I?m preparing for a presentation Saturday outside of Sacramento. I?ll be speaking to a group of writers on freelance writing. One thing I?ll be sharing with them is how to come up with article and story ideas.
When I was making my living by writing articles for a variety of magazines, I was often asked, ?How do you come up with all of those ideas??
I thought you might be interested in what I recommend to other writers:
? Write about what you know. Bring into play your skills, insights, hobbies, talents, special interests.
? Write about things you want to know. Maybe you?d like to learn more about bee-keeping, you?re curious about raising llamas and alpacas or you would like to know something about hang gliding. A good way to learn about something is to write about it.
? Share your experiences. In article form, they may serve to entertain, help or teach others while making you a little spending money.
? Relate the experiences of others. Tap into the life adventures of people you know and hear about.
? Look everywhere for article ideas?the supermarket, the Little League ball field, the beauty salon, a field of flowers and birds, the local pier, etc.
? Stop, look and listen. In other words, eavesdrop.
? Keep up with the news. If you have the right mindset and are clever, you?ll get more ideas for stories than you?ll use in a lifetime.
? Use the Internet. When you stumble upon an interesting site, read an email with a particularly interesting insight, etc., consider working them into articles or stories.
? Write from the heart. What are you passionate about?
? Recycle your ideas. Once you write a good piece and make the sale, don?t stop there. Rewrite it from a different angle for a different magazine. Become skilled at recycling your article ideas and you?ll make more money with less effort.
For additional information on article writing for profit and for book promotion, order my booklet, A Writer?s Guide to Magazine Articles. It?s $6.50. http://www.matilijapress.com
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