Photo by me. c 1996
Been working a lot this week with people on developing their writing topics more effectively. It always comes down to the quality of the ideas. I mean that in two ways:
The quality of the topic
- Do you know enough about it or have time to find out what you need to know?
- Do you care enough about it?
- Do you have enough actual interest in it?
If the answer's no, it's not a quality topic at this time. Here are some strategies for choosing good topics.
The quality of the content
- Do you have a clear point of view?
- Can you articulate the most important thing you want the audience to know?
- What do you want people to do with the information?
- Do you have enough supporting information (data, examples, explanations)?
Again, if the answer's no to more of these questions than not, you probably shouldn't even start writing.
Some people tell me they can't figure this stuff out till they start writing. If you've got that kind of time, I'm envious. And you can stop reading here.
Still with me? Then you -- like me -- don't have that kind of time. You need to produce quality content faster than that. And I'm telling you, sussing this stuff out before you start is going to actually save you time in the writing process. Your thinking will be clearer so you can spend more time on revising, which is where the other action is.
Specific strategies
These strategies will help you develop the quality of your ideas and improve the quality of your writing: