Write About What You Know
Need a topic for an article? It’s right there under your nose.
In a very real sense, writing is an extension of who we are; or rather, it’s a doorway through which the reader can access our soul.
Not that works of fiction and poetry are necessarily autobiographical — they may very well not be — but the writing does reveal how we think about and view things, or at least the nature of the things that interest us.
I’ve read several comments recently from writers who have said something like, “I want to write an article but I really don’t know what to write about.”
That’s certainly understandable. If you look on Triond’s daily content list, there’s such a wide variety of topics, ranging from romantic poetry to photographs of semiconductors; from religious discussions to favorite football players; and from garden flowers to deadly diseases.
It’s probably obvious, but I think it’s true that people either enjoy writing fiction or they don’t.
If you don’t enjoy writing fiction, but you enjoy writing and you want to produce something, how do you choose your topic?
I think that deep down I am a lazy person. Oh, I can go get something done when it needs to get done, but if I can find a way of not having to do it, so much the better.
With that in mind, I think the easiest way to write non-fiction articles is to write about what you know.
Every person reading this article, right now, has a hobby or a set of hobbies. Why not write about your hobby?
Every person reading this article has traveled somewhere, maybe nearby or perhaps far away. Why not write about your travels?
Every person reading this article has either encountered someone famous or knows someone who has. Why not write about your experiences meeting interesting people?
Every person reading this article has experience with illness or other health-related issues; every person reading this article has favorite recipes; every person reading this article has opinions and advice they can offer on a wide range of topics, from finances to religion to favorite comedy acts.
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For example, last summer our family took a trip from our home in North Carolina, up to Michigan, and back. On the way up, we stopped at Conner Prairie in Indiana. Conner Prairie is an old working settlement farm, chock full of history. We then spent nearly a week in Michigan, swimming, fishing, and picking blueberries. Then, on the way home, we drove down through the Smokies (in the Appalachians) and visited Clingman’s Dome, the highest point in Tennessee.
That trip gave me enough content to be able to write three separate articles.
We raise chickens and we have honey bee hives; those two topics alone have provided enough fodder for several articles.
We garden (vegetables, flowers, and we have a small fruit orchard), and that also has resulted in several articles.
We also have hosted numerous foreign exchange students in the past (and have another one arriving in a week), and that too has generated articles for me.
Now, there are other topics I would like to learn and write about someday. I have some things that interest me and, if I do more research, I could write some articles on those things.
But until then, I’ll keep writing about what I know.
I’ve been surprised at how many people are interested in articles on chickens and bees and on driving around the country visiting places.
So, what do you know? You’ve got a topic for an article!
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June 2nd, 2009 at 9:34 am
Geez, it is true then, I should be writing about squatting! All my friends say I know squat!
Thanks,
Clay
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:58 am
Good article. I am interested in so many things, but always feel that I’m not an expert on anything. I think I’m just finding excuses because I’m lazy.
June 2nd, 2009 at 11:00 am
Had to laugh at what Clay said.
Good article, Joel. You always give excellent advice.
June 2nd, 2009 at 11:17 am
I am lazy too
You are exactly into the point. Thanks.
June 2nd, 2009 at 11:38 am
Very nice article, thanks for the advice.
June 2nd, 2009 at 11:40 am
Excellent advice Joel. I wish I could be a bit more prolific!
June 2nd, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Good advice. It’s easier and more fun to write about something you don’t need to try and research first. And you have to be a talented writer to write well about something that has little personal interest to you, otherwise your false enthusiasm or lack of knowledge shows through.
June 2nd, 2009 at 4:32 pm
May I add to that thought?
Write about what you know you can handle.
June 2nd, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Everyone has a family, and most families are at least partially insane. Just watch your family and take notes!
Great article, Joel! You would make an incredible teacher.
June 2nd, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Great post!!..This is very interesting piece..nicely done..I liked it..Well done and keep it up..thanks for sharing this great tips.
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:54 pm
I write what I enjoy and what others will read. I like to mix it up for the masses.
June 2nd, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Sharing what’s in your heart is always a beautiful* thing.
Blessings.
Sincerely,
-Liane Schmidt.
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:28 am
Thanks for boiling down to its simplicity the “secret” to good writing. It never ceases to puzzle me why so many aspiring writers over-analyze and complicate a simple process.
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:51 am
Good advice for any writer, I tend to write about what I’m thinking which can be quite worrying!! Great article again.
June 4th, 2009 at 4:41 am
You are so right Nutuba . When I started writing the best advice I recieved is write about what you know. It may not sound interesting to you but it cewrtainly could be to the rest of the world. Another great article Nutuba
June 4th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Excellent advice. What is strange is that so many writers discount what they know as uninteresting. There are no boring subjects, only boring writers.