Article length can be very important, since the editor will put his publication together in blocks and feature material will always run about the same number of words. After you have looked at the mechanics of a magazine, go to the stacks and have the librarian bring you the November and December copies of the magazine for the past two years. This will give you a very good idea of how much space the editor devotes to Christmas each year. Note any fiction and how it is laid out. How to Come up With Story Ideas Quickly Go to the card catalog at the library and, in the case of Christmas, look under Christmas Stories.
Some care is necessary here.
As told by Allen Rolf For obvious reasons, this eliminates any possible confusion about the story being original. Generally, there is no problem handling a non-copyright public domain story in this manner. Your writing can actually enhance the original and fit it to the editor's needs. The second is to come up with original stories of your own. I have always found this very hard to do.