Finding Great Ideas

Finding Great Ideas

I once went to lunch with my friend Mike Kelly. We were both reporters for the Cincinnati Post at the time. Not only was Mike a greater writer, but he also had a knack for finding ideas. He could see stories in some of the most unusual places.

We had made a stop for a 5-way. For the uninitiated, a 5-way is Cincinnati chili with spaghetti noodles, cheese, onions, and kidney beans. Chili plus the four add-ons, makes a 5-way. It’s one of the best flavors you’ll find in the Queen City.  While we were eating he suggested we wander over to the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and Science. When Mike would wander through a museum, he would ultimately find his way off the beaten path, usually wandering into some restricted, non-public area. To make a long story short, he led us into some type of holding area for insect exhibits not currently on display. While I was worried about getting in trouble, Mike found something that made him laugh. It was a curio of dead fleas dressed as a Mexican wedding party. He turned it into a great feature story.

I can still remember the lead for the story he wrote. It went something like this (I’m doing my best to remember):

The Louvre has the Mona Lisa. The British Museum has the Rosetta Stone. The Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and Science has 12 dead fleas dressed up like a Mexican wedding party.

I still smile when I think about his genius. He went on to describe how the “best flea” was dressed and how the “flea of honor” was holding a bouquet of flowers. He even described how the bride and groom fleas were holding “flea hands.”

While working on the story, he actually called the head curator/director at the British Museum and asked if they had any exhibits like that. I’m sure the puzzled man on the other end of the call said “no.” Then Mike, and only he could get away with this, asked the curator if he were jealous and might consider requesting the exhibit be sent for special display at his museum. Mike did it with a straight face and got some great quotes, which he used in the story. It was classic Mike Kelly.

So, how do we channel our inner Mike Kelly and come up with great feature story ideas?

We have to be naturally curious, students of life, observers of the world, and willing to poke around in the most unusual places. We have to be like Mike. In addition, I’m going to add a few of my suggestions.

1. Read good journalism, particularly national magazines and newspapers.

While I worked at the Post I also became good friends with the business editor, who I could occasionally convince to let me write an enterprise piece. I remember reading a U.S. Chamber of Commerce magazine that had an article about the growing number of women entrepreneurs in the U.S. I wondered if I could localize that story. I did some calling around and checking and found an organization for local entrepreneurs. They hooked me up with several contacts and I was able to write a great article about women entrepreneurs in Cincinnati. In the article, I profiled four women who had created their own businesses. It was a fun piece to write.

2. Go on a journalistic walkabout (apologies to the aboriginal culture). Wander around, go into new places, and look behind the scenes at some of the places you tend to frequent.

3. Talk to people. This may mean getting out of your comfort zone. The locals often have great stories to tell. They have interesting insights. They just know stuff.

4. Examine your own experiences.

While in Cincinnati, my wife and I thought it might be time to buy our first home. We were young and inexperienced and our agent probably thought we were dumber and poorer than dirt. I began to wonder if other first-time buyers were going through the same feelings and experiences. I checked with some other agents who helped me contact their clients. I ended up writing a piece about the experiences of Mike and Jennifer Gorris (I still remember them), who were buying their first home, a real fixer-upper. I included quotes and information from a number of real estate agents who offered help and suggestions to other first time buyers. I was able to create a nut graph that suggested that this couple was typical of many other couples entering the local real estate market for the first time. Remember, we didn’t have cable TV shows about this stuff back then.

Let’s add to this list by turning to some of the ideas provided by Sumner and Miller. They write:

In searching for an idea, you have to keep in mind its angle, form, and audience…[It is] important to begin with an audience in mind and the possible “form” of an article…”

In other words, to whom are you writing (this will help you size up what might be of interest), and what type of story will work best (e.g., profile, how-to, first-person, in-depth enterprise, etc.)

Sumner and Miller explain that you have to do your homework and some legwork before settling on and refining a story idea.

They suggest that you need to find an angle. They write:

Everything a writer produces needs an original angle supported by information not already in print. Being original means that each article should ‘smell fresh’ when it arrives in front of the reader. It shouldn’t sound like it’s been pulled from an ‘article warehouse’ shelf somewhere. That’s why you can’t write an original article simply by regurgitating material from existing magazines, newspapers, or internet articles…

Let’s put it this way: if you don’t do any background reading before you develop an idea, you’re likely to come up with an unoriginal idea. The best way to find an original idea is by reading.

They suggest some interesting places to look: telephone Yellow Pages, weekly newspapers, old magazines, public bulletin boards (when was the last time you stood in from of the bulletin board in the basement of the WSC with your journalistic hat on?), schedules of meetings, conventions, conferences, and trade shows, faculty biographies on web sites, association directories (you might really be surprised what types of associations are out there, government documents and reports (you might be surprised what you will find in the Congressional Quarterly).

OK, this hurts to admit, but sometimes good ideas can come from press releases and media advisories. Often this means doing some leg work to get around the spin to find an even more interesting angle.

Finally, good feature writers get their ideas by just asking questions. Garrison notes that writer Dave Barry did this with great frequency—his questions became the inspiration for much of his writing. This is probably true for most journalists. For example, when I was a reporter at the Indianapolis Star I noticed that the local school district was building a lot of new schools. I wondered what happened to the old buildings, particularly those of historical interest. The question led to a great story with some interesting anecdotes about how they had been transformed and were being used.  

Good feature writers often keep an “idea file.” They make notes on ideas that come to them and build a file that they can come back to as they have time. Carry around a notepad. When an idea or question hits you, jot it down.

Your Blog Assignment [Due Jan. 20 @ 5 p.m.]

Your assignment is to go on another “journalistic walkabout” on the BYU campus and surrounding community. You should be getting used to these. Go explore something you have never seen before or visited. Talk to at least one person you have not previously met. Channel your inner Mike Kelly. Don’t come back until you have at least three good story ideas. I want you to write a 500-word blog about your experience. Use this blog to pitch your story ideas to us. And I want you to be prepared to share your ideas in class. We’re going to talk about them.