As a freelance journalist, my revenue is partly dictated by how many good ideas I can come up with. Not surprisingly, I am obsessed with seeking out ways to up my ideas flow and I have a bookshelf full of 'boost your creativity' books. Here's a few of the ideas-boosting techniques I use.
Power brainstorming
A Moleskine notebook - http://www.moleskine.co.uk/ is ideal for this. Write the numbers 1 to 100, then without thinking about it too much, power through writing a hundred things that are preoccupying, interesting, puzzling or annoying you now. This is a numbers game - but I would expect to find one or two gem ideas in here. Then do it again - another hundred. And again. I guarantee you'll have at least one saleable idea after this exercise.
Email all your friends and ask them what they want to read
Did this recently and it yielded some interesting results. Just send an email to friends, colleagues and anybody else I could think of. I told them I was thinking up feature ideas, and was there anything they would be interested in reading about? Grass roots reader research.
Trade magazines
One of the most lucrative sources of ideas. Many news stories break in trade magazines and professional journals. I particularly love catering and obscure food magazines. Even if they don't give you a direct idea, they will start the thinking process.
Random word pairs game
Here's one for when I'm feeling really stuck. Putting two ideas together can make a feature. Write 30 random nouns around the subject area you specialise in (children, pets, desk, toys). Cut them up and turn them face down. Then play noun pairs. Pull out two and see if you can turn them into a feature idea. I pulled out 'toys' and 'children' and it got me thinking about how children today have way too many toys and probably don't appreciate them. It was a subject I realised I felt strongly about - and there was plenty of new research on it. So ultimately this led to a piece in Guardian Family. The result is posted on the cuttings section of my website www.lizhollis.co.uk
Discover the opposite
One of my favourites for releasing some good ideas. Think of a cliche - such as 'young people go on gap years' - then think if there is material in a feature that shows exactly the opposite can be true. 'Old people on gap years'.
Overheard in a cafe
This one's a little odd, but I've come up with some good ideas this way. Sit in a busy cafe - and listen in on conversations. Making notes in your Moleskine as you go - people will think you are busy writing your latest novel. Unfortunately, for every gem idea, you have to listen to an awful lot of drivel. But if people are talking about something, they'll be interested in reading about it too.
Replay conversations with friends
Hope my friends won't mind me admitting this, but at my desk after a supper or gathering - I go back over the subject areas the conversations drifted over. I can often pick out some feature ideas - or at least some starter points for more research.
No comments:
Post a Comment