How to find Ideas before writing an article

Find Ideas for Articles before you start Writing

When thinking about writing anything, you need to collect your thoughts and think about what you know or can learn enough about a subject before writing it. Here are a few ideas on how to do that.

Make a list of everything you have done over your lifetime. It could be something as simple or terrifying as going to the dentist.

It may be how the children live out of town and have to catch two buses to school every morning, and what happened one morning on the bus. Pregnancies, places you have worked, silly incidents that seemed horrendous at the time, but you can laugh about now.

Researching prospects and their guidlines

Find a magazine editor, or publisher suited to your article before you write the article if possible.

Then, when you have finished researching all the facts, again, check with the publisher's guidelines. Is the article you are going to write suited to the particular market you have chosen?

When you have all the information, start writing, and make, sure you keep sentences and paragraphs short and to the point. Keep it in the context that the particular editor prefers. Start with your subject, then add the information, then finish with the closer or final summation of the topic.

Write your article and send it to a publication that best suits this particular topic. Do not be discouraged they reject it. Find another target if it is still rejected, review what you have written and see if there is a problem with it. Can you improve it by deleting a sentence or altering it in some way? Ask a friend to read it and give their opinion; they may suggest a different angle.

Preparing your work

Keep records of whom you send things to, and make sure you know where everything you write has been sent out to.

If using a computer, use double spacing and a standard font, Arial or Times New Roman. Leave an extra space between paragraphs. Print out on A4 paper. In page set-up, leave a 3 cm Left and right margin. (You can check the guidelines as to what each editor prefers)

Do not be tempted to use fancy fonts. If your article has a photo, make sure it suits the article, and be aware that most publishers do not return the photos. Some publishers do accept articles by email, if they do, then send the pictures etc into attachments.

Recheck that all your information is correct before sending out. Use a grammar and spell check, also make sure the word count is suitable to the market you are writing for.

Beware that the spell check does not pick out all the words it could let the use of (lay) or (lie) go without correcting, as it is still a word. You need to know which one to use.

Presentation of your article

Enclose a front page with your name, address, date, Publishers name and address. In the centre of page put Name of article, number of words, and authors name.

Do not send anything with spelling errors or corrections. If necessary, start again. Include the page no's and your name on top right hand side of each page.

If you are sending pictures, then mark on bottom left of page

Enclosed (1 Picture)

Put your name on back of picture in case it is separated from your article. Enclose a stamped self-addressed envelope. Keep a copy of everything you send out.

If of course, you write the larger article submission. Use a cover page with name, address, and name of article, word count and name of author. If you are using a pseudos (a name especially used for writing other than your own name) then use that instead of your own name.

(My published example) a local newspaper

REDUCE DANGER

There is a need to eradicate all the dead long grass from the edges of our streets, not just the major streets.

Surely, the unemployed people in our community could do this. Therefore creating employment and limiting the immediate danger of fires caused at times by dropped cigarette butts.

This would also lessen the dangers of children and adults, as they walk along, from being bitten by snakes hidden in the long grass.

Signed: EH. WA

Before Starting or in-between articles

This is something you can do anytime while washing up the dishes or doing the ironing or any of those mundane jobs, mowing the lawns or putting that washer in the leaky tap.

Think; write down any thing at all that pops into your head. Write any ideas no matter how insignificant they may seem at the time down on paper, by doing this, other ideas will evolve. Read the papers, magazines, trade bulletins, comics, anything at all. Ideas will come. Again, listen to other people and take in everything you hear. Yes, write in a book, or keep a journal of anything at all. It is no good saying I'll do it later. You will not remember your wonderful idea, and it will be lost for good.

Some people find they can write better at night, others are early bird writers. Try to write something every day. It does not have to make sense; just write whatever comes into your head. Weeks later, it may jog something else in your brain.

A good writer makes sure he makes every word count. Make a list of every point you want to make, when you have finished writing your article, check the list and make sure you haven't forgotten the main point that you wanted to make in the first place.

Let's get started

Whatever you write, it needs to grab your editors attention. The first thing they see is the title of your article or filler. So the title is very important and it has to catch your reader's attention.

To write a short article about an incident that happened at the zoo. Choose the best impact title for this from the two options below:

A Snake at the zoo. Snake escapes Zoo enclosure.

As a reader, I would pick no 2. It grabs your attention and you want to know more. Where did they find the snake? How did it escape?

With any writing, cut the wording down to the barest minimum without destroying the message you intended to make for your reader.

Read the following sentences:

‘Joey went outside and played with his mates in the park.'

‘Joey played with his mates in the park.'

They both say the same but the second is more direct.

As you can see the word ‘outside' is unnecessary if he is playing in the park.

Be careful when editing your work. Don't use repetitive words unless it is to draw attention to the most important points.

Sometimes a writer is too close to his own work to see the mistakes. You may have meant to say something, but by leaving one word out, the result may be entirely different. Put your work aside for a week or two before sending away. You can then look at it from a fresh perspective.

This time, read it aloud. If you stumble over the words, it needs revising. Something is wrong. Re-read it and ask your self; would a different word or phrase improve it. Does it make sense? Is it saying what I intended. If you have written a humorous article - ask yourself, will it make people laugh?

When you are satisfied; Re-write, check your spelling with a dictionary or type it up without any errors and use your spell check if using the computer.

Keeping accurate records

Before posting anything out, purchase a small book and enter the following details of the article or filler etc, date sent, name of article, where sent to. Then as the responses come in enter whether rejected, accepted (include dates) and amount of payment for your records.

This is very important, so you do not resend an article to the same place twice, but also to know where each article is at any given time. You will need an accurate record of your income for the taxman.

No, do not sit idle waiting for a reply. Start work on another reader's letter or article or submit a joke or a crossword to another magazine. Never send the same thing out to two publishers at the same time. Be patient, it could be 3-6 months before you hear anything. Keep writing and send work out.

Editors reserve the right to edit your article if short of space.

Ideas for Special Occasions

Think of special times of the year. Valentines Day, Easter, Christmas, Weddings

If you are thinking of writing for these make sure you submit articles at least six months before the event. Editors are very busy at these times of year. For Christmas, there are literally thousands of articles waiting for you to write about.

For instance: suggestions for new ways of decorating the house, recipes, lighting, drinks, gift ideas, Christmas trees, greeting cards.

You could send in ways to amuse children over the holidays. The same goes for Easter, decorating eggs, gifts ideas instead of giving loads of chocolates; send in ideas of how children can make things themselves.

Staff Newsletters

Larger businesses like to produce a newsletter advising staff of production, products, new ideas, and personal success and staff members' achievements, interesting events happening in the company. You could add a jokes column etc. Companies believe these newsletters help bind staff together with interesting snippets of all types of information and events.

Before starting, try to locate one or two of the newsletters to study in your community and understand what type of information they require.

Do it yourself Articles

With the advent of unemployment these days, more and more people are doing things themselves. So if you know of some small thing that you can do and give clear (safe) directions that anyone can understand, then try writing this up. You may know an easy way of propagating plants, or a simpler, different design for making cushion covers.

My husband made a shelf-tidy under my computer hutch for all the envelopes and miscellaneous items. (It was a great idea but I tend to overload it.) Put these Ideas down on paper and find a market for them.

Always try to find a market before you write the article.

Why, you ask? Why waste time and effort writing something before finding a market for it?

Why Not? If you do not research and find a buyer first. You may have wasted time writing an article that no one wants.

Good luck and start writing!!