If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

No one knows something about everything. That’s why the ability to conduct thorough and efficient research is essential for any successful entrepreneur. Whether you are a writer or business person looking for the next profitable niche, research a is tool in your success toolkit. Research is vast unto itself. Not only are multiple resources required, but no resource list contains all the possible sources available. To be an authority on any subject, research is required. However, without the proper tools, a writer or entrepreneur could spend more time searching than writing.

Google is one of the best sources for information a researcher can use. While it is more convenient than your local library, it often requires a significant amount of time to wade through inaccurate outdated material disguised as useful content. Also, your typical search engine is very static. It only provides results based what you submit as a query. There are many ways to query a subject that may bring up different results, but no one person can think of them all. Keyword tools can help but again your results are based on what you put into the query.  Additionally, not everyone knows all the tricks and techniques to narrow down the search and produce a variety of source formats efficiently.

Instead of flipping between multiple browsers to scour multiple search engines and keyword tools hoping to cover as much ground as possible in the shortest amount of time, why not utilize software that combines these efforts into a very in-depth and intuitive interface? Redpath’sResearch Wizard Pro accomplishes just this task. Not only can you query various search engines and keyword tools, it makes suggestions to help you fine-tune your probe with keyword phrases and resource formats you may not have even considered. Maybe what you need is an image, a PDF, an audio or video clip? Research Wizard Pro swiftly allows you to select those options as part of your research query instantly. Nothing is more daunting that submitting your search term and being greeted with page after page of semi-related links. Research Wizard Pro can put your scanning skills to good use by placing these jam-packed link pages on a timer which you control. No more stiff fingers due to clicking from one page to the next. Lastly, Research Wizard Pro has a search tool for anything you are looking for on the Net. From encyclopedias, dictionaries, maps, Bible verses, shopping, health, travel, keyword search, niche building, web traffic monitoring and website origination facts, you can narrow your search with a click of the icon.

Personally, research was becoming a grueling task even for a self-proclaimed info junkie like me. As a full-time freelance writer and romance novelist, research is an integral part of my work. I first came upon Research Wizard Pro in a writing magazine ad.  I immediately pulled up the product website and I instantly knew the way I conducted research would never be the same. When buying software, there is always that fear that it won’t be user-friendly. Research Wizard Pro is highly intuitive. I was looking for something to that would shorten my research time. Research that is more efficient is only the beginning of what Research Wizard Pro offers. This software is highly customizable and instinctively provides options for research that wouldn’t occur to the most experienced librarian or archivist.

                Redpath Media thought of everything. There is filter for any category in which your search might fall. With the highly responsive customer service and the informative video tutorials, you can’t help but put this software to good use.

                Most recently, I used Research Wizard Pro to find a secret occupation for the hero in my current novel in progress. Within a matter of minutes, I had come upon a very unique occupation I would have never thought of on my own. If your business could benefit from efficient and thorough research consider Research Wizard Pro, it’s essential for any knowledge-based business or for researching any start-up.

When it comes to writing, mastering grammar, punctuation and spelling matters little if you have yet to settle on a topic. While these details are important, writing is a series of processes, some creative and others analytical. A bottomless reservoir of ideas and topics is the life-blood of any writer. Many writing gurus address writer’s block in terms of not knowing what to say about a topic or how to word it, but what do you when you don’t know what that topic is?

Writing for profit requires low-cost tools to build that writing topic arsenal; otherwise, you cut into your profits. Ideas are often floating around free, waiting for you to recognize their story-worth. The following are three free resources for your next story or article topic:

First, the Internet is an obvious choice, but there are endless stories and ideas begging to written from your perspective. Take a current event article and explore it from another perspective. Does it have implications not yet explored from a gender-specific point-of-view? Maybe race or ethnicity plays a role. Is it class-based? You get the idea.

Now, from creative viewpoint, can you exaggerate some aspect of the story for fictional purposes? Change the location or the outcome or broaden the scope and tell the story of the bystander or family member closest to the action.

Next, television much like the Internet, you can glean ideas from network news stories, but think broader. Documentary shows and drama series are a great source of ideas. We’ve all heard Law & Order’s slogan “ripped from the headlines”. You don’t want to copy storylines, but you often only get 30 or 60-minute snippets of historical facts from general documentaries. This provides a great opportunity to select a topic or idea and expand on it. Often docudramas provide enough truth and entertainment to make for a compelling springboard for your own writing whether it is based on fiction or fact.

With the rise in crime-solving and forensic shows on television, it can be difficult to determine what is authentic and what is ‘made for TV’. Those of the documentary variety are excellent resources in making those fictional crime scenes more plausible. Not writing a suspense thriller? Just the same, documentaries and sitcoms can teach you about comedic timing and dialogue in addition to providing fodder for story topics.

Finally, the people you encounter during the course of your day provide an enormous amount of material for your writing topic list. Collect valuable content just by observing your co-workers and strangers you witness on the street. Just remember to adapt what you see in more general terms when using creative license with the stories obtain from people you know. No need to make yourself susceptible to a libel or slander suit.

Remember, people love to talk about themselves and their experiences. As a result, there’s no need to subject everyone you meet to an inquisition. Learn to ask probing questions during the course of your regular dealings with people. This becomes especially useful at social events. Becoming a listener and asking questions will not only make you a popular guest but it will also land you many tasty writing morsels for you build from. Be careful though, you don’t want anyone coming after you later for a slice of the writer’s money pie. This is where adapting the stories you hear becomes very important. These tidbits should only be the starting point or a source of brainstorming for your works.

These are just three of the many no-cost ways to generate writing topics. Internet news surfing leads you to topics you may never think of on your own. When searching for writing topic content, the television has become useful again. Just be sure to watch with a purpose. Finally, the people around us are walking stories and experiences waiting to be told. Finding stories in these everyday activities will put you in the mindset for an endless flow of writing material. Whether you are Internet surfing, watching TV or chatting with friends and observing strangers, putting these activities to good use will explode your writing potential.