How To Mine Ideas For Articles
You know as well as I do that to be a prolific article writer we need to be equipped with techniques in which we can generate ideas easily to write our magnum opuses. This is not only applicable to generate ideas for articles but also to create products and systemize processes as well.
These are some idea generating techniques:-
1. Listing. This have got to be my most favorite technique. I randomly list the thoughts or ideas that I feel are crucial and important for my topic. After that, I arrange out of a seemingly disorganized train of thoughts into an orderly logic one, like from effective to the least, or temporal (past, present and future).
2. Referencing. Look up your basic idea or topic in the dictionary thesaurus, almanac, encyclopedia or quote collection. You might find new ways to extract information.
3. Similes, analogies and metaphors. Compare your topic to another unrelated words.Use the phrase "is like" for example "Niche marketing is like dating." I’m sure thatsentence alone will spew out new ideas.
4. Argue for or against your topic. Investigate what might happen if the statements or facts of your topic were not true. Or you could modify the fact and see if you can apply it in your current situation better than the original one.
5. Take a certain rule, idea, quote, suggestion from guidebooks for sports, card games travel or instruction manuals and apply it to your current situation.
6. See the world from different views. It will allow you to get different perspectives if you role play a different person from different occupations, cultural backgrounds, age groups, sex groups (yes you can cross gender) and different angles from totally unrelated subjects. If you want to push it a little, you can even cross species and assume the personae of your pet parrot or dog. Take note of every comments, questions and interpretation as you examine each perspective.
7. Think of a topic and its purpose and apply it or re-use it to another field or area. Just like finding another market for your product. For example if you are planning an online advertising strategy , try looking at the same topic but this time use it for offline purposes.
8. Consider your topic in different ways:-describe it-compare it-substitute it-combine it-modify or distort it-eliminate it-reverse it-associate it-analyze itNow investigate what thoughts, ideas and answers might come up. See any connections, underlying tones, patterns, motifs or themes between them?
9. You can engage in wishful thinking. Write down your craziest, wildest ideas without inhibitions, without physical limitations, no morals, no rules, etiquette and laws. After that try to rationalize your wacky ideas into practical ones and see what happens.
10. Ask yourself the six journalistic questions:-who, what when, where, why and how.
11. Mind mapping and webbing. Instead of words and phrases think visual, in terms of charts, shapes, (like circles for mapping and webbing) tables and diagrams.
12. Frame your material as a letter as if you are writing or chatting to a friend. You will feel relax and trust me, ideas will flow.
]3. You can start in the middle or the end. Writing a good article doesn’t always mean starting at the beginning This method works if you really don’t know how you want to start an article.
These are some idea generating techniques:-
1. Listing. This have got to be my most favorite technique. I randomly list the thoughts or ideas that I feel are crucial and important for my topic. After that, I arrange out of a seemingly disorganized train of thoughts into an orderly logic one, like from effective to the least, or temporal (past, present and future).
2. Referencing. Look up your basic idea or topic in the dictionary thesaurus, almanac, encyclopedia or quote collection. You might find new ways to extract information.
3. Similes, analogies and metaphors. Compare your topic to another unrelated words.Use the phrase "is like" for example "Niche marketing is like dating." I’m sure thatsentence alone will spew out new ideas.
4. Argue for or against your topic. Investigate what might happen if the statements or facts of your topic were not true. Or you could modify the fact and see if you can apply it in your current situation better than the original one.
5. Take a certain rule, idea, quote, suggestion from guidebooks for sports, card games travel or instruction manuals and apply it to your current situation.
6. See the world from different views. It will allow you to get different perspectives if you role play a different person from different occupations, cultural backgrounds, age groups, sex groups (yes you can cross gender) and different angles from totally unrelated subjects. If you want to push it a little, you can even cross species and assume the personae of your pet parrot or dog. Take note of every comments, questions and interpretation as you examine each perspective.
7. Think of a topic and its purpose and apply it or re-use it to another field or area. Just like finding another market for your product. For example if you are planning an online advertising strategy , try looking at the same topic but this time use it for offline purposes.
8. Consider your topic in different ways:-describe it-compare it-substitute it-combine it-modify or distort it-eliminate it-reverse it-associate it-analyze itNow investigate what thoughts, ideas and answers might come up. See any connections, underlying tones, patterns, motifs or themes between them?
9. You can engage in wishful thinking. Write down your craziest, wildest ideas without inhibitions, without physical limitations, no morals, no rules, etiquette and laws. After that try to rationalize your wacky ideas into practical ones and see what happens.
10. Ask yourself the six journalistic questions:-who, what when, where, why and how.
11. Mind mapping and webbing. Instead of words and phrases think visual, in terms of charts, shapes, (like circles for mapping and webbing) tables and diagrams.
12. Frame your material as a letter as if you are writing or chatting to a friend. You will feel relax and trust me, ideas will flow.
]3. You can start in the middle or the end. Writing a good article doesn’t always mean starting at the beginning This method works if you really don’t know how you want to start an article.
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