Put a Spin on Your Idea!

Eight or nine times out of ten, picking up and leafing through a magazine's or book's table of contents, you will find at least one or more articles or chapters that will catch your attention immediately. Never mind that that article or chapter's subject had been written about many times before. The one that caught YOUR attention stood out, most likely, because it put the topic in a new perspective.

For starters, that new perspective, aka, "spin" may have involved saying "no" to something that everyone seemingly agrees with or "yes" to something that everyone seemingly disagrees with. If most people agree that going to college is great, an author such as Caroline Bird will take the opposite tack, arguing that going to college is a bad idea. So reviewing commonly accepted concepts in your field and taking an opposite stance on one of them may yield a unique spin.

Another way to put a different spin on a topic is to examine its related issues and problems. One time, I was interested in writing a book for substitute teachers and recalled from my own experiences what substitutes had to deal with. One of the issues was the lack of good activities to be used immediately with restless students. This led to a book about activities using common objects, such as confiscated toys, in motivating students to write.

Still another way to put a new perspective on things is to establish a connection between two seemingly unrelated concepts or things. This can be tricky, but very effective if you can pull it off. Your expertise in a given field will be very helpful, and you can always connect the dots with additional research. For example, everyone is familiar with gardens, but how many people are familiar with out-of-space gardens or Mars gardens? Also, asking yourself "what if" can yield a few interesting connections.

Yet another way is simply to offer your own definition of a term or make up a term, such as mompreneurs. Look through references such as thesauri as well as regular and specialized dictionaries for common nouns. Then take some time to play around with combinations of words and see if you can't create a word that is related to your expertise. To discuss it completely to a specific audience just may require a book that you can write! Even better, you are not likely to have much competition in attracting a publisher's attention.

And there you have it. Choose a strategy that you find especially appealing and go to work. You may be pleasantly surprised with your results! Remember to have fun while you are at it.

Dorothy Zjawin has used her creativity in developing her published book, articles and website, http://www.profitable-pen.com

---

71 Ways For A Writer To Make Money

There are so many ways for writers to make good... Read More

A Mode of Transportation

Great writing transports one vicariously to realms that the reader... Read More

Five Minute Miracles

FIVE MINUTES ... Is All You Need ........to phone a... Read More

Vary Your Writing Style and Win Readers

First drafts are for getting down the ideas. Anna Jacobs... Read More

Nonfiction Idea Generators

The hardest part of nonfiction writing is finding a subject... Read More

Have You Plotted Your Story Before Writing It?

Creative Writing Tips ?The writer, who doesn't have the time... Read More

Its All About YOU!

The Hottest Word on the WebDid you know marketing people... Read More

Keys to Characterisation

Far too many inexperienced writers create flat, stereotypical characters: the... Read More

A Perfect Day for Writers

In one of the exercises in my "Getting Started as... Read More

Writing For The Web: Where To Get Article Ideas

A friend and I were talking the other day about... Read More

Get An Attitude About Your Writing

(This excerpt is taken from my new writing workshop Writing... Read More

Proof Positive: the importance of proofreading

Last week I was having a quick browse on eBay... Read More

Mixing and Mingling: The Door to Publication?

Mixing and mingling with industry professionals is an opportunity that... Read More

The Write Habit: How to Strengthen Your Writing Muscle

Writing is a muscle that needs exercise to stay in... Read More

Uncommon Advice for Beginning Novelists

1) Convince yourself you want to do something else. If... Read More

Write That Down! Compulsively Collecting Content for Your Writing

Have you ever read someone else's writing and thought one... Read More

How to Create Incredible Characters Easily

Creating incredible characters can be easy if you know of... Read More

Get Creative In The Great Outdoors

Summer's here and the time is write for dancing in... Read More

Voice in Narrative and Dialogue - A Contrast of Writing Styles

One of the nice things about being an author is... Read More

Six Tips for Submitting Fiction - if you want it to get published

You can learn a lot about what it takes to... Read More

Character Motivation - Always Ask WHY

For many years, I've been a tutor for students undertaking... Read More

Freelance Writing: How Many Regular Clients Should You Have?

This is a tough question for every freelance writer. For... Read More

The Author Within

Just about every marketer on the Internet claims to be... Read More

10 Tips on Writing Effective Dialogue

1. Become an EavesdropperListen carefully to the way people REALLY... Read More

Getting Published Is Different For Everyone: Two Paths Among Many

One obvious question that can get overlooked in the process... Read More

What is Screenwriting?

Simply put, it is the art of writing scripts for... Read More

Business Letter Etiquette

Business etiquette is fundamentally concerned with building relationships founded upon... Read More

Writing the Chapters of Your Life: Surprising Insights Using This Special Journaling Technique

List-making is a favorite journaling technique and is often used... Read More

Writing Without Style

Style manuals are all well and good, and in fact,... Read More

Groundbreaking Work

Every writer knows that the urge to write is not... Read More

How to Write Bad Poetry

So you've decided to crown yourself with a title that... Read More

In Your Own Words

More Tips For New Writers (Part I)Explain in your own... Read More

Multiplying Sales As A Writer

Often, time is an enemy of writers. Sales seem slow... Read More