COMING UP WITH STORY IDEAS

Coming up with ideas for magazine articles is easy - they're all around you. A few sources to consider are:

1. Any subject which you yourself know a great deal about.

2. Any subject you or someone else has always wanted to know more about. You'll need to ask yourself:

· Who is the best person in the world who can do this feat?
· Has anybody else ever written about this person or feat?
· If so, when was it written?
· Does the expert you know have a different technique from the method already written up?

3. Friends and relatives who are experts on a subject. Remember, every person you meet is the world's greatest something.

4. Information found in press releases sent out by companies and government agencies.

5. An expert who may be able to shed a new light on an old subject.

6. Articles of interest in newspapers, magazines, etc.

7. Places of interest near where you live or vacation.

8. One of the greatest feats you ever have performed or ever have seen performed and try to recreate it.

· Find the man who did it, learn how he did it, and get him to try it again
· Investigate the record books, and see if there is a story in the record.

9. Famous people in your area.

10. Outstanding people in various fields. Find out how they got there and what trait made it happen for them.

The list can go on for pages. Study magazines for which you want to write, and learn the types of article ideas these magazines tend to print. Look for ideas like these. You can put a different slant on the subject, find a better expert or do more research. You may be able to take a story idea, improve on it and create an article from an idea contained within a story. The key is to become an information specialist!

When you have a good idea, write it down immediately. Do not wait as good article ideas have a way of being forgotten. Keep a steno pad on your desk, and label it boldly "ARTICLE IDEAS." Do not use it for anything else. Keep a pencil and small notepad by your bed, in your car and in your purse or shirt pocket. Make looking for ideas a habit, and write them down.

A freelance writer without a supply of ideas is like a well without water.