When it comes to writing, mastering grammar, punctuation and spelling matters little if you have yet to settle on a topic. While these details are important, writing is a series of processes, some creative and others analytical. A bottomless reservoir of ideas and topics is the life-blood of any writer. Many writing gurus address writer's block in terms of not knowing what to say about a topic or how to word it, but what do you when you don't know what that topic is?
Writing for profit requires low-cost tools to build that writing topic arsenal; otherwise, you cut into your profits. Ideas are often floating around free, waiting for you to recognize their story-worth. The following are three free resources for your next story or article topic:
First, the Internet is an obvious choice, but there are endless stories and ideas begging to written from your perspective. Take a current event article and explore it from another perspective. Does it have implications not yet explored from a gender-specific point-of-view? Maybe race or ethnicity plays a role. Is it class-based? You get the idea.
Now, from creative viewpoint, can you exaggerate some aspect of the story for fictional purposes? Change the location or the outcome or broaden the scope and tell the story of the bystander or family member closest to the action.
Next, television much like the Internet, you can glean ideas from network news stories, but think broader. Documentary shows and drama series are a great source of ideas. We've all heard Law & Order's slogan "ripped from the headlines". You don't want to copy storylines, but you often only get 30 or 60-minute snippets of historical facts from general documentaries. This provides a great opportunity to select a topic or idea and expand on it. Often docudramas provide enough truth and entertainment to make for a compelling springboard for your own writing whether it is based on fiction or fact.
With the rise in crime-solving and forensic shows on television, it can be difficult to determine what is authentic and what is 'made for TV'. Those of the documentary variety are excellent resources in making those fictional crime scenes more plausible. Not writing a suspense thriller? Just the same, documentaries and sitcoms can teach you about comedic timing and dialogue in addition to providing fodder for story topics.
Finally, the people you encounter during the course of your day provide an enormous amount of material for your writing topic list. Collect valuable content just by observing your co-workers and strangers you witness on the street. Just remember to adapt what you see in more general terms when using creative license with the stories obtain from people you know. No need to make yourself susceptible to a libel or slander suit.
Remember, people love to talk about themselves and their experiences. As a result, there's no need to subject everyone you meet to an inquisition. Learn to ask probing questions during the course of your regular dealings with people. This becomes especially useful at social events. Becoming a listener and asking questions will not only make you a popular guest but it will also land you many tasty writing morsels for you build from. Be careful though, you don't want anyone coming after you later for a slice of the writer's money pie. This is where adapting the stories you hear becomes very important. These tidbits should only be the starting point or a source of brainstorming for your works.
These are just three of the many no-cost ways to generate writing topics. Internet news surfing leads you to topics you may never think of on your own. When searching for writing topic content, the television has become useful again. Just be sure to watch with a purpose. Finally, the people around us are walking stories and experiences waiting to be told. Finding stories in these everyday activities will put you in the mindset for an endless flow of writing material. Whether you are Internet surfing, watching TV or chatting with friends and observing strangers, putting these activities to good use will explode your writing potential.
No comments:
Post a Comment