The Idea Factory

Image Source: 123rf.com

Writer’s block is something we hear about a lot. I think we hear about it so much we often convince ourselves we have it. It’s akin to hypochondria. I’m sure there’s a word for it, but I haven’t found it yet. If you know what it is, please enlighten me so I too will know! But in the meantime…

Image Source: dcoolit.deviantart.com

For those of us working on books — whether fiction or non-fiction, I can understand having a case of “writer’s block” because we are writing about specifics. There are timelines and deadlines and a whole bunch of other stuff to consider, but for those of us that are blog writers we can write about anything and everything so how can anyone get “writer’s block”?

You know how people say,

“You gotta think out of the box”?

Well I have a personal motto,

“You cannot ‘think out of the box’ if you are still in the box.”

It’s true! So, get out of the box. In other words, get out of your own head for a minute.

Here are some of the best resources or ideas for things to write about that I have found over the years.

Holidays

Simple low hanging fruit yet still worthy. There’s one around every corner. Write about it. It can be from any angle. Are you sick of all the “Kiss Me I’m Irish” party gear plastered all over your favorite store or bar? St. Paddy’s day is coming up so we will soon be buried in green and I don’t mean money. Write about it!

March also brings us “March Madness“. Do you love basketball? Maybe you hate sports? Write about it!

Does the idea of a loved-one’s coming birthday make you feel old or young? Write about it!

National Awareness Days, Weeks, or Months

This is a fun one! In fact you just may find you can make some money with this one if you plan ahead and query your local paper or magazine with enough advance time. As a media marketing person I have had to live and breath by “promotional calenders” for twenty years.  There are near-endless lists of interesting topics. For example, coming up in March we have:

• Do you love the smell of bacon in the mornings? Soon it will be Bacon Connoisseurs Week.
• Guys, would you like to honor the woman (or all of them) in your life? Why not do it on International Women’s Day?
• Got cute puppy pics? Great use them for National Puppy Day.
• Are you a klutz like me? Did you know there is a Self Injury Awareness Day?

There are dozens of these “awareness” topics to choose from for every month. Choose one, or two, or three!

Also, don’t forget, it’s still February which means it’s “Black History Month“. Have you written anything about it? I have! Check out some amazing WWII Heroes. If you find you have something to add, even if it’s just an opinion…write about it!

People

Oh my gawd they are everywhere aren’t they? I’m a people watcher. I like to see how people interact with one another, whether they are strangers or not. It’s always good fodder to write about.

Did you notice how gentle a giant rough looking dude was with his little baby at the grocery store or how a stranger helped an elderly person get off the bus? Write about it!

Maybe you saw a car hit a puddle and splash mud all over a group of kids on their way home from school? Write about it!

Types of People

We call them “archetypes“. These are how large numbers of people are typically separated by personality, traits, etc. Tarot cards use “archetypes”. Astrology does too. The Meyers Briggs test break people down into “archetypes” as well.

“Archetypes” are everywhere because as I just noted, people are everywhere. Did you know your blogger personality even has an “archetype”?

How do you feel about “archetypes”? Where do you fit into the categories? Write about it…and them! Here is a great list of the “12 Common Archetypes” to get you started.

Things You Love or Hate or Love to Hate

Lists, lists, and more lists. Readers love reading lists – so long as it isn’t a list of chores for them to do. Just ask my ex-asshole ex-husband. In his case, that “Honey Do” list never got done, and he’s the fool who wrote it! Grr!

But, hey life didn’t end and he is the “ex” after all and someday, you guessed it, I will write about it.

One of my favorite Beatles‘s songs is a list of favorite things they called “Junk“. Well their “Junk” sure made a lot of money and made us love them all the more! Write about your junk, even if it’s the “Junk” in your trunk…just write about it!

Religions & Cultures 

There are countless interesting religions and cultures to explore. Why not spend some time with Google and see what you can find? Do you know what a “Prayer Wheel” is? I didn’t either, but one of my daughter’s gave me one for Christmas one year so I looked it up.

They are amazing and they literally have a hidden secret in them. Do you want to know what it is? Look it up and then write about it!

Is the Renascence Faire your thing? Or, maybe Octoberfest and beer is your thing?

I bet you could do a post a day just about beer and it doesn’t have to be in October! I dare you to write about it!

Food 

Uh hello, we all eat! Food can be yummy, yucky, funny and even sexy. Food can bring families together, it can make your children hate you (at least for a minute or two when you try to make them eat things like spinach), and food can be “preserved’ in the form of a recipe.

One of my current projects is collecting recipes from everyone in my family and putting them here on my blog. So far I only have one up, but hey at least I’m doing it. Right? Write! My Grandma made some really good white bean soup that is perfect for a cold winter day. You should make some, it’s healthy and hearty.

How about you? Is there some self-created concoction you make that everyone raves (or complains) about? Write about it!

This Day in History

Today is a great example of this. Do you know what today is? Well, actually it is a lot of things, but as a “Blogger for Peace” it is a special day for me because today is the 55th birthday of the “Peace Symbol”. I bet you didn’t know that!

I know the perfect place for you to start looking for these kinds of ideas. Wait ’til you see Historical Anniversaries. But, remember you need to do more than go look at ideas. You need to pick one and write about it!

Image Source: colsonart.com

Endless Possibilities

There is no limit to the ideas you can generate simply by seeing, but you do have to look. These are just my “idea” gifts to you.

There are a lot of other places to get ideas for what to write about. Keep your eye on Rarasaur’s “Prompt for the Promptless” or the WordPress “Daily Prompt“. You can even take a few of my own previous suggestions from “6 Ways to Knock Your Block Off“.

By the way, if you think I’m nuts with all of these ideas…you know what I’m going to say right? Of course you do! WRITE ABOUT IT!

Related articles

• Prompts for the Promptless – Ep. 1 – Wabi Sabi (rarasaur.wordpress.com)
• My ArchetypeMe: Learning and Changing With My Archetype (bedifferentactnormal.com)
• A social network that really “gets” you (tech.fortune.cnn.com)
• My ArchetypeMe – Discover Who You Really Are And Share It With Others (bedifferentactnormal.com)
• The People In My Head (thornynotprickly.wordpress.com)
• From the Psyche: How Archetypal Roles Shape Both Us and Our Characters (theintrinsicwriter.wordpress.com)
• Signs from the universe (middleagebutch.wordpress.com)