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by: Jenna Glatzer
Every writer has heard it time and again, and it’s not without
merit: “Write what you know.”
When I began freelancing, I was just out of college, so what did I
write about? College. I wrote profiles of collegiate entrepreneurs,
I wrote editorials about college life... and after a while, I really
wanted to move on and write about other things. But I didn’t feel
qualified.
Luckily, I didn’t let that hold me back for too long.
“Write what you know” is a very good starting point. But that’s all
it is. It’s a place for you to go to get your feet wet, and a place
to come back to when the tide gets too high. But it’s not a place to
stay for very long.
A better piece of advice, in my opinion, is “Write what you WANT to
know.” One of the great perks of being a freelance writer is that
you get paid to learn about things. So… what do you want to learn
about?
If I had completely disregarded “Write what you know” and simply
opened a page of the Writers Market at random, figuring I’d send a
query to whichever market my finger happened to touch, my career
would be very different today. I might have ended up writing about
finances, miniature horses, and aerobics. And you know what? I would
have hated it.
I have no experience with any of the above topics, and there’s a
good reason for that: I never really WANTED to have experience with
them. Since I have no real passion for any of the topics, if I had
to write articles about them, it would feel like work.
But did you ever stop to think about the things you always wanted to
know, but never found out? Or all the interesting people you wanted
to meet? Or the problems you’ve encountered that you wanted solved?
Now those are article topics.
Try this exercise. Fill in the blanks with your answers.
If time and money weren’t factors, I’d love to take a course in
___________________.
I’ve always wanted to ask (person you know)______________________
about _________________________.
I’ve always wanted to know how __________________________ works.
My life would improve if I could only
______________________________.
When I have a sleepless night, it’s usually because I’m worried
about ____________________.
The worst injustice I can think of is
______________________________.
When I was a kid, I was really passionate about
_________________________.
I have always been embarrassed to admit that
________________________really interests me.
In my life, I have overcome
___________________________________________.
If I could volunteer for just one cause, it would be
__________________________.
I wish I were better at ___________________________________.
I have always wondered why
_________________________________________.
You may have lots of answers for each statement. That’s great! Each
answer is a possible article topic. Most of them won’t be specific
enough (or perhaps too specific) for an article, but they should
give you lots of new starting points from which to brainstorm
angles.
Think of freelance writing as your own opportunity to learn about
all the things you ever wanted to know, and don’t worry if you’re
not yet an “expert” in any of these areas! Among my favorite writing
assignments have been topics in which I had no previous expertise:
-An article about a woman who started her own greeting card business
for Woman’s Own. Of course, I’ve never started my own greeting card
business—but the topic certainly interested me, and I wanted a good
excuse to learn more about it.
-An article about how “media overload” affects children’s
development for KidsGrowth.com. I’m not even a parent, let alone an
expert in child psychology. But I’ve always wondered how increasing
media immersion (TV, Internet, video games, radio, etc.) has
affected people in MY generation.
-An article about book packagers for Writer’s Digest. Okay, I had
written for a book packager at that point-- but just one, and I was
eager to learn more about the industry and its players. It gave me
the perfect excuse to contact book packagers and learn more about
the market. And If not for this article, I would never have written
Celine Dion's book... I sent my resume and samples to one of the
packagers I interviewed, and an editor there wound up calling me
years later with the assignment!
-Several articles about interesting inventions for Zooba.com. How
much fun did I have learning about how Velcro, aspirin, and Post-It
Notes were invented? This made for great dinner table conversation
for weeks. My father always fancied himself a bit of a mad inventor,
and I guess the gene spilled over to me. I devour these quirky
stories of how the human mind approaches problem-solving creatively.
-Every disabilities-related article I’ve ever written. Was I an
expert in this area when I began? No. I have a brother who has Down
syndrome, so I had the benefit of some extra understanding, but I
only became an “expert” by writing about this topic over and over.
Each time, I learned something new that I really wanted to learn--
new legislation for people with disabilities, profiles of amazing
people with disabilities, issues of discrimination, etc.
When working to broaden your writing horizons, be sure to think
about two things: your passions, and your curiosities. You don’t
need to write only about topics that mean “everything” to you
About The Author
Jenna Glatzer is the editor of http://www.absolutewrite.com
(pick up a FREE list of agents looking for new writers!) and
the author of 14 books, including MAKE A REAL LIVING AS A
FREELANCE WRITER, which comes with a FREE Editors' Cheat
Sheet. She's also Celine Dion's authorized biographer. Visit
Jenna at http://www.jennaglatzer.com
jg@jennaglatzer.com
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