Several Quick Tips For Beating Writer’s Block
by Rene
One of the most difficult aspects of article writing and marketing,
once you have been doing it for a longer period of time, is how to come
up with fresh topics to write about. It is even more difficult to put
your finger on ideas that are hot and related to your topic.
Here are some suggestions to help you get those creative juices flowing again.
* Visit forums related to your niche. Spend 30 minutes a day in forums related to your niche. Write down common questions or inquiries and use those to craft articles.
* Visit the Q&A sites like Yahoo Answers. If one person has asked the question, chances are there are many more who have it but are afraid to ask. Answer the most common questions you see with a new article.
* Check the news Being on top of the industry news will help you be able to write related articles as the news events take place. This can also be a great way to grab expanded exposure. By piggy backing off the hot topic you can grab way more readers then you would with a normal topic. And not just the big news stations either. Some of the smaller more local stations may have topics not covered by the larger ones and can be a potential goldmine for ideas.
* Set up a Google alert for your topic. This way you’ll be emailed how ever frequently you choose, with up to date blogs and posts and new stories related to your topic that you can get and gain ideas from.
* Spend 30 minutes brainstorming. Do not allow yourself to focus on anything but your topic. This will get easier the more times you do it. It can be difficult the first few times to get your mind to actually produce something, but once you’ve done it a few times your mind will know you mean business and will help you populate ideas quite quickly.
* Use Google’s wonder wheel for ideas. Instead of using it to get keywords, use it to help you get some ideas as to what to write about.
* Create a mind map about your topic. And then each and every sub-topic that you come up with, until you have multiple mini mind maps and plenty of ideas to source article topics from.
* If you’re really stuck, check out the competition. Seeing what they are writing about may give you ideas of what to write about.
* Re-purpose old articles. But, not by rewriting them. Instead approach the same topic from another angle. If your topic was say 5 tips to succeed in article writing, a new approach would be 5 things to avoid in article writing, or 5 tips to improve, or a better way to do it. Just using the same general idea, and giving it life in a new way can be the perfect method to get unstuck.
* Check out the bookstore or the library. The ones that have real books. Look at some of the ones related to your niche and see if you can’t gain some writing ideas from them.
* Go to e-book sites as well. Do the same thing as you did with Amazon and the library. Look for titles in your niche, and use those to help you get new creative ideas to write about.
* Use seasonal events to your advantage. Instead of just writing about autism, write about how to help autistic children cope with Christmas, or other such seasonal event related topics.
* Carry a notebook with you. Ever feel like you’ve got the perfect idea but are not at home and able to write the article right away. Carry around a notebook so that when the idea strikes you can jot it down before you forget it again.
* Get away from the computer for a bit. Real life and real life situations may give you ideas you never would have come up with by simply sitting in front of your monitor. Use real life experiences and events to create ideas and creativity for your articles.
* Talk to industry leaders. Just a quick Q and A with someone in the industry may prompt ideas you would have never thought of otherwise.
* Read. By reading what others have wrote on the topic you may be able to come up with ideas of your own, or a new twist on an old idea. The best writers and the most avid of readers.
* Along the same lines as reading, read articles in some of your favorite authority blogs and websites. One of my favorite blogs is Mashable.com. They may bring to mind a thought or idea you may not have thought of otherwise.
* Join a mastermind group. Being able to float ideas around with others and discuss your topic can help breathe new life into a topic you found going stale. And, it is a great way to set up potential cross promotions with others in your niche for the future.
* Use your imagination. Put yourself into the mind of your target audience, and figure out questions and topics that may be important to them and write about them. Just a little bit of imagination and role playing can lead to many new ideas.
* Watch movies or television shows related to your niche. They may cover topics or ideas you may not have previously covered or thought about.
* Think about your own personal experiences. There may be things within them that you can revisit and create topics about, with a good solid base of reality to make for a more interesting and informative article.
Hopefully these ideas will help you come up with and create your own ideas and topics to write about. Ideas are limitless, you just need to develop the skills to mine the topics and ideas out of the things around you. The more you write and the more you strive to generate ideas, the more ideas you’ll eventually come up with.
Here are some suggestions to help you get those creative juices flowing again.
* Visit forums related to your niche. Spend 30 minutes a day in forums related to your niche. Write down common questions or inquiries and use those to craft articles.
* Visit the Q&A sites like Yahoo Answers. If one person has asked the question, chances are there are many more who have it but are afraid to ask. Answer the most common questions you see with a new article.
* Check the news Being on top of the industry news will help you be able to write related articles as the news events take place. This can also be a great way to grab expanded exposure. By piggy backing off the hot topic you can grab way more readers then you would with a normal topic. And not just the big news stations either. Some of the smaller more local stations may have topics not covered by the larger ones and can be a potential goldmine for ideas.
* Set up a Google alert for your topic. This way you’ll be emailed how ever frequently you choose, with up to date blogs and posts and new stories related to your topic that you can get and gain ideas from.
* Spend 30 minutes brainstorming. Do not allow yourself to focus on anything but your topic. This will get easier the more times you do it. It can be difficult the first few times to get your mind to actually produce something, but once you’ve done it a few times your mind will know you mean business and will help you populate ideas quite quickly.
* Use Google’s wonder wheel for ideas. Instead of using it to get keywords, use it to help you get some ideas as to what to write about.
* Create a mind map about your topic. And then each and every sub-topic that you come up with, until you have multiple mini mind maps and plenty of ideas to source article topics from.
* If you’re really stuck, check out the competition. Seeing what they are writing about may give you ideas of what to write about.
* Re-purpose old articles. But, not by rewriting them. Instead approach the same topic from another angle. If your topic was say 5 tips to succeed in article writing, a new approach would be 5 things to avoid in article writing, or 5 tips to improve, or a better way to do it. Just using the same general idea, and giving it life in a new way can be the perfect method to get unstuck.
* Check out the bookstore or the library. The ones that have real books. Look at some of the ones related to your niche and see if you can’t gain some writing ideas from them.
* Go to e-book sites as well. Do the same thing as you did with Amazon and the library. Look for titles in your niche, and use those to help you get new creative ideas to write about.
* Use seasonal events to your advantage. Instead of just writing about autism, write about how to help autistic children cope with Christmas, or other such seasonal event related topics.
* Carry a notebook with you. Ever feel like you’ve got the perfect idea but are not at home and able to write the article right away. Carry around a notebook so that when the idea strikes you can jot it down before you forget it again.
* Get away from the computer for a bit. Real life and real life situations may give you ideas you never would have come up with by simply sitting in front of your monitor. Use real life experiences and events to create ideas and creativity for your articles.
* Talk to industry leaders. Just a quick Q and A with someone in the industry may prompt ideas you would have never thought of otherwise.
* Read. By reading what others have wrote on the topic you may be able to come up with ideas of your own, or a new twist on an old idea. The best writers and the most avid of readers.
* Along the same lines as reading, read articles in some of your favorite authority blogs and websites. One of my favorite blogs is Mashable.com. They may bring to mind a thought or idea you may not have thought of otherwise.
* Join a mastermind group. Being able to float ideas around with others and discuss your topic can help breathe new life into a topic you found going stale. And, it is a great way to set up potential cross promotions with others in your niche for the future.
* Use your imagination. Put yourself into the mind of your target audience, and figure out questions and topics that may be important to them and write about them. Just a little bit of imagination and role playing can lead to many new ideas.
* Watch movies or television shows related to your niche. They may cover topics or ideas you may not have previously covered or thought about.
* Think about your own personal experiences. There may be things within them that you can revisit and create topics about, with a good solid base of reality to make for a more interesting and informative article.
Hopefully these ideas will help you come up with and create your own ideas and topics to write about. Ideas are limitless, you just need to develop the skills to mine the topics and ideas out of the things around you. The more you write and the more you strive to generate ideas, the more ideas you’ll eventually come up with.
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