25 Sep 09 5 More Ways to Improve Your Writing Part-VI

Inspiration plays a big role in the process of writing, and every writer is looking for that fleeting moment of insight, or a bright flash of revelation to get inspired and create his or her magnum opus. There is two ways to get inspired: one is to sit leisurely and wait for that fleeting moment that occurs once in a life time for a common man, or to actively search for inspiration. This post will talk about the places where you can look for inspiration.

Indulge in other art form

There is much more to this world then writing, writing techniques, and grammar. Learn music, read history, admire art, visit art galleries, touch a sculpture, or see people dance. These art forms entertain you and fill you with energy to write and think. Isn’t it inspiration? If not then let me tell you nothing is.

Consume audio podcast

Everyone who makes a podcast is not a jerk. I know you always secretly believed it. There are quite a many brilliant people in this industry. Listen to at least one of them, and do it regularly. Your mind will never cease to be amazed on the quality of ideas you will get.

Write a journal

Yes, this time the inspiration will come from within you. Writing a journal will help you find things from your own life on which you can write. Everyone is a story, and as a writer you are an anthology, so look no further.

Write your feelings down

Feeling is at the root of stories that we write, therefore, having a journal of feelings will help you write well. While writing down feelings, also write the occasion and reason, these will help you understand the feeling and context when you come back to the journal.

Sort out your thoughts

This is another place where you did not look when you were searching for inspiration. That slimy thing between your ears is very powerful, make use of it. Write down all the brief or long thoughts that come to you, and come back to the list every week. This will help you a lot in finding the writing ideas.

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02 Jul 09 Writing Ideas Checklist

Let’s start this article with a question. How do you know the idea you are going to develop into an article or a blog post is a good one? You just know it, right? Well, this strategy isn’t bad as long as you are writing for your personal satisfaction on your blog, but this strategy will not work, if you intend to get it published in a magazine or want readers to flock to your articles on the Internet.

Sometimes, instinct gives a good indication about what topic will get warm welcome from the readers, and what will be ignored as if it never existed, but instinct cannot be a reliable guide, if you have to write daily or regularly for any magazine, newspaper, online magazine or blog. You need a more reliable system then the instinct has to offer.

Before working on developing any idea into an article or a blog post, you should check how it does on the following parameter:

Do you have something new to offer?

The chances are quite high that the topic you are going to write about has already been covered by the magazine or blog you are writing for. Even if they have not covered it, their competitors must have done that. Do you have anything new to say about the weight-loss program you are going to write about? Any new development or a new angle? Even a fresh point of view can offer the required newness.

Does your writing flow?

If you want people to read what you write, your articles and blog posts need to flow. No one likes bumpy rides. Your words and sentences should help them glide through the paragraph after paragraphs. Do not use jargons, and keep the structure as simple as the writing idea permits. Always remember, your readers have limited time, and in this time, he can either read your article or do other things like, watching television, listening music, or write on Facebook walls.

How will it connect with the reader?

This is the most crucial point. You have a groundbreaking idea, and your writing style makes you hell of a charmer, but still your visitors are not falling over each other to read your piece, why? May be because you have targeted a wrong market, and the readers here are too smart or too stupid for your kind of articles. People will read only if you step up or step down (depending upon where you are) to their level. Can the reader connect with your article?

What’s the use?

Imagine this: you have come home after a long tiring day at office, and you turned on your laptop to read something, or picked a magazine to browse through. Your eyes happen to find an article that has a nice juicy headline, interesting sub-headlines, and even the first few lines are written wonderfully. You couldn’t resist but read it till the end, but here comes the bomb. The article has nothing to offer but a nice flowing style of writing. It doesn’t add even a single word, sentence or idea to your repertoire of the existing knowledge. You feel wastes. Your reader will feel the same, so make sure you are writing because you have something valuable to offer.

Will it entertain?

The entertainment value of any article should not be underrated. People do not read your article just because they feel you are going to redeem them. They do not think that way, nor are they here to get enlightened, though they will not mind it, if the redemption and enlightenment is offered sugar-coated in entertainment. You do not need to preach to send the serious message across. Do not think readers are so blunt.

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14 May 09 Getting Writing Ideas

In the last article, Writing When You Can’t, we discussed about getting out of writer’s block. In this article we will discuss about from where to get an idea or ideas to write upon. This is important as it was the lack of ideas only that pushed you into this dark well.

There is not any particular set location in space and time where you can look for writing ideas, rather you can get writing ideas from almost anywhere and at anytime. Magazines, books, blogs, periodicals, forums, movies, questions asked by others, answers to those questions, old blog posts, old articles, or your immediate physical surrounding can be a good starting point. However, there are many ways to get ideas to write upon, you should only choose the idea that fit into the bigger picture keeping in mind the nature of the medium and the expectation of the target audience from it. If you are just starting out with writing then avoid taking any complex topic, and try to keep the sentences short.

Be a voracious reader. Books can be a good source for sourcing writing ideas. Try reading books from different genre and as many as you can. Blogs can also be effective in sourcing writing ideas. Do not confine yourself to reading blogs from your niche only as reading blogs from your niche alone will limit your ability to see the bigger picture, the context in which your readers see your blog. Reading blogs from different niches will also infuse freshness to your thinking. Writing updated versions of old articles can also be considered. This will open many writing avenues for you.

The bottom line is to be observant. Keep close eye on the surrounding and see what is changing and what effect will it have. Try to look for small changes; these are the things that at times have bigger impact. Always keep a pocket notebook with you to write down the observations you make and the ideas that come to you. This repertoire will keep you away from getting into the writer’s block.

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