Easy Brainstorming Techniques for Article Ideas

Argh! I've written one hundred articles and I've run out of ideas!

Does that feel like something you'd say?

Getting ideas for articles can be a daunting task. If you have a set number of articles you want or if you just want to write as many articles as possible, you must come up with new ideas.

Below are some super easy brainstorming techniques that will help you get more article ideas.

How to Get Article Ideas

1. Read or Watch the News

You will find at least three potential topics for articles on the news every night. There are always breaking stories about international, national, and local events that you can write about. You can write a factual reporting of an event, or write an opinion piece about it.

2. List Your Hobbies

Almost everyone has a hobby, collects something, or enjoys a particular activity greatly. Whether you like to embroider handkerchiefs or play fantasy football, you can find many topics to write about that have to do with your hobby or interest.

3. Read Other Articles

Of course, you should NEVER copy anyone else's article, or even part of an article, and claim it as your own. However, reading other articles can give you ideas about what you can write.

Once you have some ideas about what you can write about, you must turn those ideas into even more ideas. This is where the great brainstorming techniques come in.

Turning Your Ideas into MORE Ideas

1. Brainstorming Lists

So, you have found an article topic that you wish to write about, but it may seem like such a limited topic at first glance. By brainstorming, and creating a list of everything you can think of about the topic, you will create more article ideas. Articles can be very specific. If, for example, you have already written an article about "How to Knit Slippers," you can still write an article about "Best Yarns for Knitting Slippers."

2. Tree Diagrams

Tree diagrams are another great article topic brainstorming technique. On a large piece of paper, you start with your main topic as the trunk of the tree. Each branch will be a subtopic of that topic, and the leaves will be topics that are even more specific. For example, if your topic is "Knitting," the branches may be "Knitting Slippers," "Knitting Needles," and "Knitting Yarn." From those subtopics, the leaves of the tree, or the actual article ideas, could be "Knitting Leather Bottomed Slippers," "Knitting Slippers for Baby," and "How to Fit a Knitted Slipper."

3. The Notecard Method

The notecard method is another brainstorming technique for getting article ideas. You use index cards and label each with either a topic, a subtopic, or a point or fact. Color-coding them often helps. After you choose your major topics, you can brainstorm subtopics and then simply put a fact about each one on another card. When you have run out of article ideas, simply grab a couple of cards from each topic, and start writing.

If article writing and distribution is something that you want to do, you must constantly come up with interesting article ideas. With these easy brainstorming techniques, the topic well will never run dry. Your article output will increase rapidly as one idea leads to another, and another, and another when you use these techniques for super easy brainstorming.