For half a year, I have consistently written for The Odyssey Online and I would like to help any writers struggling to come up with an idea to write about, either inside or outside of my group. What differentiates this listicle from offering suggestions of ideas for either an article or for a fictional work, is that I would like to engage with content creators to come up with new ideas by asking them questions. Hopefully they will answer in their most unique ways.
1. What has been occupying your mind every single day?
This nagging thought may be an article waiting to be written.
2. What is relevant right now?
This could involve any round-the-clock news or your area of interest.
3. Why do you write?
One of my articles attempts to answer this question and is even named after it. Of course I needed to have a unique slug and metadata title. You would also know that it is my article when the headline picture consists of Jon Snow finally coming to the realization that he really does know nothing.
4. What makes life worth living?
This may not always have to be your favorite dessert dish, rather it may be a topic that would require serious introspection. This question and the previous question could provide the same answer.
5. If you are pursing a college major, what have you learned from it?
Since I am an English major, I wrote about how analysis is an important skill. It does not just have to answer what you learned from the curriculum, but how your worldview was shaped by it.
6. What makes you mad?
This is a fairly easy topic to write about and does not need any explanation.
7. How can you identify a major problem in your life?
In an article like that, you could write about how to pinpoint it and how to remedy it. The answer may include confronting any mistakes you made or regrets you have.
8. Do you have any unique experiences?
I chatted with one of my Group members about how her experience from brain surgery, to going to a Ravens game was an article in of itself.
9. What topics haven't you written about?
Before I wrote about an article about sexual health, I wrote mainly about linguistics, film, and literature.
10. What film/book/ character(s) fascinates/irritates you?
These topics provide an incredibly important part of popular culture as well as attract possible readers who might be searching for what piece of media fascinates or irritates them. This was what made me write about my overall experience reading the "Song of Ice and Fire" series, as well as a character whose psychology fascinated me.
11. Are there any articles or videos you enjoy that can be hyperlinked?
A YouTube video of an Irish Gaelic translation of Avicii's "Wake Me Up" inspired me to write my first article for Odyssey Online.
12. How attractive is your article to a future employer?
Always remember that your article could catch his attention if it is resume-friendly.
13. If not, how can you MAKE it so?
What argumentation are you trying to make and why is that? Even if it is a ranting article, how can you convince the reader to agree with you? What kind of perspective are you taking?
14. What topics can you think of when looking at the headline picture?
Perhaps an event happened on a rainy day, there's a scientific study on the effects city lights have on eyesight, or it may have been your first sight of a city looking through the window of your car or a train.
15. Can a detail in an article you already wrote and published be expanded into its own article?
This was where I gained the inspiration to write about the link between consumption of pornography and misogyny, since an article I wrote dealing with pornography addiction mentioned that briefly. This answer may require more introspection and writing down many possible titles based on that single topic.
16. If you could co-author an article with someone in your group, what would be the topic?
Whether you share the same topic ideas or differ, what really matters is how much you can incorporate collaboration into your portfolio.
17. What is a topic that you think is rarely discussed?
In my case, I feel like people confine endangered languages into some National Geographic special and not as a daily reality for a lot of people in this world.
18. What articles can you write to cover an entire month of deadlines?
Not only is this a way of keeping up with the deadlines, but it may help when you are struggling to conjure any more topics or you're preparing for an elaborately long article that might consume an entire month's worth of research.
19. What "how-to..." tips do you have?
This article could involve instructions that are either simple or complicated.
20. And most importantly, what kind of questions do YOU want to ask any Odyssey readers?
The articles you write might be the answers to your own questions. You could even make your questions into the headline titles, just like I did when pondering whether Pocahontas' language could have new speakers or engaging the reader's curiosity of a location they may not be aware existed.
