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Story Ideas – On a Lawyer’s Desk?
By Deb Gallardo
A positively stellar article today from Legal Media Matters has a surprising theme for my blog. It’s geared toward lawyers, so it may seem off-topic, but in my mind I think it’s relevant in at least four ways.
- The article is so well-written, it stands alone as a lesson on how to write … er, well.
- The strategy of writing articles for the law office’s website or appropriate print publications may be something of a stretch since the topic is industry-specific and the content would be based on actual cases, but some creative thinking may turn up ways to apply this same article idea strategy to any profession or niche.
- It’s a peek inside the mind of a lawyer. A smart fiction writer never misses an opportunity to get inside someone’s head. You never know when one of your stories may require that particular mind as a character.
- You can play “what if?” What if a lawyer followed this strategy and instead of just establishing himself or herself as an authority, this lawyer suddenly grabs the attention of an old rival or someone who hates lawyers and becomes a target and perhaps a victim?
Here’s an excerpt of the article. Notice that the writer says the same thing I keep telling you: story ideas are there. The challenge is learning to see them. But I’m not so crass as to say, “I told you so.”
When a lawyer gets a great result, devises a winning strategy, tackles an old issue with a 21st-century twist or develops an approach that helps avoid a legal minefield…those successes represent an opportunity…to write a guest article.
…If the author retains copyright to the content, the article can not only be featured in a print publication but can also serve as fresh content for the law firm’s Web site, be incorporated into a firm newsletter or be rolled into a continuing legal education handout.
Topics for articles are as plentiful as the files on a lawyer’s desk, as numerous as the phone calls that need to be returned after a vacation. The trick to story ideas is recognizing them.
An article may fall under one of three broad categories: substantive, procedural or strategic, and those that summarize lessons learned in practice.
Read more on finding story ideas at Legal Media Matters, (Opens in new window) in which the author details these four types of articles, with examples of ideas for each. See, I told you it was good…
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2 Comments »
August 1st, 2008 at 11:57 am
Hi Deb –
Thanks for the shout out! You have a great site!
Geri Dreiling
Legal Media Matters
August 2nd, 2008 at 7:45 am
Geri,
You are more than welcome. It’s I who should be thanking you for your good content, and for the lovely compliment about my blog. What can I say? It’s my “baby.” (LOL)
As a matter of fact, I sent a link for your article to a friend who’s a young attorney and writes her firm’s newsletter.
I thought what you had to say was insightful and practical. I’m hoping to see if I can find ways to apply your technique to other niches.
Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment. I do appreciate those, and come back again if you’re ever looking for inspiration, or if that legal novel you may be secretly planning to write “someday” needs a boost. (82% of Americans say they plan to write a book “someday.” Thought you might aspire to the same thing, given what a good writer you are.)
All the best to you!
Deb