Notes

0 Strategies for Writing Exotic Articles About Where You Live
Think concerning this: Every year people all around you spend hundreds of thousands of dollars traveling to "exotic" destinations. Why is these destinations "exotic"? The fact that they're different from the normal home environment. Which means wherever you live can be an "exotic" locale for people in most of all of those other world. So, write about it.

"Here? There is nothing worth writing about around here ," in ways about your hometown. With the proper focus on where to look, just about any locale can yield multiple gems suitable for articles and stories. Research may be the key. Listed below are offbeat and practical sources for generating new ideas regardless of how small or dull you are feeling your hometown is. My colonial hometown of York, Pennsylvania has a population of less than 60,000. Still, I've found numerous gems just waiting to be dug up, polished and marketed. Here are several topics and resources to excite your thinking in even the littlest, plainest, most remote towns.

Starting: One indispensable resource may be the telephone book. These pages contain enough starting information so that you can produce reams of articles, once you learn where to look. The front pages often contain maps, contact data for government agencies, museums, libraries, other reference sites and key organizations. Listings under clubs, fraternities, and organizations yield special interest groups just clamoring for promotional or human interest pieces. Thumb through your directory, you'll start generating ideas right away.

Buy every postcard you will discover related to your area. Key names, dates and facts on local sites will be printed on the trunk. Be sure to check out any available antique postcards of the region aswell. Assemble them into a future reference scrapbook. Enter check here and local sites key phrases from the postcards into several search on the internet engines. By following through to the results, points you'd never imagined can generate article ideas or new slants on "old" stories.

You'll doubtless be spending eons of time at the library anyway, so become familiar with the reference department staff unless you already. They are invaluable allies in your search for all sorts of knowledge. For the price tag on a cup of coffee rich rewards can be reaped as you speak to staff members informally. Require ideas for article ideas. Don't have a library card? Get one - and use it. Readers is probably not writers, but writers are always readers. If you are not scanning the daily papers and historical archives at the neighborhood library you're passing up on a treasure trove of idea-starting news pieces.

The TV/radio news and commentary: Local events are often mirrored at broader levels. Never assume a seemingly "local" problem is only of interest locally. When houseflies became a serious problem in a little Latin American town, I queried European and Asian magazines about possible fascination with an article on which the townsfolk did never to only solve the issue, but make money from it too. A global magazine expressed its interest almost immediately. Tune in AM band talk radio broadcasts. Note the issues and contact information. Scrutinize them from different viewpoints. Talk with the station, friends, and family. Research radio or TV program featured sites, locations or businesses.

Crime: What was probably the most publicized, infamous crime committed around? A robbery? Kidnapping? Arson? Murder? A modern re-telling of the events or perhaps a follow-up on the aftermath might be of interest to varied crime magazines, police gazettes, law enforcement and insurance industry trade publications. Ghost tales can be both fascinating and profitable. Is a local site reputedly haunted? Cemeteries certainly are a veritable cache of interesting ideas. Search for the unique, researching facts by Internet or newspaper archives. Talk to caretakers too.

Food: Almost every place includes a hometown recipe or concoction they're proud of. What's its origin and special significance? How long has it been passed down? Are ingredients only available locally? Can people ensure it is elsewhere? Can unavailable ingredients be substituted? Hotel, restaurant and bed & breakfast reviews may also be marketable. In my own hometown, eighteenth century Pennsylvania Dutch specialties like shoo-fly pie, apple butter, three bean salad, and chicken corn soup grace our tourist- attracting menus. An informative or historical piece, or perhaps a recipe collection might be just the ticket.

Celebrity appearances: Maybe Elvis didn't sleep there (or maybe he did), but if ANYONE of note passed through, stopped or stayed, there are those who'd like to hear about it. The celebrity could be historic or modern, represent any walk of life from Art to Zen, or be their spouses, family and descendents. With an advance schedule of events, you can profile upcoming concert performers and try for interviews. Public relations and publicity offices carry stock bios on celebrities, used as a start.
Music is of worldwide interest; a unique type performed in your area could spiral into specialized pieces on local artists, artisans or exotic instruments just like the accordion, harmonica, dulcimer, harp or zither. Where and how are they crafted? Are lessons available? Why is the instrument mounted on the neighborhood area? If it exists elsewhere, compare your neighborhood with any others.

Nature: Is there seasonal invasions of bees, butterflies, bats, or other critters? Is your area home to a unique species? A haven for hummingbirds? A wildlife sanctuary? Wildlife and environmental publications might like the story. Zoos, insect museums, pet shops and university departments are good starting sources. I discovered a family-run business that cultures butterflies then releases them at weddings, parties and other special occasions along with giving presentations at schools, industry events and environmental conventions. Perhaps you have noticed a bizarre or curiously-shaped tree? Check with neighbors and the city planning commission. See if there's a tale attached to that trunk or another natural wonders in your community.

Sports or Fairs: Cover city, county or state events with an eye to unique angles and multiple marketing. Search for interesting viewpoints. Speak to category winners. Are they elderly, ethnic, or handicapped? Family secret sharers? View the events in various ways. Take photos. Surely your area proudly hosts some tournament, race, rally or marathon? How contestants prepare, interviews with sponsors, family and fans are possible article generating material. When a backyard row of huge collard greens drew focus on my late grandmother's fertilizing methods winning her a
mention at the county fair, I wrote it up. (She'd used free elephant dung from a visiting circus as fertilizer.)

Whatever your writing genre, diamonds-in-the-rough ideas for articles abound all around you. Continually note ideas, brainstorm, observe, listen, converse and question everyone you can. Keep a calendar of local and regional events. Stay abreast of happenings. You'll never again say, "Here? There's nothing worth authoring around here."

Prof. Larry M. Lynch can be an English language teaching and learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and obtain paid while travelling for free.

For more information on entering or advancing in the fascinating field of teaching English as a Foreign or Second Language send for his no-cost PDF Ebook, "If You Want to Teach English Abroad, SOME TIPS ABOUT WHAT You have to know", immediate delivery details and no-obligation information are available online now at: http://bettereflteacher.blogspot.com/

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