What to do if You’re Stumped for Ideas

Do you ever find yourself needing to write an article, post or even start writing a speech, but are fresh out of ideas?

With the Internet, it’s easy to start the process by gathering ideas and then completing the post with something original.

For instance, if you go to ezinearticles.com and type in your topic, you’ll get a page full of article titles.

Jot a few of these down. Don’t read the article yet. In fact, you may not even want to read the article.

For instance, I was a bit stumped looking for something to write about for this blog, so I searched using ‘public speaking,’ and immediately was presented with titles such as these:

• Confident Public Speaking Super Tips
• Why You Should Master Public Speaking and Presentation Skills
• Public Speaking Tips from Broadway Actors – On Giving a Speech
• Public Speaking Tips – 10 Tips for the Aspiring Speaker
• Fear of Public Speaking

Those are just for starters. I don’t even need to read the articles and I can start coming up with ideas.

It’s a lot like an author going to a bookstore to see what’s selling. If she’s researching topics for his next book, she can do no wrong by seeing what the best sellers are in that niche.

Now that you’ve got a handful of titles that you like, jot down a few sub-topics for the top 2 or 3 that you think you could write about. Limit yourself to no more than three sub-topics (remember the rule of threes?).

Now pick one of the topics and sub-topics you feel would make a good article, from your perspective.

For instance, from the above list, I might choose ‘Why You Should Master Public Speaking and Presentation Skills,’ and break that down into three sub-topics:

• Gives you more confidence in all areas of your life
• Opens doors for career advancement
• Helps tremendously in your networking

Now I can write a paragraph or two on each.

To finish off the article, write an introduction and a conclusion.

Next thing you now, you’ve got an article with 250 – 500 words in it for your blog or website.

Don’t forget to submit it to article distribution outlets such as ezinearticles.com, so other people can find and publish your article, too!

What I really like about this approach is that your keying off of other people’s topics, but the article is all yours. You haven’t stolen or plagiarized anything. Titles are copyrighted, only content. It’s like pop songs: you can copyright a song, but not a title. Anyone can write a song called ‘Hotel California’ or ‘Let it Be.’

So check what others are writing about, borrow a few titles – even change them to suit your article, since you’re only using the topic to inspire your own writing – and start running.

It’s a great way to brainstorm, and get some new articles for publication!

photo credit: ChetCarter