<h2>Tuesday's Tips and Tidbits</h2>

Choosing a Topic

There are times when freelance writers don't have a choice as to what they are going to write about. Journalists, magazine writers, and even those who do web based writing are forced to write whatever their editor or client wants or needs. Of course, there is usually some amount of flexibility regardless, but what if you get to choose your own topics? This is often one of the many perks of freelance writing, but how do you come up with ideas and what should you keep in mind?

Pick a topic that is of strong interest to you and that you already know something about. This will help you in a few different ways. First of all, let's use a scrapbooker as an example. A "die-hard scrap-booker" is going to come up with ideas for a scrap booking article much easier than someone who has never scrap booked before. Maybe she has created a fun and easy page to record a child's first birthday and she would like to share that with her readers in a "how to" article format. Or perhaps she would like to share in essay form why she is passionate about pictures. Regardless of the topic, her love for scrapbooking will help her come up with a plethora of article ideas.

Not only will the ideas come easier with a topic close to your heart, but that first hand experience is only going to enrich your article. Our photo friendly junky is already going to know what tools to use to make her pictures look fancy, which glues work the best, and how to keep organized. All of this is useful and real information that is sure to give her article an edge--one that won't come quite so readily with a topic that's foreign to her.

Finally, what you already know gives you a head start in your research. The information foundation will already be there, and your job will be to build upon that, to learn more about a topic that interests you, and to write an eloquent article.

So go pick a topic that inspires you and write an article that people will be driven to read!