Comments on: Five Foolproof Ways to Generate Story Ideas Editors will Love

By: Drake

Drake — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 17:12:42 +0000

Some great ideas that you have written about, thanks. It is hard coming up with a good story idea.

By: E.D.

E.D. — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:59:14 +0000

The points you make here about print articles apply equally well to websites and blogs. As an online editor I find that the stories that people respond to (apart from “Free cash being given away at 6:00 PM at 4th and Main”) are those that obey your rules, tell an intertesting story mid-stream and offer the possibility of a follow-up that details the next chapter.

I also think that readers respond much more strongly to character (i.e. people and their struggles, frailties etc.: “Sewer Board Chairman Pounds Table After Third Spill This Year”) than they do to stories stripped of the people side (“Sewer Board Ponders Next Steps After Third Spill This year.”)

Thanks for this piece — I found it wise and throughtful, and I got a lot out of it.

By: Jackie Dishner

Jackie Dishner — Mon, 11 May 2009 22:12:54 +0000

Elaine,

These are great points to be reminded of from time to time, even for the more experienced writer. We, too, get lost in the craft sometimes. Or lost in the ideas…

Thanks for this!

Nice guest blog, Linda.

Jackie