10 Tips for Writing Exotic Articles About Where You Live

Think relating to this: Each year people all around you may spend hundreds of thousands of dollars traveling to "exotic" destinations. What makes these destinations "exotic"? The point that they're different from the normal home environment. Which means wherever you live is an "exotic" locale for people in most of the rest of the world. So, write about it.

"Here? There's nothing worth authoring around here," in ways about your hometown. With the proper focus on where you can look, just about any locale can yield multiple gems ideal for articles and stories. Research may be the key. Here are offbeat and practical sources for generating new ideas regardless of how small or dull you feel your hometown is. My colonial hometown of York, Pennsylvania includes a population of less than 60,000. Still, I've found numerous gems just waiting to be dug up, polished and marketed. Here are a few topics and resources to stimulate your thinking in even the tiniest, plainest, most remote towns.

Starting off: One indispensable resource is the telephone book. These pages contain enough starting information for you to produce reams of articles, once you learn where to look. Leading pages often contain maps, contact data for government agencies, museums, libraries, other reference sites and key organizations. Listings under clubs, fraternities, and organizations yield special interest groups just clamoring for promotional or human interest pieces. Thumb through your directory, you'll start generating ideas immediately.

Buy every postcard you can get related to your neighborhood. Key names, dates and facts on local sites will undoubtedly be printed on the back. Be sure to have a look at any available antique postcards of the area aswell. Assemble them right into a future reference scrapbook. Enter your town name and local sites key words from the postcards into several internet search engines. By following through to the results, points you'd never imagined can generate article ideas or new slants on "old" stories.

You'll doubtless be spending eons of time at the library anyway, so get to know the reference department staff unless you already. They are invaluable allies in your search for all sorts of knowledge. For the price of a cup of coffee rich rewards can be reaped as you chat with staff members informally. Require ideas for article ideas. Don't possess a library card? Get one - and use it. Readers will not be writers, but writers are always readers. If you're not scanning the daily papers and historical archives at the neighborhood library you're missing out on a treasure trove of idea-starting news pieces.

The TV/radio news and commentary: Local events are often mirrored at broader levels. Never assume a seemingly "local" problem is only of interest locally. When houseflies became a serious problem in a little Latin American town, I queried European and Asian magazines about possible fascination with an article on what the townsfolk did to not only solve the issue, but earn money from it too. A global magazine expressed its interest almost immediately. Listen in AM band talk radio broadcasts. Note the issues and contact information. Scrutinize them from different viewpoints. Talk with the station, friends, and family. Research radio or TV program featured sites, locations or businesses.

Crime: What was probably the most publicized, infamous crime committed around? A robbery? Primark Luggage Review ? Arson? Murder? Today's re-telling of the events or a follow-up on the aftermath may be of interest to numerous crime magazines, police gazettes, police and insurance industry trade publications. Ghost tales could be both fascinating and profitable. Is a local site reputedly haunted? Cemeteries certainly are a veritable cache of interesting ideas. Look for the initial, researching facts by Internet or newspaper archives. Speak to caretakers too.

Food: Almost every place has a hometown recipe or concoction they're proud of. What's its origin and special significance? Just how long has it been passed down? Are ingredients only available locally? Can people make it elsewhere? Can unavailable ingredients be substituted? Hotel, restaurant and bed & breakfast reviews may also be marketable. In my own hometown, eighteenth century Pennsylvania Dutch specialties like shoo-fly pie, apple butter, three bean salad, and chicken corn soup grace our tourist- attracting menus. An informative or historical piece, or even a recipe collection might be just the ticket.

Celebrity appearances: Maybe Elvis didn't sleep there (or possibly he did), but if ANYONE of note passed through, stopped or stayed, you can find those who'd like to hear about it. The celebrity can be historic or modern, represent any walk of life from Art to Zen, or be their spouses, family and descendents. Having an advance schedule of events, you can profile upcoming concert performers and try for interviews. Public relations and publicity offices carry stock bios on celebrities, used as a start.

Music is of worldwide interest; a unique type performed in your town could spiral into specialized pieces on local artists, artisans or exotic instruments just like the accordion, harmonica, dulcimer, harp or zither. Where and how are they crafted? Are lessons available? Why is the instrument mounted on the neighborhood area? If it exists elsewhere, compare your area with any others.

Nature: Are there seasonal invasions of bees, butterflies, bats, or other critters? Can be your area home to an unusual species? A haven for hummingbirds? A wildlife sanctuary? Wildlife and environmental publications might like the story. Zoos, insect museums, pet shops and university departments are good starting sources. I discovered a family-run business that cultures butterflies then releases them at weddings, parties along with other special occasions as well as giving presentations at schools, industry events and environmental conventions. Perhaps you have noticed a bizarre or curiously-shaped tree? Check with neighbors and the town planning commission. See if there is a tale mounted on that trunk or another natural wonders in your community.

Sports or Fairs: Cover city, county or state events with an eye to unique angles and multiple marketing. Search for interesting viewpoints. Talk to category winners. Are they elderly, ethnic, or handicapped? Family secret sharers? View the events in different ways. Take photos. Surely your neighborhood proudly hosts some tournament, race, rally or marathon? How contestants prepare, interviews with sponsors, family and fans are possible article generating material. When a backyard row of huge collard greens drew attention to my late grandmother's fertilizing methods winning her a

mention at the county fair, I wrote it up. (She'd used free elephant dung from a visiting circus as fertilizer.)

Whatever your writing genre, diamonds-in-the-rough ideas for articles abound all around you. Continually note ideas, brainstorm, observe, listen, converse and question everyone you can. Keep a calendar of local and regional events. Stay abreast of happenings. You'll never again say, "Here? There is nothing worth authoring around here."

Prof. Larry M. Lynch can be an English language teaching and learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and obtain paid while travelling for free.

For more info on entering or advancing in the fascinating field of teaching English as a Foreign or Second Language send for his no-cost PDF Ebook, "If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know", immediate delivery details and no-obligation information are available online now at: http://bettereflteacher.blogspot.com/

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