Focusing Your Reading and Finding Ideas
Many experts recommend reading as a way to get ideas, but usually do not offer more specific suggestions, such as pinpointing and identifying areas that you can select from and write about. From my own experience, I know how frustrating this can be. I took endless notes and saved countless newspaper clippings, only to discard nearly all of them a few years later.
Little by little, I found a way which works for me. Here is what I have done:
1. I read the paper the way I usually do every day for about two or three weeks, and after reading it, returned to the pages in which there was one or more interesting articles. If the article was about something which I expected to write about fairly soon, I'd clip it. Otherwise, I would note the article titles and pages.
2. I'd also visit the library, examining new nonfiction and fiction books first, before browsing in the stacks. If I knew that I'd read a given book immediately, I'd borrow it. Otherwise, I'd note the title and/or subject. If I was at a bookstore, I would pay attention to books whose titles caught my attention and perhaps buy one or two of them for reference.
3. At the same time, I'd peruse the magazines and place those which interested me the most on a nearby table. If possible, I'd borrow the magazines.
After about three weeks, I'd consider the material I had reviewed in the paper and at the library. My object was to pinpoint one or more subjects that attracted and held my attention over a period of time. If the results indicated a wide variety of subjects, I'd hold on to my previous notes and begin the process again.
Doing this benefited me in another way. I began to notice aspects that were mentioned briefly, but warranted further consideration ... and jot down notes about them. Perhaps I had the beginnings of a trend! Later on, I'd mine them for article and book ideas later.
While this strategy takes a little time, it does pay off. First, it enables me to focus my reading and second, it indicates aspects that I may be able to turn into an article or book.
Dorothy Zjawin's writing credits include a book, Teaching Ideas for the Come-Alive Classroom (Parker Pub. Co./Prentice-Hall) and Instructor articles. You are invited to visit her website, http://www.profitable-pen.com, for more ideas and a free forum.
MORE RESOURCES:
'Becoming Americans': Immigrant writing San Francisco Chronicle ... short stories, novel excerpts, poems, letters and bits of memoir that this anthology of "Four Centuries of Immigrant Writing" collects. ... |
Local man wins prize in writing competition Iowa City Press Citizen A local man has won a runner-up prize in an international competition for writing. Zach Falcon, 37, of Iowa City, earned the recognition for his story "The ... |
Writings left behind by Vonnegut Philadelphia Inquirer As for writing left behind at his death, here we have Look at the Birdie, a collection of previously unpublished works that Vonnegut wrote in the 1950s or ... |
Idaho writing Race to the Top application KIVI-TV AP - November 22, 2009 9:04 AM ET BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Idaho hopes to win $75 million or more in competitive federal grants for public schools, ... |
 Showbiz Spy | Steven Tyler Writing a Book Showbiz Spy STEVEN Tyler says he's taking time off from Aerosmith to write a book while his injured shoulder heals. The frontman sustained the injury after falling off ... |
Teacher 'suspended over 9/11 creative writing task' Telegraph.co.uk ... Oxclose Village Primary School in Washington, Tyne and Wear, after their children reportedly came home in tears following the creative writing lesson. ... |
West Ottawa implements curriculum that focuses on writing skills HollandSentinel.com Lucy Calkins writing curriculum — already in use by Holland Public Schools — is one of the latest trends in writing education, as teachers instruct students ... |
 PerezHilton.com (blog) | Steven Tyler Is Just Writing A Book! No Drugs (Allegedly) PerezHilton.com (blog) A spokesman for Steven Tyler has said that the Aerosmith frontman is just taking a quick break due to a shoulder injury and he is working on his ... |
Prof finalist for fiction writing Sioux City Journal Tricia Currans-Sheehan's "The River Road: A Novel in Stories" was named a finalist in fiction and received Honorable Mention in the Nashville Book Festival ... |
 Baltimore Sun | An appreciation for Sister Maura Baltimore Sun Here's an excerpt: Sister Maura considered writing to be work, and if nothing else, I was going to learn the value of that work during my numerous courses ... |
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