So, you know what "topic" to write about, but how do you come up with WHAT to write about that topic?  You may have identified "making money" as your topic, but what will you write about "making money"?  Will it be Internet related?  Stocks and bonds?  Direct mail?  Home-based business?  Fundraising?

And when you narrow it down to the actual subject, what kind of information will you share in the eBook? That’s what this article will hopefully help you to decide by exploring some ways to generate ideas and to do some research.

Brainstorm To Get Other Folks’ Ideas

Whether you get family members, a group of friends, or other writers together, brainstorming is a wonderful way to beat Writer’s Block.  When you are stuck, make brainstorming fun.  You can sit and just start throwing ideas out or make a game by putting ideas in a hat and then passing it around to read or act out.

We call this a "mastermind" session. And you’d be absolutely amazed at how productive it can be.  Folks throw out ideas that you never even thought of.  They offer opinions that you weren’t even close to considering.  Why?  Because they think differently than you do.  And that can be a good thing.

Are you having trouble with generating ideas for your eBook , or expanding upon what you are already writing about?  Get a group of folks together (or even ONE person is a start) and ask questions.  Explain what you are writing about and ask for suggestions, ideas and opinions.

Voila — with the wave of a magic wand, you’ve got more ideas and a fresh perspective to write from.

Collect Ideas

I am what I refer to as an "Idea collector."  I collect ideas to use later in my writing. When something grabs your attention, no matter where you are, write it down and capture as much information as you can.  Thoughts could come to you at any time.  You might be grocery shopping or at your son’s soccer game.  The best thing is to be prepared and always keep a pad of paper and pen with you.  Or, even better than that is to have a small hand-held voice recorder.

You’ll be amazed at where inspiration hits you.  For example, when sitting at your child’s outdoor sporting event, focus on things going on around you.  Perhaps you see a child playing off by himself in the dirt and you watch as another child around the same age slowly and shyly approaches wanting to make a friend.  Before long, they have bonded and are now sharing their toys together.  Write the scenario down and later think about ways you could use that story to illustrate a point when you are writing your eBook.  A pad of paper and pen (or the voice recorder) will soon become your greatest companion.

NOTE:  And the "ideas" you collect don’t necessarily have to apply to your CURRENT writing project.  I collect ideas that sit in my "idea file" for months — even years — before I ever use them.  But, they are there when I need them, always giving me something new to draw from, and something new and fresh to spawn ideas.

Use Childhood Memories

Here’s a great exercise.  Sit down with a pad and paper and start writing down childhood experiences.  Start with a specific age and think about the school you attended at that time, the friends you hung around, the style of the clothes you wore, a favorite pet, anything you can.  You will be amazed at how many ideas you can develop that can be useful to you in writing, or that spawn other ideas for your eBook.

Just as you revisited your own childhood, talk to other family members or friends and ask them to share stories about their upbringing.  For example, one writer asked a close friend from Israel about her experiences as a child during World War II.  What unfolded was a wonderful story of determination, as the friend shared how her family had withstood persecution and survived horrible ordeals.  Just like that a new chapter to an eBook was added, "How to Overcome Opposition:  7 Secrets From A Survivor."

Make a List

If you aren’t sure how the exact content of your article will come together, you might consider writing out a list.  Just start writing down different words associated with the subject you want to write about and in most cases, when you finish this exercise, you have quite a bit of information that you hadn’t considered before.

For example:  As I was writing the eBook you are now reading — I needed 77 ideas — so, what did I do?  I started jotting down a list of things to include.  As I reviewed the list, other ideas popped into my head (the next idea "Use A Dictionary / Thesaurus" came from THIS idea of "Make A List").

Just start writing down a list of things your reader would be interested in knowing.  Doesn’t matter if some of them don’t make sense — write them down anyway.  As you look back over the list, those seemingly unfitting ideas might launch into other related ideas that you CAN use.  Write down everything you can think of, and then decide what you can use. You’ll almost always find 10-15 new ideas to write about — which can turn into a lot more content.