Writers Write Forum How to Find Ideas and Turn The..

How to Find Ideas and Turn Them into Stories and Articles By Marcella S Meeks         Ideas are everywhere - in your home, your car - at your work - you can even find ideas to write about at the park or at the grocery store.      Ever thought about how many airbags are in a car and where they may be located? Ever figure out how they work? Article ideas might be: "The Dangers of Airbags" or "What the Manufacturer Don't Want You to Know" or even this: "How Many Airbags Are There in Your Car?" or "Where Are the Airbags in Your Car (Type of Vehicle)?"           One way to find story ideas is to be observant in public places. Listen to the people around you. Let them do the talking. The young mother in the check out line has an autistic son along with two smaller children. She is telling the clerk how she deals with this situation day-by-day and explains that by 8:30 p.m., the kids are in bed and by that time, she is so exhausted that she falls asleep on the sofa. The dinner dishes never get done on time, and sometimes she is so tired that she doesn't even have time for a shower.      The check out clerk agrees with her and explains how she handles going to college and working every evening at the supermarket until 10 p.m. and then going home and doing all the homework from her day at school.      By being observant, you opened up several possibilities for a story. You could possibly write a how-to piece for young mothers on how to cope with kids and relax after a long day or you can do an article about coping with work and school and the in-between's for a woman's magazine such as Glamour or Redbook. Articles that help the reader find ways to handle situations like the two women mentioned above are types of stories editors are seeking.      Suppose your three year son has had an allergic reaction to fish - there's a possible story just waiting to happen. An article on "Childhood Allergies and More" or "Coping with Allergies in Children" or "Is your Child Allergic?": these are great article ideas for parenting magazines - a little research and a few quotes from your child's pediatrician (get his/her permission first) can turn a dull article into a salable one.        Write an article for a parenting magazine about your child's allergy explaining symptoms to look for and what a parent is to do if the child is allergic to something - find out all you can about the allergy so that you may be able to help other mothers understand the seriousness of a child being allergic to seafood or whatever he/she is allergic to.              Read writers guidelines of various publications that you'd like to write for. Read back issues and a couple of current issues to get a feel for what that publication is looking for.      Finding ideas to write about is only half the battle. The other half is writing it and actually getting an editor to accept it. Write it as clearly and error free as you can - let it simmer a day or too - then read it again, revise it and get it ready to submit.       Last but not least, it's time to find a market for your masterpiece. Find places to sell your writing - subscribe to Writers Market at      *** About the author        I have been writing since 1988 – I have over 650 published credits in over 350 small press publications nationwide, and continue writing for local newspapers. In 2005, my first book of poetry entitled Bittersweet Morsels was published, and I am working on several romantic suspense book projects at this time. “Writing is a way of life for me. I couldn’t imagine ‘not’ writing.”
     One of my many passions in addition to travel writing is writing for children – some of my children stories appeared in Pockets Magazine, Primary Treasure and Christian Educator.
     In 1991, I graduated from THE INSTITUTE OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE: Writing for Children and Teens; WRITER’S DIGEST SCHOOL: Nonfiction Writing; and ICS School of Short Story/Journalism.
     In the early 90’s, I taught Sunday School for over twenty years for children ages 7-9, and designed and wrote Sunday School curriculum for Word Aflame Publications.
     Fiction is also one of my specialties. You can view one of my short stories here. Adelaide Books / Adelaide Literary Magazine at       I also publish a variety of travel websites including Family Travel Host USA at