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How To Find Ideas For Writing Articles
Writing articles every couple of weeks or so is a great idea for your online business but it can sometimes be hard to find good subject matter for your article. You write article after article and finally you just seem to draw a blank on what to write about. I am sure that has happened to all of us at one time or another.
When it happens to me there are a few things that I can do to find fresh ideas. These tips will work for you as well. Below are some good places to find interesting and fresh article content.
*Blogs - Blogs are a great place to find ideas for your article as many different things are discussed on blogs. People share their opinions, ideas, experiences and questions.
*Message Boards - Message boards are a good source of information as well. Follow the discussions and see what things people are interested in and need to know more about. I have written many articles from information I read on the boards.
*Email Discussion Groups - Again, get involved in the discussions. Find out what information people are looking for. Not only can you get ideas for your articles, but you can learn a lot as well and make some new contacts. Just go to Yahoo and do a search for the appropriate type of group for your business.
*Internet News Sites - Keeping up with Internet marketing news is very important for your business. Not only for writing articles but for keeping abreast of new developments, ideas, technology, etc. Research and write your articles to keep your readers informed as well.
*Read through your email - Take note of what people are asking you about and what they are most concerned with. Keep a file on hand and record all questions that can be used to create a powerful article.
*Subscribe to ezines - Ezines can be a goldmine of information and ideas. They allow you to keep up to date on the latest products, programs, biz opps, etc. Some of this information can make great articles.
*Do a survey - Write a two or three question survey and send it out to associates or discussion group members or better yet, your subscribers. Give your readers the information and news they are looking for.
For example: What questions do you have about Internet marketing? What resources do you need that you cannot find? Questions like this could give you some innovative article ideas.
*Read other articles - By reading other articles, you can come up with an unusual twist or angle for an overused idea. It sometimes helps to get different views and insights on the same old idea. NOTE: Never copy information or content from an article, ezine, or website.
*What would YOU like to know more about - Pick a topic you need to learn about, do some research and turn it into a resourceful article. This is a great way to learn while promoting your online business.
Always keep an open mind and eye out for article ideas. After awhile you will begin to se ideas automatically all over the net. Keep a notebook handy and when you think of an idea write it down in your notebook. I tend to think of ideas while lying awake in the middle of the night. I learned right away that if I don't write them down, they are totally gone by morning.
And remember, people want and need basic, straight forward, helpful information. They do not want or need college words, fancy storylines or over-dramatized articles.
Also, do not be afraid to give your articles a little personality, humor and best of all, heart. Write as if you were talking to the reader and doing your best to help them.
Articles are one of the most powerful marketing methods online. Don't let a little doubt stop you from making this big step towards success!
BONUS : How To Find The Novel That Only You Can Write
Most people think writing a novel is just writing. I have lost count of the number of people who say I want to write a novel and think that they will just sit down, put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, and the whole thing will just unfold before them. Ive read a few novels, they think, why cant I write one?
If only it were that easy!
The process of writing any story is exactly that, a process. And whether you are tackling a novel, a short story, an essay or a non-fiction book, you need to begin by planning your story.
This is the most ignored stage in the writing process, and yet it is by far the most important. JK Rowling spent five years planning the Harry Potter novels. And that certainly paid off, didnt it?
The key to writing any story well, is to find the story that only you can write. This story carries your own emotional truth, and as you progress through the story writing process, your character will take you on the journey of emotional growth just as they will your readers once its published.
The Deeper Character Journey
The deeper character journey is the most important aspect of any story. It is what your readers will remember and it is what makes the process of writing a story so worthwhile for the writer. Every time you take your character on a journey, you go on that journey yourself.
So how do we find that deeper character journey? Where do we begin?
We begin with this simple exercise:
Without thinking too much about it, finish this sentence:
I am interested in writing a story where the main character discovers the importance of
Write for 5 minutes, preferably in long hand, allowing whatever comes up to just flow onto the page.
When you have finished you will find that you have written a lot of different values into your answer. Values are universal qualities of human experience, either positive or negative. Take a few moments to divide these values into their positive and negative groups. Youll find that a few similar ones in each group will stand out, so isolate these and then decide on the most important ones from each group.
Once you have done this you can now write your deeper character journey in one simple sentence.
I am interested in writing a story about a character who goes from being .. to being ..
What is your characters weakness?
Every character has a weakness something they need to learn to have a better life. Your characters weakness should now be pretty clear to you, as it is strongly connected to what they need to learn the importance of from the above exercise. With your characters weakness in place, you can now begin to put them and their weakness under pressure and suddenly your story is off and running.
Predicament
Stephen King says he starts a story with a character in a predicament and watches them to see how they get out of it. So at the start of your story your main character must be in some sort of predicament or stuck in some way. The predicament your main character is in should be a symptom of their weakness. They are aware of their predicament, but they are not aware of their weakness.
For example, a character who needs to learn the importance of patience, is stuck underground on a broken down train. He becomes more and more exasperated and angry as the minutes tick by as he needs to be at an important meeting. As hes underground his mobile phone has no signal, and he also cant just jump off the train, as the doors are electronically sealed, and besides hes underground so he cant just wander off up the tracks in the dark.
So we know our characters predicament will expose his weakness, which is impatience. The question for you to answer is, what does he do? How does he respond? What choice does he make? And he will make that choice based on his personal values.
Values in Conflict
Conflict lies at the heart of all powerful stories. It is a well worn adage in story writing that nothing moves forward in a story except through conflict.
But a good story also isnt just a sequence of random conflicts, things that happen with no apparent pattern or meaning. It is a series of events, putting your character(s) under more and more pressure, forcing them to respond. This then shows us their true character.
Values underlie our choices, our decisions, and in storytelling they drive the story through the characters being forced to make difficult decisions where their values are challenged. A value is a belief system based on what is important to the individual. A value represents something in your characters life that they are willing to fight for. So if you have a married woman who is attracted to another man, her choice of whether to go with the other man or stay with her husband will be based on the values of romance versus fidelity or loyalty.
Once you have nailed the values underlying your characters choices, you will have connected strongly with your characters deeper journey. This in turn connects you to your readers, who will recognise similar conflicts in their own lives.
And you also have the essence of the story that only you can write.
Most people think writing a novel is just writing. I have lost count of the number of people who say I want to write a novel and think that they will just sit down, put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, and the whole thing will just unfold before them. Ive read a few novels, they think, why cant I write one?
If only it were that easy!
The process of writing any story is exactly that, a process. And whether you are tackling a novel, a short story, an essay or a non-fiction book, you need to begin by planning your story.
This is the most ignored stage in the writing process, and yet it is by far the most important. JK Rowling spent five years planning the Harry Potter novels. And that certainly paid off, didnt it?
The key to writing any story well, is to find the story that only you can write. This story carries your own emotional truth, and as you progress through the story writing process, your character will take you on the journey of emotional growth just as they will your readers once its published.
The Deeper Character Journey
The deeper character journey is the most important aspect of any story. It is what your readers will remember and it is what makes the process of writing a story so worthwhile for the writer. Every time you take your character on a journey, you go on that journey yourself.
So how do we find that deeper character journey? Where do we begin?
We begin with this simple exercise:
Without thinking too much about it, finish this sentence:
I am interested in writing a story where the main character discovers the importance of
Write for 5 minutes, preferably in long hand, allowing whatever comes up to just flow onto the page.
When you have finished you will find that you have written a lot of different values into your answer. Values are universal qualities of human experience, either positive or negative. Take a few moments to divide these values into their positive and negative groups. Youll find that a few similar ones in each group will stand out, so isolate these and then decide on the most important ones from each group.
Once you have done this you can now write your deeper character journey in one simple sentence.
I am interested in writing a story about a character who goes from being .. to being ..
What is your characters weakness?
Every character has a weakness something they need to learn to have a better life. Your characters weakness should now be pretty clear to you, as it is strongly connected to what they need to learn the importance of from the above exercise. With your characters weakness in place, you can now begin to put them and their weakness under pressure and suddenly your story is off and running.
Predicament
Stephen King says he starts a story with a character in a predicament and watches them to see how they get out of it. So at the start of your story your main character must be in some sort of predicament or stuck in some way. The predicament your main character is in should be a symptom of their weakness. They are aware of their predicament, but they are not aware of their weakness.
For example, a character who needs to learn the importance of patience, is stuck underground on a broken down train. He becomes more and more exasperated and angry as the minutes tick by as he needs to be at an important meeting. As hes underground his mobile phone has no signal, and he also cant just jump off the train, as the doors are electronically sealed, and besides hes underground so he cant just wander off up the tracks in the dark.
So we know our characters predicament will expose his weakness, which is impatience. The question for you to answer is, what does he do? How does he respond? What choice does he make? And he will make that choice based on his personal values.
Values in Conflict
Conflict lies at the heart of all powerful stories. It is a well worn adage in story writing that nothing moves forward in a story except through conflict.
But a good story also isnt just a sequence of random conflicts, things that happen with no apparent pattern or meaning. It is a series of events, putting your character(s) under more and more pressure, forcing them to respond. This then shows us their true character.
Values underlie our choices, our decisions, and in storytelling they drive the story through the characters being forced to make difficult decisions where their values are challenged. A value is a belief system based on what is important to the individual. A value represents something in your characters life that they are willing to fight for. So if you have a married woman who is attracted to another man, her choice of whether to go with the other man or stay with her husband will be based on the values of romance versus fidelity or loyalty.
Once you have nailed the values underlying your characters choices, you will have connected strongly with your characters deeper journey. This in turn connects you to your readers, who will recognise similar conflicts in their own lives.
And you also have the essence of the story that only you can write.
