HOW TO CHOOSE A TOPIC TO WRITE ABOUT?

By: Joselito C. Manabat

What if your editor told you that you only have five minutes to write a topic after that your write up will no longer be accepted, what would you do? You'd type a little faster? What if you've nothing in mind to write about?

Choosing a topic to write about is one of the common problems among writers. If successful writers found it difficult for them to come up with one story, how much more the beginners? Yes it's true that we have a lot of topics to write about under the sun, yet sometimes we are confused on which one is the most striking and relevant to the readers. This could be because we have a hundred or even a thousand of topics in mind which requires a lot of pressures for us to decide as to which one is the best.

To help you choose a topic to write about, here are some tips:

1. KNOW THE KIND OF READERS YOU HAVE
The readers are known to be the consumers of your write ups. They are these people who expect for your proficiency in writing. They are these people who look into the accuracy of your information. Once they find satisfaction in the way you write your article they will become regular readers to your section. To become more effective to them, you really need to know their status. Here, you need to know even their way of living, age, language, culture and their literatures. The purpose of knowing this is for you to be able to communicate to them through your write ups.

2. ASK YOURSELF WHAT DO THE THINGS THAT MY AUDIENCES NEED TO KNOW
In asking questions to yourself, you will be able to formulate a start in your mind on what to write about for your audience. It will help you see what issues are worth discussing within your reach.

3. ASK FOR SUGGESTIONS FROM YOUR MENTOR
In here you need to consult your mentor and ask for his/her assessment about the topic. After knowing your mentor the information you have presented to him, he might be giving you a window to look up for you to start writing. Do not hesitate to ask for suggestions for these will help you organize your thoughts as well as these will help you write your article better.

4. WRITE A TOPIC OF INTEREST
After listening to many suggestions, you may now have to filter them. Ask yourself what fits you. This is where your interest comes in. Your interest will serve as your driving force for you to really finish your write up. Your interest will always go with your experiences which will help you write more intimately. Nothing beats this; in fact, most writers go for writing a topic that involves their interests. Without your interests, you will have the tendency to stop writing your article.

5. WRITING WHICH HAS PROXIMITY TO SOURCE
Sources as they are significant for the entirety of the story. They are the ones to supply the needed information. They are termed to be the experts. A writer cannot pursue his write up without them or else he will come up with a story which is plainly based on his own speculation. A writer cannot write without them. Not unless if he only write for an essay which needed only for himself as a source and a writer at the same time.

"A pen is a tongue of the mind", said Miguel de Cervantes. Yet what does a pen do if you have nothing in mind to write?

I hope that I had given you the tips even if it is simple yet it may somehow enlighten your minds. Go now and write!