So let’s be honest, coming up with a new topic to write about is tough. The requests
don’t seem to cut it, and what you want to write about is already created. Not to worry! You can still, undoubtedly, find something to write about
Below are some common issues and what you can do to find a topic!
The requests aren’t good enough!
The requests can seem rather boring or confusing at times. Here’s what you can do:
- Dig deeper. The basic suggestions and the first page of the search results usually don’t yield fantastic results. You’d be surprised what hides out in the requests and goes unwritten.
(Tip: The search feature pulls up anything containing the phrase you searched; if you search “cat”, for example, requests such as “Categorize” will appear. Use this to your advantage.)
- Write about something not
in the requests. It takes some creative thinking, but think about something that you know how to do and find outside sources to cite your work (though take caution not to plagiarize).
- Put research into a simple topic that you see in the requests. They say the best articles come from firsthand experience, and that’s true to a point… but a ton of research doesn’t hurt, too, since you can make sure it’s accurate!
(Tip: Pick something you wanted to learn more about to begin with, so that you have more motivation to continue writing.)
Everything I pick is a duplicate/already written!
This might be the biggest annoyance of wikiHow editing! Some ideas:
- Edit on the currently-existing topic to expand it.
- Drill down to specifics. What makes your topic unique from the existing one? For example, maybe it’s more specific than just cleaning a keyboard - do you use cleaning slime to do so?
- Broaden the topic. If what currently exists is specific, making the topic more general with multiple methods wouldn’t technically be a duplicate - for example, Make Fluffy Slime and Make Slime aren’t duplicates!
I just don’t know what to write about!
Understandable - writer’s block bites us all at times. Try one of the following:
- Dig through the requests, using the tips outlined in “The requests aren’t good enough!”. Pick something you know about, or research a new topic that sounds interesting.
- Edit preexisting topics. It may not technically be writing a new article, but it helps make those pages better and may give you inspiration for a new topic.
(Tip: Try using the Topic Greenhouse
to edit by category.)
- Look through the Community Topic Areas
or Category Tree
and see what categories you might be able to contribute to.
If all else fails, you can always pick a different activity on the Community Dashboard until you get inspiration. And remember, writing an article isn’t everything! There are many other things you can do that will help out the wiki just as much as a new article would
8 Likes
This’ll REALLY help the newbies! I know we rarely sticky threads but this one kinda deserves it
1 Like
It i’ll help me in the future!
Hey guys - please don’t use this as a chat thread. That’s not the point of this. Couple of related comments here and there is fine, but please don’t just randomly chat here
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SarahB
9
Bumped, please don’t respond.
What should I write about?
@Oakraiderz
, please refer to the first post in the thread - we can’t tell you.
SORRY TO BUMP - Due to the circumstances (it not being meant to chat in), I feel like this should be locked (so we can’t comment). @anon74718567
Don’t really see a need to lock it - someone might want clarification on a certain point, for instance, and your post was the first in three years so I think we’re probably fine to leave it open
3 Likes
Google search data from 2004-now says that making an article on How to Play Violin would get the most views, but really? what do you guys want an article about?
Choices
1: How to Make a Google Classroom Class
2: How to Be Better at Reading
3: How to Get Better Grades
4: How to Play Violin (For Beginners)
5: How to Find Google Search Data
my top choices for myself are: how to make a google classroom class, how to find google search data
green= how to play violin
2 Likes
How to play a violin? Seems a bit random… I would actually be interested in how to be better at reading (faster) or also how to make a google classroom class. i thik that one is really interesting and needed atm
i ended up not doing those, but i made a different article
U can write ,How to decorate your house
