Every Writer's Dilemma: How Do You Decide What to
Write About?
BY CINDY DeJAGER
The sources of inspiration are all
around us, in the headlines of the daily newspaper, in conversations,
and listening to what questions people are asking. But how do you find
those little inspirations that cause the flood gates of creativity to
open wide?
I asked this same question to
my favorite writer’s forum. So, how does a writer decide what
they are going to write about? I needed to know what inspired
them to write, and how they chose the topic.
Were my sources of inspiration
any different from another’s inspiration?
I discovered that the key is
to be true to your heart and write about what interests you,
discover your passion and you will you be able to write and
succeed. Whether you are writing fiction or non-fiction those
sources can vary, so let’s break it down and examine some
common methods for finding inspiration.
Ideas for that fiction you
want to write.
For some writers the
inspiration for that story can come from stimulating the
creative thought processes, stirring the creative juices in a
number of different ways. Here are a couple of methods, I like
to use the latter one; events and dreams from my life, but I
have tried the first method as well.
Examine a picture or photo. This used to be an old
exercise that we used in school. Look at a picture and form a
story about the scene that you see. For example, let’s say the
picture is of a log cabin in the woods surrounded by a thick
forest. Immediately you begin to ask yourself questions, like,
“who’s house is it?”, “why is it in the woods?” Just a couple
of questions and you are off and running, or typing rather.
Use events from your life,
or dreams, in a story. I use dreams, my own, as well
as other people’s, and life moments and events, twists of fate
that you could never imagine, are the best because they are
original. You can go along and make plans in your life but it
never turns out exactly the way you plan it; there are events
that take place that change the course of your path ever so
slightly, or quite dramatically. If you can’t think of any of
your own twists, try reading a story in the newspaper or
magazine, these are two great resources for tragedies and
twists that you can use for your story.
In one of my own stories I
used a case of synchronicity that actually happened, to add to
the events in the story. There was the time when I needed a
new desk for my office badly, and in addition I was thinking
about moving out of my apartment when the lease expired; well,
a month later when I was able to begin looking for a new home
I came across the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood,
and in the spare room there was an old wooden desk that was
offered to me if I agreed to rent the house.
Seeking the Non-Fiction
article Idea:
Read a headline; just read,
read, and read.
Just the other day the
newspaper was saying that there is going to be a jump in
prices for coffee in the New Year. This news springs to mind
many questions; How to fit the extra cost of coffee into my
budget; Time to go cold-turkey? Maybe they will come out with
a “coffee-patch” to gently wean us from the stuff. Maybe I
should switch to Coca Cola? See where I am going here? All
these questions get the mind stirring, cranking out ideas.
Let’s use the coffee idea again, how could this affect the
coffee industry if consumers started cutting back on their
favorite java? You decide that this is a great idea and are
going to run with it. You contact some of the big coffee
chains like Star Buck’s, Tim Horton’s, and Second Cup, and
talk to the managers and buyers to see how the price increase
is going to affect their business, how is it going to affect
the consumer, etc. You Google and find out that there is
actually a New York Coffee Exchange, and that there are two
markets for coffee – the cash market, and the futures market,
that statistics from 1999 in the United States show that
coffee drinkers spend on average $164.71 per year on coffee,
and that in 2000, 54% of the adult population of the United
States drinks coffee daily, and in addition, another 24% of
the population drinks coffee occasionally. You can probably
write a very interesting article about something as “not so
simple” as coffee. What average person knows this much about
the cup of coffee that they have come to depend on every day?
I certainly didn’t.
Listen to what other people
are asking; perhaps the answer they are looking for can be the
topic of your next article.
Here is where those on-line
forums can help you out; if someone can’t find the answer to a
question, perhaps finding the answer is the article that you
are looking for? Or, turn it around; maybe you have a question
that you can’t seem to find the answer to – research it and
write an article so that it assists others who may be asking
the same question.
What are your interests? Cats,
dogs, fish? Maybe you are passionate for muffins but you are
sensitive to wheat, or you know someone who is sensitive to
wheat. What are the alternatives to wheat? Who supplies these
products?
Maybe your cat has a problem
with hairballs and you have tried all the remedies on the
store shelf, but she is still coughing up hairballs all over
your new carpet, and then you try a home remedy that works –
ta da! A new article! Maybe two new articles if you can find a
great new carpet cleaner that removes those pet stains in your
new carpet!
My mom keeps asking me how
long tropical fish live. She has a Gourami that has lived for
at least 2 years now and she is curious about the life span of
her favorite fish but can’t seem to find the answer in any
book she has purchased. Is someone asking you for an answer
that they can’t find anywhere?
Ideas for articles and stories
are everywhere! Life is full of problems and adventures,
suspense and romance, it is all around us. Probably the most
important advice that I give you is to just be AWARE; be alert
to what is going on around you and in you, and write from the
heart.
Cindy DeJager owns Rosetta
Stone Press. She lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She enjoys
reading books (of almost any genre) and her passion is
writing.
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