and bountiful list of possible article topics that you can decipher from Maria’s favorite things. You might choose to convene a function on growing roses, jot down a comparison of ten types of herbal teas and their health benefits, write an how-to article on how to knit unique winter gloves, research the dying art of letter writing. and those who refuse to let it die, offer your opinion on five fancy ways to serve schnitzel, share a travel feature on Germany’s restaurants with beer sides, an exhibit on zookeeping practices, or showcase a variety of beautiful handmade gift wrapping ideas for the season. It’s easy to write what we love and it’s as simple as spinning a key word or phrase and looking at it from all kinds of points of view.
There are seven steps to help you find a source of ideas and turn each one into a killer article or story.
1. Research. What do you want to do in this wonderful life? Travel or vacation in exotic places? Meet eccentric or entertaining people? Take interesting detours? Indulge in decadent food and wine? Turn every moment into an opportunity. Take note of unusual events within 200 kilometers of your city and get involved. Write lists of intriguing questions to ask your friends and colleagues and dig deeper into what you’re learning. Activate your right brain and adopt daydreaming as a tool. Doodle while you reflect. Take notes of each encounter and keep them in a folder marked ‘bright ideas’ on your computer or notepad. Write your own mantra to “bring the energy of your adventures into your writing” and people will climb mountains to read.
2. Call your angels. Asking your higher power (whatever your name is, your angels, your God) for help is a very useful, if somewhat esoteric, tool in finding the right word or font for your main article. Do not underestimate the power of those things that cannot be seen or measured. Some of my best and most popular work has grown from a seed given to me in a dream or random conversation. Seek guidance and support from your own personal cheer squad. Ask a question just before bed and let it simmer in the pot of dreams. Keep a notebook by your bed to write down any information you find upon waking.
3. Turn off the television. The key trait of a writer is developing keen eyes that have the ability to transform what they see and experience in the real world of exuberant action and activity into their own magical word form on the page. The biggest challenge with television is that it overloads our sensory systems with static and images not of our own making and lulls us into complacency, forcing us to sift and sort the good from the bad. The lure of television like candy prevents us from finding our own voice and also consumes our valuable time. We find ourselves spending another night on the couch and avoiding the work of writing our own stories. We become an observer instead of an active writer. Turn it off and make a goal every night to write 1000 words before you go to bed.
4. Write it down. Pick up the pen or keyboard. Write down your ideas, group them logically, and sleep on them. Allow the dream to bring you new ideas and a new perspective. Avoid all distractions, including social outings or events that take you away from the keyboard on designated writing days. You may be surprised at how easy the job is once you commit to finishing the task in a specific amount of time. You are doing what you love.
5.Rewrite it. Know when to stop! Rewrite, rephrase, and juggle so that words tell an unforgettable story. Paint a word picture to match any photo.
6. polish it. Delete all the ineffective words, sharpen the language, edit, edit and edit some. Run your work through a spell checking program and then find a friend to read it one more time for an added measure of spelling safety. When everything is done, read it out loud to yourself. This is by far the best advice I’ve ever learned for making sure my work makes absolute sense and my ideas flow seamlessly from one point to another.
7. Put it in an envelope and mail it or attach it to an email.This is the final step, but the most important. A piece of writing is effective when it changes lives and perspectives. The goal of all working writers is to push their polished work into the marketplace where it will hopefully be read by a large number of smart people and make money off of the blood and sweat living on the story. If it’s been sitting on your work for months, or you’ve tucked it away in a drawer, it’s time to let it out into the big world. Letting go is the hardest part of writing, but it frees the writer for new and pleasurable work.
Your favorite things. Let them now include the pleasure of writing for pleasure (and the potential profit) and the exuberant feeling of a job well done.