For most every blogger/writer, there are times when the wind is not strong enough to move your sailboat along your chosen course. You sit at the helm watching as your canvas hangs limp from the mast, hoping for any kind of breeze at all. Instead of throwing your hands up in the air and going below decks for a nap, generate some power-wind with these writing idea starters:
- Cruise through your bookmarks. Take your time and really look at each one. Are there any you’ve not been to for a while? if so, go have a peek. There are bound to be some things there that interest you, otherwise you would not have bookmarked it in the first place. Look for a piece of information – even just a snippet, that you can use as a foundation.
- Pick a favorite blog site that pertains to your niche. Scroll through the sidebar looking at the previous posts. Is there an archive? All the better. Find something that you feel comfortable with and write your post using your own unique spin.
- People watch. Go to a mall, restaurant or large store. (If you’re really ambitious, go to an airport.) Sit and watch people. Observe some of the more colorful ones and make up their story in your head. Listen to pieces of their conversation and build your story based on the dialogue. These are also great venues to work on your character development. What are people wearing? Hair styles? Nervous tics and habits? How are they speaking?
- Take an hour or so and look through your latest edition of Writer’s Market ( 2009 Writer’s Market
). Skim through the listings, paying particular attention to the type of writing or articles the publication is looking for. Jot down a few of these key words and use these as sparks to light your creative fire.
- Go pick up a copy of today’s newspaper. Looking at just the headlines, write your own version of a news story. This could be the basis of a great short story – fiction can almost be as strange as real life!
- Spend a few moments at the bulletin board at the supermarket. Look at all the flyers. Pick a flyer and write a story about the person selling the item. Why are they selling it? How did they acquire it in the first place? What will happen if they can’t sell it?
- Go and visit some sites that consist primarily of varied photographs. Write a story based on an image. For example, you find a picture of a rocking chair on the porch with a teddy bear laying next to it. What happened here? Was granny rocking a toddler when a gunshot boomed out from across the street? Maybe the phone rang bringing some terrible news. Perhaps the rapture came to pass.
- Find a book with writing exercises (What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers
). Commit to writing an exercise a day until all of the exercises are complete. You may not end up with publishable prose, but you may spark other writing ideas and most importantly you will be writing.
- Open a dictionary, close your eyes and point to a random word. Now write a 500 word story or article on the word.
Don’t drift aimlessly in a sea of frustration. There are dozens of every day objects that can put the creative wind back in your sail. Keep your eyes open and use your keen power of observation.
How do you generate ideas? What suggestions do you have for finding topics? Do you have a sure-fire method that works for you every time? If so, Let’s hear it!
Thank you. I just finished a book. (It can be previewed at http://stores.lulu.com/fwfproductions) I have been browbeating myself trying to find what to write next. Do I want to do another book of short stories? Is autobiographic going to satisfy my yen to write, as it did with the first book? What stories in my bag could be turned into novels? Your article gave me some direction. I realize now I don’t need to decide on a specific path. I just need to write. I keep forgetting that when I started writing the first book there was no intention of having a book, it just fell into place as I kept writing. I will take your words to heart and start writing again, instead of looking so hard for the road to wander. Again….thank you!
Brenda James
Hi Brenda,
Yea! I’m so glad this helped. I know that there are times for myself as well, where I get so focused on finding something to write that I miss out on what’s right in front of me.
I’m glad you stopped by!
George
I keep a notebook with me and anytime I think of a cool topic for a blog post I write it down. Over time this journal is filled with 100′s of ideas, some good, some not so good, but there is always something in there I can pull from when I’m in a pinch and need a topic.
Matt
Hi Matt,
Thanks for the great tip! Can’t believe I forgot that one. Getting in the habit of carrying a notebook took a while, but now I find I can’t hardly do without it.
Thanks for commenting.
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Another great idea is to get on a bus or train to some random destination and write down the inspiration you get from looking out the window.
For example. You’re on the train, you see graffiti, make a post about how graffiti sucks. If you like graffiti write about how you saw some awesome graffiti while you were on the train.
Public transport is king for blogging ideas. I think of most of my ideas when I’m on the train to and from work. I see lots of things that suck like overweight people who block the doors and walkways. And fat people who take up more than one seat when you’re sitting beside them. Ahhh, I gotta go, bad memories!
Dwayne,
Thanks for the tip.
Public Transportation as a gold mine = True Story.
Sorry about the bad memories thing. Send me your pay-pal address and I’ll contribute to your therapy fund.
Thanks again for commenting.
George
Yes! Yes! Yes! Some great techniques there. I’ve just had a look a my bookmarks and there is a couple of hundred that I just can’t even remember. Hopefully, I can unearth something good for a blog post.
Sean.
Sean,
Write on! I’m glad it helped. When I looked through mine, there were some that I kinda went, “Criminy! Why do I care about this?”
Thanks for commenting.
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I don’t usually have a problem coming up with ideas for my blog, but these are some good creative exercises that’ll get my brain juices flowing!
Ronnica´s last blog post..Fruit Cocktail
Hi Ronnica,
Thanks for coming over and commenting. I’m glad these might help you keep them juices flowing!
George
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I can’t stand it whenever I have writer’s block; it just drives me crazy and then I get so stressed out I can’t write for the rest of the day. So reading this has equipped me with some helpful tools to try and ward off that dreaded condition. Thanks!
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