Five Ways to Find Ideas for Writing

Leonid (Leon) Basin - lives in San Jose, but was born in Kharkov, Ukraine but came to the U. S. when he was only nine years old. Leon describes the United States as a “wonderful literary community that is open to many individuals”. Most of Leon’s writing is based in the United States but he hopes to travel to Sweden and India to share his writings and inspire other people from other countries as well. Leon writes poetry, short stories, lyrics, articles and novels; he has so far written eight books and is currently working on many others. Leon has been writing for 13 years and hopes to continue this tradition. Leon hopes that his writing will inspire children and adults. He has also performed Spoken Word at many venues around Bay Area; CA. Leon is also working on a Spoken Word Poetry Album.

Find Leon On: http://www.facebook.com/leonidbasin - http://www.scribd.com/leonbasin

Questions or Concerns, Email: LeonBasin@gmail.com

Five Ways to Find Ideas for Writing

You awoke at 10’oclock figuring out where the next idea might strike its cord. You don’t pay attention to the dead bolts of blocks in your head. You try to ignore the pain, and head out to your kitchen where you find a coffee mug with your name on it. Your wife has prepared it for you, because she knew you were going to have a hard day “working." You smile, and head back to your chair. Don’t feel cozy with that bathrobe on? Well, now that you got that smile out for “everyone to see” you can head back to work. The only question that arises now is what do I write about? Where do I find ideas? Your dog-named Skippy is not going to bark out the ideas for you. Your wife is at work and your kids are at school. You need to get to work, because eventually, you will be crying up a storm of frustration. Do not worry; I am here to share a few powerful tips that will prevent you from having writers block ever again.


1.) Hobbies & Groups: What interests do you have? What clubs, groups have you joined in the past 10 or 15 years. I am sure there are plenty of hobbies, in your box of toys you have stacked away in your garage. Why not dig through them? What about joining an organization? I am sure in the area where you live; there are plenty of clubs and organizations just willing to take you in. Why not take a Karate class, and then write about what it takes to get the white, yellow and even brown belt. You can do multiple things with hobbies and groups. Just pay attention to outside of the spectrum, and I am sure you could find multiple ideas, if you desire to do so.

2.) Magazines: Why not look through a magazine as you always do during that boring evening alone. Read a few of those interesting articles you usually read. If you found an article that speaks to you, why not do a little research online, or phone that friend of yours who knows about the subject you found in the magazine?

3.) Travel: Traveling is definitely one of the best ways to get multiple ideas at once. Choose a map of the area you live in. Take one of your index fingers and start pointing to places that interest you. Get into any transportation that you can. Do not forget to bring that notepad and pen to write down what you see and dialogues you hear. You can write the information down. When you come home from the trip, take out that notepad you took with you when you traveled. It will give you multiple ideas about stories, short stories, poetry and much more.

4.) Television: I do not suggest watching too much television. However, I do suggest watching something worthwhile. A few things I would suggest checking out include Discovery Channel, History Channel, National Geographic Channel, and the Home Channel. Many of these channels provide good and solid information about things around us. Why not include this in your articles, books, and even novels. All it takes is taking the time to figure out what you desire to watch. Have your notepad and a pen to note all of the necessary phrases or ideas you may have. After all this, it simply takes execution to get it done.

5.) Friends, Family, and Neighbors: Friends, Family, and Neighbors are one of the best sources for inspirational ideas. All it really takes is some observation and an ear to listen to your close ones. You usually talk about multiple topics on a variety of subjects. Why not next time you speak to them, take notes or ask them to tell you something interesting that has happened to them in their journey today, yesterday or maybe even events or incidents they have experienced a few years ago. I am sure they would not mind all of the questions, nor would they mind shedding a few details about where they have been and where they are going.

Conclusion: Ideas are everywhere. All it takes is a notepad and a pen to jot them down. It will make you a better writer. Many people will recognize such a powerful voice in your writing because of such detail and explanation of any subject you write about.

Image - Antonio Litterio