I am just back from a very eventful trip to London.  I saw all the sights, I experienced plenty of what the lively, bustling city has to offer, and came away with sheafs of hotel notepaper jotted with ideas for articles.  The trouble now, is deciding how to tackle each topic.  I often come across this problem after a particularly interesting interview, or when research for a specific topic reveals layers of fascinating information all begging to be written about.  So how exactly do you find the best angles within a mass of ideas?

Make a bullet list of key points.  Distill your ideas into a simple list.  Try to make a short article title for each topic, using no more than a few words. You may find that one topic can become multiple articles, each with a different angle.  For example my margheritas in a cute Cuban bar in Covent Garden became an article about the international flair of the city, a review of the venue and an anecdotal travel piece about how using technology such as iPhone apps and social media can help you to find the best local hot spots.

Make a list of potential markets.  How to decide to tackle a topic and which angle you use can depend on where the writing will be used.  Consider potential markets for your work and think about their normal word count or style.  Travel review community Trazzler will only accept short reviews of up to 160 words, while an inflight magazine might want a 2,000 word feature with a sidebar of useful information and interesting facts.  Perhaps your ideas are better suited to local news?  Or would it make interesting reading for a particular type of blog? Knowing where you are going to use the piece will help you to write in the most suitable voice.

Don't be too precious about topics that don't fit.  The whole point of finding an angle is to create a piece of writing that is focused and offers the reader a clear vision of your experience or idea.  If you are just writing for your own personal blog then feel free to ramble on, taking detours onto side topics at will.  However, if you are writing professionally for a specific market then editing* is a must.  You might feel that the anecdote about the man eating only one pea at a time at the table next to you is intrinsic to your retelling of your meal at Chez Pois, however it will add little to a review about the restaurant and may be out of tone with the rest of the article or publication.

Just write. There is possibly no better way to find your angle than to simply write about your topic.  Let the idea unfold naturally and you will discover a comfortable word count and style.  You can always change this later, editing, cutting or expanding as needed, but getting everything down on paper will let you explore the ideas fully without the restraints imposed by any one particular format.

*Don't miss our article with tips and resources list for editing, coming soon.  Become a Fan of Writers Remorse on Facebook to stay informed!