What to Write About When You Run Out of Ideas
I am a full time writer professionally. I write articles every day for online financial publications and I absolutely love what I do!
I live a life of my own design because this is the life that I wanted for myself.
But, there are some days where I wake up and I am not sure what I want to write about that day.
How can I fully engage with my audience?
What tagline should I use to get readers attention?
What do people want to read about?
I typically have a few articles written up already for days that I don’t have an idea but I want to write every day because I really do enjoy doing it. And once I get going with an idea the words flow freely but coming up with that idea sometimes is difficult and I feel like I have to drag it out of me.
Have you ever felt like that? Where you have to drag the ideas from your mind instead of them just appearing?
Happens to Me A Lot!
On days like that, I look at my personal life and what I have going on at the moment or conversations that I have had recently that could give me good material for my readers.
Many of my articles have come from real conversations that I have had with people or questions that I have had as I have grown and learned more about finance or about life.
I look through comments or questions that I have gotten on articles or read other financial publications to see what they have put out recently that has been popular.
I write a lot based upon my opinion and, oftentimes, I have a differing opinion from other financial writers because I come from a different background so I will write what I think. Isn’t that the beautiful side of life? That we can have a different viewpoint?
Journal entries can often make for really good content creation. I always keep a notebook with me and write down any musings that I might have about life, business, finance, relationships with others, or self-improvement, almost anything really.
Start Conversations
The reason I got into writing in the first place is from a totally random conversation that I had with a woman on an airplane when I was going home to NY to visit family.
You never know what will come up if you start up a conversation with a random stranger that you will likely never see again. That woman changed my life and I have no idea who she even is!
She was a writer full time and I told her that writing had always been my dream but that I wasn’t sure I could ever make enough money writing to be able to feed myself and pay the bills. That wonderful woman spent the next two hours talking to me about how she got started and encouraged me to take notes on what she was saying.
I walked off that plane knowing that my life had changed. I was going to follow her advice and there was no turning back for me. That was a few years ago now but I still vividly remember that conversation!
Start conversations with people and let yourself draw ideas from conversations because conversations are what will change the world ultimately. Communication is the greatest gift that we have been given, if you want my honest opinion.
And communication doesn’t have to be just verbal. You can communicate in so many ways: verbally, physically, through art or music, or even via nonverbal cues.
Enjoy your life each day because we may only get one of them so don’t waste a single day doing anything that you don’t absolutely feel called to do. Storytelling is a great way to communicate with others because its real, raw, and relatable.
The greatest storytellers have created a lasting impact on the world. Look at Martin Luther King, Shakespeare, and Edgar Allen Poe! You may not agree with the stories that they told but they sure did know how to tell a good story that hits you right in the feels!
Hope this helps you to find something to share or something to write about on days when you don’t feel like you have a message to share but you really want to inspire others. Hell, some days I write just to inspire myself!
Would love to hear your ideas on coming up with new content creation ideas!
Thanks for reading,
Ivy
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Awesome advice @socent that's awesome that the lady on the plane changed your life and gave you more inspiration to write... i think it was total fate that you ended up sitting next to her! awesome stuff... i also get writers block sometimes with my songwriting and what sometimes helps me is that i watch a movie and put my self in the actors shoes in the movie as to what they would feel like at the time so that i'm not always just writing about my life experience but sometimes other peoples :) i hope you have an awesome day - keep on writing :D Xx
Oh I like that idea! Sometimes writing about something that you saw on a movie or show is so much fun! Or it can jog an idea from our own lives too, that happens to me quite a bit. I agree with you that it was fate that her and I were put into a place to have that conversation. And I definitely loved having that conversation with her because it changed so much for me! Thanks for such an awesome comment!
Ivy
Excellent Ivy... and very relevant... maybe this could be something you talk about in one of our little meetings... I want everyone to grow, but they gotta post post post!!
Exactly right! I miss a couple days every once in a while but try to get right back in the saddle as soon as possible. It is possible to grow quickly if you put in the effort and are willing to help others get what they want too. If I can figure out a mic situation then I would definitely talk about it if you want me to.
Ivy
Some good advice there! I wonder of that woman on the plane ever wonders whether you took her advice or not!
I wonder the same thing! I should have asked for her contact info but I was on cloud 9 at the time trying to absorb all of the info that she had given to me in such a short period of time. Thanks for such a sweet comment!
Ivy
I always carry a notebook with me and beainstorm into it if bells ring , but I fail at organising better.
Not everyone is organized so if you can make sense of your notes then that is all that really matters. I carry a notebook with me too and my friends make fun of me for it because I call it "my magic book" so they laugh and call it my "spell book."
Ivy
Amen.
Thanks for a great post with very useful and practical advice, Ivy! I guess I'm too new to the "writer's game" to have experienced "writer's block" yet, and now you have made sure I never will... Or...
knocks on wood ;-)
Thanks for an awesome comment! I hope you never experience writer's block but I am so sure you will work your way through it quickly if you ever do. :)
Ivy
I usually joke with my musician friends that "writers blocks are for writers", when they say I stuck, because you pick a string or start music app playing and you are creating :)
But indeed few things are universal and this is great write-up. Inspiration is indeed needed to be triggered and it is an art on itself from where and how you can get it :)
re-zenned too :)
Unfortunately, I am not a musician and don't write songs for a living so I can't quite relate lol. But sometimes I just pick up a notebook and free write about whatever is on my mind until I come up with something that I want to write about so maybe that is similar? That exercise does help to trigger some creativity and inspiration for me so there's that :)
Thanks for the comment!
Ivy
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STOPthank you so much for sharing Ivy, i'd like to know in more detail what that woman told you in regards to writing for a living, and also more about you own journey... maybe you already written about it in another post?
I definitely think that writing on Steemit is a bit more forgiving than writing for a living, but here the challenge is to be visible, and stay visible, it might seem that being a good writer in enough here, but as you said, "Starting conversations with people" is key.
I actually haven't shared my entire story yet on Steem but I should! I will let you know when I write it all out and appreciate your interest, that is so sweet. It is fun to read the stories of others, I enjoy it too. Writing on Steem is very different from what I am used to but it has been an awesome challenge! I write for online publications and manage some social media profiles so it is challenging but this environment is very much contained so we have to write and self-promote from here which is new. I appreciate such a lovely response!
Ivy
There are times that I simply cannot write and so I do memes lol I'm joking I have a small notebook where I put quotes I heard from people, topics I want to write about and even my reactions to certain things all in one bundle so that when I can't think of anything I get from the list .
Best posts I think are those not forced so I usually would walk my dog, or watch a show or a video and then when my mind is relaxed I usually can start writing.
I am by no means a professional writer and as I am more of an emotional writer but somehow I get by.
I am pretty interested to know what you were taught though hahahha.
Maybe one day soon I will share some jedi secrets for how to break into the writing world. It definitely was an amazing conversation! I still have a stack of napkins that I took notes on during that conversation because I actually didn't carry a notebook back then so I had nothing else to write on.
Thanks, Mav, for sharing such great tips! I really like them. Being relaxed and giving yourself time to think about what you want to write is such a good point. And I really like your writing, as do others, so you are doing just fine ;)
Ivy
Hahaha I will be a ready Padawan to receive the teachings master when the day comes.
Yeah I find it hard when I attempt to force a post out.
Coming from you that is just an awesome compliment as I largely see myself as an average writer.
Honestly I always wanted to be a writer so I took a ton of writing courses while I was in high school and in college. I went to college for business because that is my second love so I wrote a lot about business because it combines my two greatest loves: writing and business. Writing is about being able to effectively communicate an idea to those that you are targeting in a way that they understand what you are saying. It doesn't have to be perfect all the time but that is just my opinion. You are doing just fine :)
Ivy