From time to time, all writers have trouble coming up with new ideas. One way to overcome this is to re-work previously published articles and stories in order to turn them into a new piece of work. Sometimes this is simply a matter of some minor editing. However, in most cases several changes will need to be made.
Scavenge Through Previously Published Articles
The first thing to do, is to go through all your old files to locate all old articles and stories that are on topics of interest to you, the writer, or that may be re-purposed for another publication. Locate the following types of writing in your files:
· Your published articles in print.
· Your published article online.
· Your college term papers.
Review the Resources
The first step in re-working the article is to review the resources used to write the story, term paper or article. Ask yourself if the resource and the information it provides:
· is still in print.
· has a publication date that is more than 10 years old.
· is still available online.
· has any recent updates.
· is still relevant today.
Once you have identified the resources that are out of date, no long relevant, or no longer available online, remove those resources from the bibliography (a.k.a. List of Works Cited). Go through the remaining resources to identify which material came from these resources. Then highlight the material that may have come from the deleted resources.
Re-Research for Updates
Next, it's time to update the research and resources so that any holes in the research can be filled in and updated. Do this for both print and online resources and research.
Locate New Images
Images that you obtained from outside sources may no longer be available. These will need to be replaced. Other images that may need replacing are those that may be dated. If your original article was written in the 80s and includes people, locations, and vehicles from that time period, well, then it may be time to update the photos. Any images that are grainy, blurry, or pixilated should also be updated.
Double-Check Keywords List
Articles prior to 2000 may not have required a keywords list. In that case a keyword list will need to be generated. For anything since around 2000 forward, examine the keyword list and update it for current word usage, subject matter, for words that make more sense. Use the new keyword list to help you re-write the article or story.
Tweak It
Finally, it's time to tweak the article or story. Edit the writing for the following:
· to either delete or update the material from the deleted sources.
· to add in new and updated material from new sources.
· to correct spelling and grammar errors.
· to improve the flow.
There are other ways to tweak the article as well. Try one of these:
1. Compare and contrast the information from the original article to current standards for the subject matter. This is a variation on the "then and now" style of story.
2. Show how trends have changed since the original article was written. (Another variation of the "then and now" style.)
3. Show how things have changed over time, as sort of a timeline of events.
4. If the original article or story was long, break it down into several smaller articles.
5. If you have several small articles on the same topic, combine them to create one longer article.
6. Combine several articles or stories on related topics to create something entirely new.
These are only a few ideas for re-working old article to turn them into new articles. Hopefully they will suggest other ways for writers to reuse and recycle their own work.
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