Where to Find Ideas For Your Writing ?

Where to find ideas for your writing?

Where do writers get ideas for their writing? That's a good question, isn't it?? Many writers have confirmed it's the single most frequent  question to them. It is also one of the most difficult questions for a straight forward answer. It's like asking a doctor to provide you with free medical advice or a lawyer for legal information, free of charge!

Sometimes, after reading a very nice story, we sit back, relax and ponder: how did the author come up with such a fantastic idea?  Ideas come to a writer in so many ways. These same ideas also come to none-writers. The only differences is that writers have trained themselves to listen to their inner mules, rather than ignore it, like most of us do.

Writers also have a passion to transmit ideas, images and voices in coherent sentences and beautiful language. Don't be tempted to believe there is an old 'Mystery Bible' where writers 'harvest' idea after another, or a factory that produces ready-made ideas for writers. The fact is that there are dozens of themes and genres we can write about  such as our childhood, love and love experiences, work, family, pastime and interest, historical events, fiction etc and each of them as a result of different ideas.

That said, I have taken the pains to compile a list of those areas writers get their ideas from. 

Where to Find Ideas for Your Writing: Where do other Writers get Theirs from?

1.  Dreams: It's not uncommon to hear a writer saying that he got his idea from a dream. Most writers have a notebook and pen  while they sleep to enable them jot down an idea they get from a dream. This is mostly common for fiction writers.

2. Imagination:  When it comes to writing fiction, a writer's imagination  counts. The properly crafted ideas- the successful outcome of the story etc are as a result of how best a writer uses his  imagination.

3.  The power of Observation: We all observe, but how many of us are keen observers? Good writers are keen observers and they get tons of ideas simply by keenly observing the things most of us take for granted.

4.  Ideas Obtained Through Research: Writers get ideas by doing research, mostly at the library and on the internet

5.  Reading: Books are a source of great ideas. Many writers get their own book idea when reading the works of other authors. Newspapers and magazines also contain useful ideas for writers. Some writers keep a 'cutting file'. The content is simply cuttings from newspapers and magazines, which they later refer to for ideas and inspiration. Try it and you won't regret.

6.  Talking and Listening to People: A writer who knows what he wants will get writing ideas simply by talking and listening to others, especially the elderly, who have seen and done much already.

7: Benefitting from a Bank of Resources:  You can benefit from an already established bank of writing ideas and other writing resources  aimed at helping you develop as a writer. One place to find such a bank is this website. Our main focus on this website is to provide you with the best creative writing ideas. 

We hope you will find that great idea for your next writing project.

Click here to leave 'where to find ideas for your writing' to our home page

Use the comment box below for your comments.

Where to find ideas for your writing

Join Our Mailing List/ Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Quick Links to Short Stories

Chatting to the Grave

The Soldier