Over the last twenty-five years, books have been my passion and the bulk of my writing life. It’s not where I began and I write much more than books. Please don’t misunderstand. I love books but I continue to believe many writers are missing golden opportunities by not practicing the short form—magazine writing.
In the article format, I’m able to practice many of the techniques I use in my books, yet in a more compressed form. It’s a sharpening process for my writing life and important. If you’ve strayed into only writing books, then I recommend you return to writing magazine articles. It will build something into your books.
Ideas are one of the most fluid and free-wheeling part of the writing process. I love to have new ideas—and they come constantly. Sometimes the waves of what I want to write spring into my mind so fast, it’s like standing under a waterfall. You can’t possibly catch everything—and like a waterfall, you can only stand the spray for a tiny bit—before you get washed away.
Conversations with people can stir ideas. You may be taking a break at work and listening to someone’s story and decide a much-changed version of the story could be part of a novel. Or possibly from the conversation, you see your friend struggling with a personal crisis and discovering a unique solution to this crisis or handling it in a different way. You decide that experience could be the beginnings of a how-to article. I’ve given only two examples of how we can find ideas from our conversations with others.
Other times we read the newspaper and learn about a new product. Because we read magazines and other types of print or internet publications, the idea comes to write about this product. You take this idea and pitch a magazine (more about this aspect for another article) and you snag an assignment to write about the product. Reading stimulates your idea process. Can you take the idea and twist it in a different fashion and reveal the product or service to a new audience and a different publication?
Years ago, I was reading the Orange County Register and living in Southern California. In the business section, a small news item announced Disney was printing Disney Dollars. I was fascinated with this bit of news and wanted to learn more. As a part of the experience of being in Disneyland, they have Disney Dollars which are the same quality of regular currency. I pitched a numismatic magazine with the article idea and received an assignment. In a matter of weeks, I was on the back lot of Disney — where no “guests” are allowed and interviewing one of the Vice Presidents about this new currency. For me the process began with a small news item in the newspaper. You can find ideas in the same way.
Almost anything can stir ideas—family activities, walking through the mall, visiting a historic monument or _____ (you name it). I’ve learned to always carry a piece of paper because ideas will strike me at odd times. I have to write it down or it will pass through my mind and be forgotten. (In general, I ignore the ones that come in the middle of the night).
OK, now you have an idea. What do you do with the idea? It will be key to whether you get it published or it disappears.
- Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing, lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor, Whalin has written for more than 50 publications including Christianity Today and Writer’s Digest. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. His latest book is Billy Graham, A Biography of America’s Greatest Evangelist and the book website is at: http://BillyGrahamBio.com Watch the short book trailer for Billy Graham at: http://bit.ly/BillyGrahamBT His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Follow him on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/terrywhalin
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2 Comments
Thank you for the great article. I learned a lot.
Great article. Companies will also pay you to write blog posts. Often, the ideas are generated in their marketing department rather than in your own brain, but then, you get to learn about things you never even knew existed. I’m writing a series of blog posts now on mobile-to-cloud technology for construction firms. Who knew that existed? Thank you again for this helpful piece.