Oct 12, 2022
How Rewriting The Title of My Articles Alone Gives Me At Least 10 Writing Ideas Easily
It is simple yet incredibly effective
Writing is a means. It is not the end in itself.
You do not write just because you want to write. But because there is something writing helps you accomplish. For example, you might write because it enables you to gain clarity. Another person might write because it helps them cope with anxiety.
As a problem solver, writing is my vehicle for providing solutions to the world. My writing process follows a simple three-part framework:
- Identifying a problem (diagnosis),
- Defining the problem (problem definition), and
- Designing the solution/finished product (e.g., articles, blog posts, etc.)
Diagnosis ➡ Problem Definition ➡ Finished product/Solution
Therefore, my writing prolificity depends on the time it takes to go from diagnosis to finished product.
Why writers struggle to generate ideas.
Many writers struggle with idea generation because they do not know how to identify and define their readers’ problems.
They set up systems for designing the finished product, which in most cases is their articles or blog post, but they do not set up effective systems that help with the first and second steps.
You cannot solve a problem you cannot identify and define.
Here is a simple yet incredibly effective technique I use.
I call it the article title iteration technique. It focuses on the first two steps and is a prolific idea generator.
This ATI technique helps me generate more than ten ideas easily.
How it works.
I simply rewrite my article titles as many times as possible.
Yep!
Remember what I said about the first two steps?
You want to concentrate most of your effort on identifying and defining problems. The more problems you identify, the more solutions you can proffer. And a great way to do this is to focus on generating different iterations for your article title/headline.
As you rewrite and tweak your titles to reflect different solution propositions, you inadvertently discover different problems your readers may be facing and questions they might be asking.
Because these problems are defined (that is, worded) differently, each definition opens you up to a unique way to address the same core problem.
The more you iterate, the more insights you gain into potential reader problems and what method to adopt in designing a solution.
This isn't my first article on how writers can generate ideas, but it addresses the same old problem of idea generation from a new and unique perspective.
In fact, I got the idea for this particular article while iterating the title of a previous article.
What you should do.
i. Devote a portion of your writing time to article title iteration. (Practice it as often as you can).
ii. Rewrite and rework your article titles, always.
iii. Do as many iterations as possible, at least ten.
iv. Create a new draft titled “ATI” and save all iterations in it.
The more you iterate, the more potential writing ideas you generate.
For example, I wrote two separate articles that performed really well. Both addressed identical problems from different perspectives.
i. Why Nobody Cares About Your Writing
ii. What You Must Not Do When Nobody Cares About Your Writing
By rewriting my article’s title, I opened up an entirely new way to solve the same problem. As a result, I was able to write two separate articles.
