We all know that magazines love articles with numbers in the title, for example 5 Easy Ways to Lose Weight or 10 Things to Do in Paris.
Listverse is a website with a similar penchant for numbered lists. It publishes lists of 10 linked items, each article must have a minimum word count of 1000. The site pays $100 by PayPal for each list published.
The lists can be about absolutely anything and range from general knowledge and current affairs to the totally bizarre. Some of the titles I spotted were:
- 10 Modern-Day Exorcisms
- 10 Sets of People Who Were Switched at Birth
- 10 Craziest Things Done by Philosophers
- 10 Brutal North Korean Secrets
- 10 Fascinating Facts About Bears
The site is split into the following sections:
- Bizarre
- Entertainment
- General Knowledge
- Lifestyle
- Science
- Society
There is such a wide remit here that I’m sure I must be able to think of something to write and send in but my mind has gone a total blank – except for that ‘To Do’ list waiting for me on the kitchen work top!
If you’re more inspired than me the full submission guidelines for Listverse are here.
Related articles
- ListVerse – Great Way to Get Lost in Lists (siouxsays.wordpress.com)
Sally Jenkins 
#1 by Lesley Dawson on September 1, 2013 - 8:53 am
Thanks for the link, Sally. My husband and I once made a list of 100 Ways to Kill George. George was a cockatiel we were gifted from hubby’s brother (because of sister-in-law’s apparent asthma. He’d been spoilt rotten, hence he was as demanding as a toddler in the ‘terrible twos’ syndrome. He almost drove us to insanity! Anyway, we came up with some novel ways of disposing him. I can’t mention any or we’ll have the animal welfare services at our door. I must add that George lived a full and natural life and died at the grand old age of 32! The threats of avian murder were all tongue-in-cheek and he was well loved. 😀
#2 by Sally Jenkins on September 1, 2013 - 11:05 am
Thanks for making me smile, Lesley! That experience sounds like something that would happen in a TV sitcom – but I’m glad George lived to a good age.
#3 by Patsy Collins on September 1, 2013 - 9:08 am
Thanks Sally. I’m going to have a go at this. I wonder, has 10 things to do when I should be working on my story already gone?
#4 by Sally Jenkins on September 1, 2013 - 11:07 am
Patsy – I’m sure that with our help you could make it to 100 things to do when I should be working on my story!
#5 by Wendy Clarke on September 1, 2013 - 9:54 am
Thought I could use my list 10 things you may not know about a canal holiday (last post on my blog) until I realised they wanted two pieces of evidence for each item. I don’t think ‘saw it with my own eyes, honestly’ would count for my list item ‘Not every plastic bag is a heron!
#6 by Sally Jenkins on September 1, 2013 - 11:13 am
No, Wendy I don’t think that blog post will count (but it amused me!) – but I’m sure you could find out some real canal facts if you want to have a go at submitting.
#7 by Linda on September 1, 2013 - 5:34 pm
I’ve bookmarked this website but suspect I’ll spend more time reading it than writing for it. Lots of fascinating info on there, it could also be a useful research resource.
#8 by Sally Jenkins on September 1, 2013 - 7:36 pm
Agreed, Linda – once you’ve read one list, you’ve just got to go on and read another!
#9 by susanjanejones on September 1, 2013 - 7:56 pm
Thanks Sally, I’m a list a holic. I make lists about lists, so will be having a look at this. I now need to list when I’m going to find time to write all I want to write.
#10 by Sally Jenkins on September 1, 2013 - 7:58 pm
You sound like me, Susan. I go to pieces without my ‘to do’ lists!
#11 by Vikki Thompson on September 2, 2013 - 1:21 pm
i LOVE Listverse!
Great resource for story ideas 😉
xx
#12 by Sally Jenkins on September 2, 2013 - 6:58 pm
You’ve obviously come across it before, Vikki. It could inspire all sorts of things, couldn’t it?
#13 by Vikki Thompson on September 3, 2013 - 7:36 pm
Ive used it quite a few times for story ideas 😉
xx
#14 by Tracy Fells on September 2, 2013 - 2:58 pm
Love the sound of this website (what writer doesn’t like lists!), what a great idea and nice to get some payment too. Thanks for the tip, Sally 🙂
#15 by Sally Jenkins on September 2, 2013 - 7:07 pm
I can see we’re all going to be busy trying to think up amazing lists, Tracy!
#16 by Helen Yendall on September 2, 2013 - 5:09 pm
This looks really interesting, Sally, thanks for the link. Unfortunately, all the ideas I’ve come up with so far have already been done! Looks like you need to be really original and quite ‘off the wall’ to get anywhere! I’ll keep thinking though…!
#17 by Sally Jenkins on September 2, 2013 - 7:07 pm
Good Luck, Helen!