Week of Dec. 8, 2013 - Making Boring Topics Come to Life

By Joan Whetzel

 

There have been plenty of occasions when I have been assigned a topic to write about which I find utterly boring. My challenge was to make them interesting to myself, so that I could make writing about them equally interesting. There are a few steps any writer can use to wake up a snoozer of a topic.
 

1. Connect the topic to the things people do every day. I’m talking about driving or biking. Exercise, shopping, cooking, family events, holidays and the like Making the topic  a part of everyday life makes  it easier to relate to.
2. Connect it to news, sports, and pop culture. Showing how it relates to current events and the things people enjoy every day is sure to liven up a sleeper of a topic.
3. Use juicy verbs and nouns. That means no verbs that require the “is” form. It also means avoiding adjectives and adverbs, only using them rarely.
4. Writer conversationally rather than lecturing. Conversational writing sounds like you’re talking with your audience on an equal basis. Lecturing sounds condescending or overbearing.
5. Add photos, clip art and diagrams to illustrate what you’re talking about. Don’t forget sidebars to add a few interesting tidbits and factoids  related to the topic.
6. Put yourself into it. Give personal accounts - without naming names - of how you encountered or dealt with a similar set of circumstances, how you learned to enjoy something about the topic, how you learned something from the experience, etc.

 Most of all, have fun with the topic. If you can find the humorous side of it, all the better.