by Eunice A. Borlasa
If you are not in the mood to think or even brainstorm for a topic, then you can ask help from someone else or you may have to phone a friend. These guidelines can help you choose a topic of your own.
1. Ask knowledgeable persons. They can help you choose a topic. They can suggest you topics that can be done by a beginner alone. Maybe you can ask a topic from your journalism teacher during consultation hours.
2.Tell them what you need. Plan your intentions first before approaching reliable people. Do not waste their time as they entertain you. Always assume that they are busy persons. Be sure that you are specific on telling them your purpose.
3.Ask them what topics they can recommend. If you have planned your intentions already, then ask them what topic they can recommend. However, asking too many people for your topic can consume your time. Make sure you approach the right person right away.
4.Ask people close to you. People close to you know much of your potentials. So, if you ask them for suggestions, they can estimate whether you can achieve their suggestions or not. In addition, they help you connect with your sources. Ask your mother, father, sister, brother or even your roommate.
5.Plan your time properly. Do not spend too much of your time by only asking for suggestions from other people. Asking many people may consume much of your time. It might be that you will be unaware of the deadline of your article.
In the end, you still have to decide if you will accept other’s suggestions or not. More people, more suggestions, more complications. This can sometimes consume your time asking for a topic. Make sure you manage your time correctly.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
How to choose a topic considering relevant events
by Eunice A. Borlasa
Deadline is fast approaching. You don’t still have a topic. You are not in a good mood to decide a topic of your own. When you are choosing your topic, you should know whether you are writing a straight news or not. Here are some guidelines:
1. Brainstorm. This could be your first step that can help you decide and give you clarifications on what topic to choose. This is like having a consultation within yourself on what are some possible topics. At this point, you have many factors to consider already (e.g. proximity of the source, relevant topic, etc.)
2. Make a list. List down those topics that came to mind. This can guide you while in the process of deciding for a topic. Write some notes or reminders to weigh about. Think whether that topic is achievable or not.
3. Research. Check out for past issues of your listed topics. This could be done by reading newspapers, listening to the radio, and surfing the internet. This should be made to avoid having the same topic from other writers. This can give you an idea also whether you will find another topic or angle. And maybe, you can get a number of ideas that can be added to your list as you go along with your research.
4. Ask help. No one can do all things by himself alone. You really need the help of others. Ask credible persons concerning your listed topics. They can comment, suggest or give some recommendations.
5. Your topic needs your own effort. This is really true because even though how interesting and relevant your topic is, everything is useless if you are not exerting your own effort on achieving a good article. Attaining a good article is not only about how good you are in selecting an appealing topic but also how you discipline yourself just to meet the deadline of your article. Attend seminars, symposia or any other events that need your presence. It is still better to observe an event personally than just ask other people about it.
With those aforementioned guidelines, I hope you can pick a good topic. Bear in mind that talent and skill should be complimented with industry and hard work. Your character has a role in shaping your whole being as a writer.
Deadline is fast approaching. You don’t still have a topic. You are not in a good mood to decide a topic of your own. When you are choosing your topic, you should know whether you are writing a straight news or not. Here are some guidelines:
1. Brainstorm. This could be your first step that can help you decide and give you clarifications on what topic to choose. This is like having a consultation within yourself on what are some possible topics. At this point, you have many factors to consider already (e.g. proximity of the source, relevant topic, etc.)
2. Make a list. List down those topics that came to mind. This can guide you while in the process of deciding for a topic. Write some notes or reminders to weigh about. Think whether that topic is achievable or not.
3. Research. Check out for past issues of your listed topics. This could be done by reading newspapers, listening to the radio, and surfing the internet. This should be made to avoid having the same topic from other writers. This can give you an idea also whether you will find another topic or angle. And maybe, you can get a number of ideas that can be added to your list as you go along with your research.
4. Ask help. No one can do all things by himself alone. You really need the help of others. Ask credible persons concerning your listed topics. They can comment, suggest or give some recommendations.
5. Your topic needs your own effort. This is really true because even though how interesting and relevant your topic is, everything is useless if you are not exerting your own effort on achieving a good article. Attaining a good article is not only about how good you are in selecting an appealing topic but also how you discipline yourself just to meet the deadline of your article. Attend seminars, symposia or any other events that need your presence. It is still better to observe an event personally than just ask other people about it.
With those aforementioned guidelines, I hope you can pick a good topic. Bear in mind that talent and skill should be complimented with industry and hard work. Your character has a role in shaping your whole being as a writer.
considering sports, brainstorming, and pop up topics
How to Choose a Topic
They say writing is easy. All you have to do is stare at a blank piece of paper until drops of blood fall on it. Hard enough, right? Well, choosing a topic to write is far worse. This is the first step and maybe, one of the crucial steps to writing a story, especially for journalists. As journalists, you are under pressure to come up with a story that is significant and relevant to the readers and to the society. However, perhaps you have been trapped many times in a situation where you didn’t have the slightest idea where to find that story.
There are several fields which are a good source of topics; nevertheless the three listed below are some of the things considered by my classmates in choosing one. Hope this will help you in getting a topic to write.
Write stories related to sports
Sports has always been a popular source for a topic. I guess you have a thousand sports fans out there waiting for some fresh stories and updates about their fave sports stars. Sports is one of the most widely read stories, and people just can’t get enough about it. Here are some suggestions that might help you in finding a story in sports.
1. Know its latest—it is an advantage if you know the current trends of sports. Watch news, read and browse the internet to stay updated, and you might just bump into a good angle for a story. Remember, readers always want the latest.
2. Ask sports enthusiasts—get ideas from people who know sports by heart. They are active in sports and probably talk nothing but sports. Ask for their ideas and I’m pretty sure they have loads to share to you.
3. Watch out for sports activities—know upcoming sports events. People should be aware of future sports activities. Also, you’ll find interesting angles from it, like the cause or purpose of such sports activity, or perhaps the participants involved in the tournament.
4. Attend sports tournaments—watch tournaments. Be the eyes and ears of the people who weren’t able to watch the game. Interesting feature stories evolve from these tournaments, so be observant enough.
Get ideas from brainstorming
Why not do a brainstorming of ideas with your friends? The suggestions from other people will make you aware of the things that matter to them. Also, since there will be a throwing of ideas, you have numerous options to choose from. Simply ask for their suggestions regarding a topic to write about, and ask them why they choose such topic. Make them feel that you value their ideas. Just let them voice out their wild thoughts and you will be surprised to the big help they can give you.
Consider topics that just pop up in your mind
Since these are topics created in a blink of an eye, or just unexpectedly came in your mind, they are a bit risky to pursue. And you might find it difficult to write because it may be lacking some vital elements like relevance and source. Other factors you should bear in mind, too. If this happens to you, think of it carefully and consider questions like: Will readers find this topic interesting? Are sources available? Is this relevant to them?
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Love what you write (a summary on choosing a topic)
by: Joanna Mae T. Eborda
Having connections and knowing people that are possible sources tops the class' ranking on choosing a topic to write about. Evidently, more than a half of the class wants an assurance of a reachable source beforehand, that could provide the facts and information needed to complete the article. Yet, the cluster things otherwise, for having the connections placed only 5th in our ranking. The cluster believes that knowing the readers would help best in determining what topic to write about.
Knowing the readers, as the cluster believes, means knowing what the readers are interested to read about and at the same time, the way or how the readers could possibly want this article to be written. By knowing both, the writer could now easily have an idea on what to write about.
A triple tie on the other hand holds true on the class' top two. Topics that the the writer likes/ is comfortable with, public interest and knowing the readers was placed on an equal level by the class. And the cluster obviously agrees for public interest and a topic the writer is comfortable with, ranked 2nd and 3rd on our list.
Next on the class' list is being obsevant to little details. "By being observant, one could easily grasp an idea on what to write about. And besides, I do believe that we could write an article about anything that we see" says Miss Anonymous. The cluster somehow agrees, yet being observant to little details had only placed 8th on our list, for narrowing the subject, finding out if it has been written before and if it is unconventional yet intereresting holds a higher significance to us.
Narrowing the subject helps the writer on focusing in one specific angle, to prevent vagueness of the article. A subject could be so broad and confusing if not narrowed down. Yet, this specific subject and angle might have been already written about before, so it is also important to check past articles that are related to your topic. Then, know if it is unconventional but at the same time, interesting to the readers.
And lastly, both the cluster and the class placed attending forums and depending on the proposal last on the list.
Funny as it sounds, most of us find attending forums quite boring and uninteresting, resulting to non-grasping of ideas to write about. Again, we emphasize that liking and being comfortable with our topic is important.
And of course, we should not depend much on our proposals. True enough, the proposal could help us a lot, but, we should not limit ourselves to explore and write about something new that had caught our interest or attention.
Having connections and knowing people that are possible sources tops the class' ranking on choosing a topic to write about. Evidently, more than a half of the class wants an assurance of a reachable source beforehand, that could provide the facts and information needed to complete the article. Yet, the cluster things otherwise, for having the connections placed only 5th in our ranking. The cluster believes that knowing the readers would help best in determining what topic to write about.
Knowing the readers, as the cluster believes, means knowing what the readers are interested to read about and at the same time, the way or how the readers could possibly want this article to be written. By knowing both, the writer could now easily have an idea on what to write about.
A triple tie on the other hand holds true on the class' top two. Topics that the the writer likes/ is comfortable with, public interest and knowing the readers was placed on an equal level by the class. And the cluster obviously agrees for public interest and a topic the writer is comfortable with, ranked 2nd and 3rd on our list.
Next on the class' list is being obsevant to little details. "By being observant, one could easily grasp an idea on what to write about. And besides, I do believe that we could write an article about anything that we see" says Miss Anonymous. The cluster somehow agrees, yet being observant to little details had only placed 8th on our list, for narrowing the subject, finding out if it has been written before and if it is unconventional yet intereresting holds a higher significance to us.
Narrowing the subject helps the writer on focusing in one specific angle, to prevent vagueness of the article. A subject could be so broad and confusing if not narrowed down. Yet, this specific subject and angle might have been already written about before, so it is also important to check past articles that are related to your topic. Then, know if it is unconventional but at the same time, interesting to the readers.
And lastly, both the cluster and the class placed attending forums and depending on the proposal last on the list.
Funny as it sounds, most of us find attending forums quite boring and uninteresting, resulting to non-grasping of ideas to write about. Again, we emphasize that liking and being comfortable with our topic is important.
And of course, we should not depend much on our proposals. True enough, the proposal could help us a lot, but, we should not limit ourselves to explore and write about something new that had caught our interest or attention.
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