So you’re feeling the effects of a slow economy and you need to write more articles. What topic is more pertinent than the slowing economy? We’ve had some great submissions about how to cut back spending in general, but here are some more subjects to consider writing about:

• Reasons for global economy slowdown
• Reasons for US recession
• Effects of rising prices world wide
• How is the economy’s pace affecting the wealthy?
• How does it affect healthcare?
• Is “going green” compatible with living more economically?
• How are retailers dealing with slowing sales?
• How are the poor affected?
• What about third-world countries?
• What can someone do in the case of a food shortage?
• How should a person invest during a recession?

If you’re having a block this weekend, or none of the request appeal to you, consider writing about medical advances in technology, drugs, or procedures. Cancer treatments, discoveries in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, or MS research, or new information for diabetes sufferers or the obese are all fair game.

After you’ve identified your topic and scientific studies that explain these medical advances, use search engines to try and find the original studies – or, in the very least, copies of their abstracts. This will guarantee that the information you have is correct and lend your article more authority. Don’t forget to reference your sources at the end of the piece.

Basic starting points for further investigation include BBC’s health section or Slate’s Human Nature column.

As the word “recession” reverberates in echo across various media outlets, “green” living becomes ever more econonomical, trendy, and a way for practitioners to show others they are environmentally conscious, and the political sphere spins closer to election day in the US, we’ve seen a great many submissions that capitalize on buzzwords, explore hot topics, and look towards future changes in our lifestyles and our world.

This weekend’s writing idea steps away from content that focuses on timely subjects and into one that is timeless – the realm of the paranormal, unexplained, or mysterious.

Whether you’re a believer in UFOs, Bigfoot, ghosts, or mysterious happenings, or you’re a die-hard skeptic, you can get in on the fun.  Provide evidence or examples of paranormal phenomenon or debunk them.  One caveat – as always, avoid first-person narratives. Some ideas for articles include:

• Bigfoot sightings, Bigfoot around the world, Bigfoot in myth and legend
• UFO unsolved mysteries, common witness errors
• Ghosts, hauntings, theories behind ghostly activity, ghost hunter tips
• Lake monsters or sea monsters
• Mass hallucinations
• Curses on objects or families
• Superstitions around the world

Food is an all-around fun topic. It’s fun to write about and fun to research. So this weekend, if you need something to write about, write about food. Bypass your desire to capitalize from your grandmother’s three-layer, upside-down, German chocolate angel cake recipe, and instead focus on world cuisines. Here are some topics to think about:

• Traditional cuisines vs. modern cuisines
• Tex-Mex and pizza parlor vs. Mexican and Italian
• Ways to bring authentic cuisine into the kitchen
• Exotic cuisines/Unknown cuisines
• Korean side dishes (or other unusual snack foods) for your cocktail party
• Dessert meets bacon (a trend that I hope will go the way of 1950s Jell-o salads)
• Haute cuisine chocolates
• Vegetarian/Vegan takes on favorite recipes
• Molecular gastronomy – what it is/how it works
• Ways to make breakfast exciting
• Unusual or surprising picnic food choices

Forbes.com featured some of the world’s most expensive desserts in a slideshow in honor of Valentine’s Day. Most expensive, least expensive, or other surprising qualities at either end of the spectrum make for great articles. Some other suggestions include:

• Most expensive coffee makers
• Least expensive cars
• Smallest dogs
• Largest houses
• Longest films
• Oldest man-made structures
• Most expensive art sales

If you’re a single freelancer, chances are good that you don’t have health insurance. And, if you do have health insurance, chances are also good that your premiums are going up, your coverage is fluctuating, and you’re overall displeased with how the insurance company jerks you around. So here’s your weekend writing idea. Write about the health insurance industry.

• How does one find a good health insurance company?
• What does a person who does not have health insurance do when they get sick?
• What are some ways to save on health care?
• How does a person find doctors in their health insurance network?
• How can a person object to a health insurance company’s decision?
• What do you do if you have a “pre-existing condition”?
• What are lawmakers trying to do to change the health insurance system? (Are they really doing anything?)
• What can individuals do to take a stand against the corrupt health insurance system?
• How is health care different for the insured vs. the uninsured?

As most of you know, I’ve been a long-time fan of Slate. (Recently, its content seems to have taken a dive in hopes of attracting bottom-feeders, but that’s another issue.) Slate runs a column, written by various contributers and interns, called Explainer. Explainer’s writers researches a topic relevant to the news to give the reader the inside scoop on the subject. Explainer has answered question in the past like, “Can a doctor force you to undergo a procedure against your will?” and “How do you survive a 47-storey fall?”

Your weekend writing idea is to write and Explainer-like article. Those writing for the Explainer interview experts and do research – you’ll probably just want to do research, since this is an article written on spec. However, concentrate on surprising questions that will garner even more interesting answers.

Maybe, instead of offering suggestions for questions that I don’t know the answers to, I’ll open up discussion to you. What’s a burning question you have that you’d like someone else to research and answer? Feel free to discuss here or in the forum – whatever’s easiest and most conducive to interaction. For inspiration, click on the link to Explainer above – you’ll see just how creative you can be, and you might get some ideas for other articles while you’re at it.

Even celebrities can’t steal the spotlight with primary elections in full swing and candidates dropping like insects. While people follow the results with either rising gorges or whoops of elation, there is a dearth of understanding about the whole process behind choosing presidential party nominees, as well as the controversial electoral process. Your weekend writing idea is about answering questions (your own, or common ones) and clearing up misconceptions about how the United States manages to fumble through this whole mess.

Topics of consideration:

• What are delagates/what role do they play?
• What is a caucus?
• What is the electoral college?
• How do states tally votes?
• What’s the issue with primaries?
• How does a party pick a nominee?
• How does the process today differ from the process 100 years ago?

This weekend, think about a niche audience to which you can appeal. Constant Content excels at providing content that reaches broad audiences, but sometimes requests for content that appeals to a certain type of audience or made. To write knowledgeably and enthusiastically for an audience, the writer would ideally be a part of such an audience or have close affiliations with potential audience members.

For example, Constant Content could use more:

• Content geared towards members of ethnic groups
• Content that explores religions besides Western-style Christianity and Paganism
• Content that speaks to aficionados of all types (think beyond “Wine 101,” “Golf,” or “Collecting Antique Maps for the Beginner”)
• Content that offers advice to individuals suffering from certain diseases or disorders, or that seeks to educate those who may be close to to someone with a certain disease or disorder
• Content for and about sexual orientation and gender issues
• Content for single people who are not looking for romance
• Content for the person who is already an expert in his or her field

While there may not be as much demand for these types of articles, it doesn’t hurt to pleasantly surprise the customer who is searching for the right article to speak to their chosen audience.

Have a great weekend!

What? You don’t have anything to write about this weekend? How about taking a stab at the following topic:

Local Television and Radio Commercials for Businesses

While I don’t watch a lot of television, I’ve always been amused by the locally produced commercials advertising businesses in the area. Radio commercials are only a little better . . . sometimes. Given the interest Constant Content’s customers have in advertising and business articles, this topic seems pertinent and potentially lucrative. Examples of article topics include:

• How to produce an inexpensive television or radio commercial
• How to find actors/voice actors for your commercial
• Effective voice and audio advertising techniques
• Why you should never use PowerPoint for your commercials
• How to get your ad on local television and radio stations
• Colors not to wear when appearing on television (hello, yellow!)
• How to appeal to your targeted demographic
• What information to include in your commercial
• Why poorly animated characters insult your audience (or why they don’t? – I have no idea why the local cable service provider feels it’s acceptable to run ads that belie its shameless monopoly on the region; I’m sure it can afford higher quality ads that might be slightly more convincing.)

Certainly, writers who have experience in business and advertising could think of even more (and more useful) articles related to this topic.

Have a great weekend!