How to Write Fresh New Articles Every Time Articles | Writing

By: Matthew Hick

Creating fresh new articles can be frustrating for the freelance writer who must often churn out dozens of articles on the same topic week after week for theme-related publications and websites. But it doesn’t have to be! Finding new ways to present the same old material just requires looking at your subject in a different way than you have in the past. Here are a few basic ways to find newer, fresher angles for your articles:

Use Your Senses
Using your senses to bring a tired subject to life is one of the easiest ways to come up with new and different angles. Take for instance the news reporter who must attend dozens of high school and college graduation ceremonies every spring. The fact is, most graduations are the same. Every mother cries. Every speech is about conquering the future, every Valedictorian quotes Dr. Seuss, and every graduate gets a diploma at the end. So how can you write 10 or 12 unique and interesting features that will honor each individual ceremony in the way it deserves? Use your senses for a different approach. Feel the heat of the tent (and imagine what it feels like to be forced into a suit and gown for three long hours); smell the mixtures of sweat and perfumes of all the guests; listen for the wailing babies in the background – you get the idea. Forget the “norm” and look for the unusual to bring the entire event to life for your reader.

Use a Different Format
There are a lot of different ways to write an article. You can make it a straight news piece; an informative how-to; an engaging personal essay or even a comical editorial. Choose a variety of forums to present the same basic information. It’s a great way to reuse all of those interviews and research notes!

Find Some New Research Guides
One of the best (and easiest) ways to create fresh articles is to use a variety of different sources for your research and interview quotes. Want to write about safe skin care in summer? Go online to check out a major cancer center’s press archives for safe sun tips; interviews with sun worshipers who’ve suffered its ill effects; current research news; reports and study results; etc. Or, tap into a kid’s health site to see how they help kids understand the importance of safe skin care in the summer sun. It just may give you a few fresh angles for your articles.

Go for the Unusual
Sure, everyone knows that summer is horrible for your skin. But what about people living in Iceland? Are they at risk for skin cancer too? Look for unusual angles such as the effects of the winter sun on your skin. Are snowboarders and skiers at the same risk of skin cancer as sunbathers and surfers? What about people with darker skin? Why are more Americans suffering the ill effects of the sun more than those who live in hot dry dessert of the Middle East? Look for anything different or unusual when researching for a fresher approach to your writing.

Writing articles that are fresh and different doesn’t take great talent – but it does take a willingness to look at your subject with new eyes and be willing to stretch your imagination a bit.