Having Trouble Thinking of a Topic For Your Next Article?

Here are 10 freebies for you. Enjoy!

I can imagine you telling yourself — There has to be a catch somewhere. Art doesn’t know me from a hole in the wall. Why is he offering me all of these suggestions for free when he could have just as easily kept them for himself?

There’s absolutely no catch, I promise you — that’s not my style.

It boils down to two reasons:

• I love my community of fellow writers. I have received invaluable encouragement and suggestions from so many of you since I began writing in June of 2020. This article is my way of paying it forward.
• I have a virtually endless source of new ideas for articles, so if I can help you out, why not do so?

The only thing I ask is that when your article gets published, let me know, as I would love to check it out.

“So, Art. How do you come up with so many ideas that you have some to spare?”

I’m glad you asked. It’s because I’ve developed what I like to call “writer’s radar.”

Writer’s Radar — What It Is and How I Developed It

Writer’s radar is the discipline of being mindful of everything going on around you so you can pick up on potential article topics. This encompasses paying attention not only to what you see and hear but also to your self-talk.

I developed and fine-tuned my writer’s radar by practicing it each and every day. I practice it by setting the intention to be present before any given activity, whether it be playing with my cat Maddox or watching Vanna White clap her hands on the Wheel of Fortune. The point being — no activity is too mundane to be a potential source of a new article.

(An interesting bit of trivia: On May 24th, 2013, Vanna White got into the Guinness Book of World Records for being the most frequent clapper ever, an estimated 3,480,864 times! Here’s the youtube link.)

Before long, I got so hooked on practicing my writer’s radar that I no longer needed to consciously set the intention to be present — it became my default state.

I’ve now reached the point when rarely a day goes by that I don’t think of multiple new article ideas. In fact, I have a backlog of potential articles that can keep me writing for the next month or more. Even better — ideas for new articles pop up without any conscious effort, purely as a by-product of my writer’s radar.

My self-talk, in particular, is a gold mine of potential articles, as it never shuts up. It’s typically whackily imaginative, providing the ingredients for many an interesting read (well, I think so anyhow … lol).

An Example of Writer’s Radar in Action

Just a few minutes ago, my wife asked me not to go into the kitchen because the counters were still wet. My lightning-quick reaction (which I was wise enough to keep to myself) was … “Here you go with your OCD again. Why are you thinking I need to touch the counters, and if by chance I do, I’ll just dry them off first. God, you’re such a pain!”

Then, in the blink of an eye, my writer’s radar board lit up at the thought of a potential new article. The process was effortless.

The topic was how easily I tend to get annoyed with my wife about things that are really no big deal, such as what I perceive to be her OCD-driven requests. Yet I’m ever-so-tolerant and accepting of “my” understandably annoying-to-my-wife habits, such as rarely eating anything in my house without leaving smidgens of food on tabletops, counters, floor surfaces, or on my shirt.

I even have a first crack at a title and subtitle (it needs some rewording, but I like the concept)

Why Behaviors That I Find Annoying in My Wife …

I find endearing and charming in myself.

Oh, what the heck, I may as well throw in a tentative feature image:

This photo was taken shortly after my wife wiped all traces of the chocolate ice cream and cool whip I had left on the countertop a few minutes before.

Ten Potential Writing Topics For You

See? I keep my promises.

In the list of writing topics below, I have included:

• my writer’s radar observations
• the article topic prompted by my observation
• some ideas to consider including in your article

As we all have different personalities and life experiences, naturally, some of the topics may resonate more strongly with you than others. That being said, take any topic that works for you.

Observation: I caught myself grabbing a protein bar from the fridge when I wasn’t the least bit hungry. My self-talk told me that I reached for it purely to push away a feeling — in this case, I was aggravated because my laptop had crashed a few moments before. Topic: Engaging in behaviors to push away or avoid feelings Some ideas to consider: What feelings you tend to avoid; what behaviors you engage in to avoid those feelings; the price you pay for that

Observation: I came across the cliche “You can’t have your cake and eat it too.” while reading an internet article. Topic: How silly most cliches are Some ideas to consider: List several cliches such as “there’s no such thing as a silly question,” “the third time is the charm,” etc. and give an example of how ridiculous they are … (if you were jumping out of a plane with a parachute, you better hope the first time is a charm).

Observation: My cat Maddox ever so daintily laying down her head upon my left leg while gently extending both of her paws onto my right one Topic: What you love about your cat (or any pets for that matter) Some ideas to consider: All the ways your pet is affectionate; how your pet looks directly into your eyes with sheer adoration, like you were her mommy or daddy.

Observation: Watching my wife sweep the floors for the second time today Topic: Comparing your level of cleanliness with your partner’s Some ideas to consider: How it is possible that one of you can be so clean and the other so sloppy; how to negotiate so you can attempt to meet halfway

Observation: Noticing eight different draft versions of the same Medium article, all from today Topic: The agony of editing when you’re a perfectionist Some ideas to consider: Learning to accept good enough; quantity versus quality; setting up a writers group where you edit each other’s work; considering hiring a writing coach

Observation: Just yesterday, I realized that a friend of mine who moved out of state 2 years ago has not initiated calling me once since she moved Topic: Personalizing the behaviors of others Some ideas to consider: How much unnecessary suffering it creates; whatever people do or don’t do typically has little if anything to do with you; don’t bother trying to figure it out because you’re not going to.

Observation: My voice teacher told me that my singing was good enough to sing as part of an upcoming benefit concert. I told her I didn’t think I was ready for that. Topic: Not letting self-limiting beliefs interfere with pursuing your dreams Some ideas to consider: Where the cockeyed notion that you weren’t good enough came from; which dreams you intend to pursue

Observation: Sitting at the dinner table with my wife, I caught myself half-listening (at best) Topic: How much do we really listen to other people? Some ideas to consider: Why many people find it so challenging to fully attend to what others are saying; the problems it causes; what we can do to improve our listening skills

Observation: I couldn’t get Pandora to work on my TV set Topic: Your low frustration tolerance when you try to fix anything Some ideas to consider: How your can’t do attitude makes it near impossible to fix anything, even those things that are easily fixable if you simply try to; how to work on changing your mindset from can’t do to can do

Observation: Topic: Some ideas on content:

Ok, I lied. I only gave you nine. For the tenth idea, I’m asking you to fill in the blanks (that’s the teacher in me … lol). If you choose to do so, I’d love to know what you came up with, so feel free to share in the comments of this article.

Takeaways

There’s an old saying, attributed to Confucius, that goes something like …

“Give a person a fish and you’ll feed them for a day. Teach a person to fish, and you’ve fed them for a lifetime.”

The writer’s equivalent to that expression is …

“Give a writer an idea and they’ll have an idea for that day. Teach/encourage a person to use their writer’s radar, and they’ll have enough ideas for a lifetime.”

To go back to Confucius's original fishing quote, if you use your writer’s radar, I’m confident you will find that the lake is more than well-stocked with a potpourri of fantastic article topics to share with your readers.

Happy writing!

Art

Thanks to my friend Smillew Rahcuef for giving me helpful feedback on this article.

And, as always, thanks to my amazing writing coach Michelle Loucadoux, MBA, for her expert editing and caring.