Writing: Let Good Ideas Find You
Let me share with you one way to find plenty of good writing ideas.
You need an idea. What to write about. This is such a universal problem for writers that it’s a cliche. As far as I can tell writing is a process like any other process. So, when you need a good idea, when you need to come up with content for an article for Triond begin the process.
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What do I mean by, begin the process? Well, just start writing.
Write about any old thing. Write about your favorite novel or your favorite rock and roll band. Write about blogging. Write about online writing. Now there’s a subject that should get the words flowing.
The idea is to get the words flowing because words and ideas are simply different sides of the same coin. And as you continue flipping the coin up in the air with the word side showing, guess what? Sometimes the coin will land with the idea side facing up.
All of the ideas will not be worth exploring. Others will be worth exploring. And one of the ideas will be your next article.
So, don’t despair when you’re having trouble coming up with a good idea to write about. Just remember that you are a writer. And what do writers do? They write. You must begin the process. You must use the words to get to the ideas instead of always using the ideas to get to the words.
Of course, you may all ready know this; but if you didn’t know this, rejoice! You will never have to suffer the pain of writer’s block again.
Oh, if that was only true.
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Recent Comments
- papaleng: Well-presented and very informative. I've learned lots of ne...
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Share Your Writing Tips
September 28th, 2009 at 6:52 am
I certainly agree. Nice post.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:13 am
Good advice for people just starting out; for us old hats, nice to know again.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:20 am
This is so true, as soon as the pen starts moving, the ideas start flowing.
September 28th, 2009 at 10:05 am
Melody, I think just putting words down is like giving yourself a lot of prompts. Eventually, one of the prompts will trigger a good idea to write about.
September 28th, 2009 at 10:09 am
Papa, good basic writing advice never really changes but like you say sometimes it needs to be repeated because we do forget. I know I do.
September 28th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Marie, I know that sometimes when I’m stuck for a good writing idea and I’m just “thinking” it’s a nice change to put some words down. It’s funny how the words make thinking easier.
September 28th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Very good advice Guy.
There is a book called “The Artist’s Way”
The one exercise the author insists on is something called Morning Pages. Three pages, handwritten, every morning. Writing about nothing. Just writing. It is a way to clear the mind of junk. Oftentimes ideas result.
September 28th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
quite right and quite interesting too.
September 28th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Lloyd, yes that’s exactly what I’m talking about. Although I’m glad it never takes me three pages. That’s three flash fiction stories.
September 28th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Southgate, working with words, just putting them down can be a very instructive exercise. All kinds of ideas pop up. And there’s a good chance that one will be a good idea.
September 28th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Writing is a healthy outlet for your feelings, whether they’re positive or negative.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
agriculi, I totally agree. I also think that sometimes we need to write things down in order to explore our feelings to find out how we truly feel about something.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
I have never tried that. I only sit down to write when I have an idea of what I am writing about. Maybe i will try your way!
September 28th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Good and true advice… enjoyed this write.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Katien, it just might work. And if it does work you’ll have a new way of generating ideas. As a matter of fact I’m sure it will work because words are nothing more than the projection of ideas. You can’t have one without the other.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Sourav, I’ve tried this technique many times myself. It never fails. Words and ideas are completely inter-connected. It’s almost impossible not to come up with ideas if you’re putting down words. And it’s fun.You get to learn something about yourself and your interests. These words do not lie.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
You should read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Good advice and tips. I find it funny and strange sometimes where my ideas come from. I had a friend on Sept 1st tell me we were in the bers and it soon became an article of the same name. I will take an event in my life and make a story out of it.You never know where a good idea will come from, do you?
September 28th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
jdalexandrovich, I did read Lolita. I think Marlon Brando was in the movie and Sue Lyon played Lolita. This was some time ago and I could be wrong. Brando just did a very small part.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
PR Mace, no you do not. And one of the ways to bring those ideas forth is to put words down. Words and ideas are inter-changeable.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
I have lots of ideas…. just not so many when I’m near the computer or a pen. It really stinks.
*tips hat* By the way…. thank you for your service.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:58 am
I find this piece to be somewhat pointless. I’m not meaning to offend here Guy but when you are stuck for ideas, you are stuck. Its as simple as that and I don’t agree that you just have to start writing because to write you a least need one idea.
RJ
September 29th, 2009 at 6:16 am
This is quiet true, friend.
September 29th, 2009 at 8:09 am
Tlchimes, try to describe what you see around you or write down what you did the day before. Just keep the words going and there’s a chance an idea will pop up.
September 29th, 2009 at 8:26 am
RJ, I should have been clearer. A writer doesn’t need an idea to write down what he had to eat the day before or what happened at work. No idea is needed to describe the weather. No idea is needed to write down what can be remembered from the last conversation the writer had with a friend or a family member. These can also be part of beginning the writing process to turn words into ideas. The words just may trigger something that does turn into an idea.
I hope this makes what I was trying to say more clear. And, this does not work for everyone.
September 29th, 2009 at 8:31 am
Unofre, this can work for a lot of writers but not all writers. I find that often it works for me; but not all the time. It takes patience and a little luck.
September 29th, 2009 at 11:49 am
I like “Use the words to get ideas!” Great.
September 29th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
chitragopi, it’s another tool in the writer’s tool box. I only know this from being struck lots of times and by being forced to put down words by an instructor ever though I didn’t have an idea in my head.
September 29th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Like N. Lloyd Andrews said, The Artist’s Way was really helpful to me. I do not write every day and sometimes I write in the morning and sometimes it is before I go to sleep. If in the morning, I write about what I think I will be doing in the day and if at bedtime, I describe what I did and how I felt about it. It is amazing at how ideas will come out of these writings. You find out that your mind tends to keep going back to certain themes and remembering incidents in your life that you have dealt with or are still dealing with and they can become a story idea, poem, character description or anything else your mind takes you into. Going back to reread pages written a year or two ago also helps. You learn what you were most concerned about and the universality of those concerns.
September 29th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Tina, this is exactly what I’m talking about and I hope that other visitors to this article read your comment because you may have explained what I was trying to say better than I said it.
September 29th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
I jot down ideas for articles whenever they come to me. When I’m out of inspiration, I just pull out my handy dandy list.
September 30th, 2009 at 12:59 am
A great article and very much true…I have notebook after notebook of writen stuff I just sat down when Im out or at home and did what you said.Some makes sense while other stuff doesnt.But the beauty of it is that you can always go back and rewrite the draft to make it what you need to.
September 30th, 2009 at 5:30 am
Thanks for the advice. *.* I usually run out of ideas.
September 30th, 2009 at 5:36 am
Usually i have an idea but now a days i feel like i got writer’s bloc
September 30th, 2009 at 9:44 am
WriteEditSeek, another method of getting the wrting process going. It sounds good to me.
September 30th, 2009 at 9:49 am
mystery writter, looks like you have a good system going. A writer has to do what ever it takes to get the words flowing. The writer can always re-write later.
September 30th, 2009 at 9:54 am
royee, you don’t need any ideas to write. Write about what you had to eat the day before. Make a list of the people you talked to in the past few days. Describe the weather. Doing these things may help an idea to pop to the surface.
September 30th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Another point here. As the saying goes, let the story write itself. Sometimes an idea will flow like water from an open faucet but sometimes none at all. We must be sensible when we need to have a break for a recharge.
September 30th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
You are so correct, there is so much to write about, so many things around me to reference and spark my curosity. SO much clutter that it annoys my husband to no end. I’ll stop writing when he stops playing WOW and all those other on line games that do nothing but “entertain” him.
Your an awesome writer
September 30th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Nice idea for an article.
October 1st, 2009 at 12:52 am
I write every day without fail. Some days are good and some are bad, but if you don’t practice it never gets better.
October 1st, 2009 at 3:16 pm
I’m a firm believer in putting words down on paper even when you don’t have anything to write about. You can just describe your surroundings. And guess what? Your mind just might go off on a new path.
October 2nd, 2009 at 4:45 am
interesting
October 3rd, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Thanks for the advice, I find that writing lists and notes helps me a lot.
October 5th, 2009 at 4:49 am
great helpful, article… Can’t wait to see your flash fiction on booby melons!