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How to Choose a Subject to Write About

Updated on February 28, 2013
Reading is part of good writing. Reading what others have written help develop style and stir up writing ideas.
Reading is part of good writing. Reading what others have written help develop style and stir up writing ideas. | Source

By Joan Whetzel

Many writers on Hub Pages and other writing sites wonder about how to choose a subject to write about. The most obvious answer is to write about the things you are interested in or talents at which you excel. Another, less obvious, way is to write about those things you want to know about, because the writers tend to be excited to share what they learn as well as their observations on these new-to-them topics. Yet there are other ways to choose a topic.

1. Look at Other Writers and Writing Sites in your subjects of interest. Knowing what others are writing will help avoid adding to overly-covered topics and might inspire a new take on an old story.

2. Find a Question Forum and Trying Answering Questions. Sometimes the questions require a more in depth answer that can be addressed in article length “answers.”

3. Take a Class. It can be a class on the internet, a DVD or CD course, a classroom or online class offered by the local Community College, or a community center class. It doesn’t matter as long as the subject matter interests you or covers some topic you’ve never considered learning about before. Investigating anything new is not only a learning experience it’s an opportunity to share what you’ve learned with others.

4. Conduct an Interview. Begin with people you know. Talk about all aspects of their jobs, religious beliefs, political persuasions, family life, hobbies, and anything else they find interesting. Somewhere in those interviews, writers can find all kinds of nuggets to write about or stir them into researching further.

5. Cover What Your Kids Are Learning in School. What are they teaching in schools these days? And what are the favored teaching styles and strategies? All of these offer the opportunity to investigate further, to use as springboards for a writer’s own interests, or to find new ways of explaining these topics and creating “experiments” or other ways to use the information.

6. Write About Your Hobbies. If you have a hobby, chances are good that others have that hobby as well. People who share a hobby are always interested in techniques that others have developed. Those new to the hobby or interested in investigating it further will want to know what is involved before investing much money.

7. Read. Yes read! Reading not only introduces you to all kinds of unique writing styles, it invites you into new fields of interest – probably some of which you never before considered.

8. Make a List of Tips or Steps for Doing Something. If you know how to do something that others don’t, why not share it with them? The obvious selections here are recipes and instructions for some project that you perform on a regular basis and don’t mind sharing with others.

9. Find Out What's on the Library and Book Store Shelves. Looking on the bookshelves in any bookstore, public library, or personal library will show you what people are interested in and provide a whole list of topics that could do with a new and unique spin – your spin.

10. Search the Internet. The internet is a huge place. When it first started, there wasn’t much out there. But nowadays, there’s no end to the number of topics available. Many of those items available on the internet only provide one or two points of view, or don’t provide nearly enough information for most inquisitive minds. Why not investigate further.

As you do some of the research mentioned above, start a list of topics that intrigue you. You may notice that the list goes on seemingly forever. Once you’ve compiled an extensive list, let it rest for a day or two. Then go through the list, picking out a few topics to investigate, research and write. As you use ideas, delete them from the list, but continue looking for new ideas to replace them from time to time. You’ll be keeping a running list of ideas to write about. Sometimes you’ll find, when reviewing the list, that certain topics no longer interest you. It’s okay to delete those ideas. Better yet share them with others. You’ll never know when one of your ideas will inspire another writer. Sharing writing ideas with others has it’s perks. If you share ideas and subjects with others, they will be inspired to do the same with you, providing you with a whole new list of topics to write on.

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