Looking For Writing Topics

 Time and again, I hear writers saying they've run out of ideas. Can't think of somethng they can write about. Mind's a blank. Creative juices dried up. I'm not going to use the term 'writer's block' because I think that is merely an excuse for some writers. Not all, but for many. 

Today's poster quote let's you know that there are ideas for what to write all around you. What you experience and what you observe. Note that I didn't say 'see' but rather 'observe'. We need to develop a writer's eye. What your neighbor, who only writes a grocery list, and what you, the writer see notice, and should be, two different things. 

When a writer is out walking and comes upon a small group of teens playing instruments in the park, he/she should start thinking about the group. Are they longtime friends, did they come together by accident or a planned event, do they get along or have disputes on the music they play? So many questions, and the writer is the one who can decide on the answers. He/she can write a fiction story based on this group of kids, or a personal essay on how the group and its music affected the writer while out walking, or perhaps a narrative poem. That little scene the writer came upon can act as a trigger for what to write. 

When a writer reads calls for submissions and one market is looking for travel stories, he/she might consider writing about a trip that had nothing but problems connected to it, or one that brought them closer to nature than they'd ever been, or one that gave them an insight to something they'd not had before. Memories can provide material for writers over and over. 

Whatever happens to you, the writer, is not wasted. I like to think of writers as having a neat little file system in their minds, a place where they store experiences and can pull out topics to write about. Something we see or do or happen upon can trigger a memory that can be your next writing topic. 

Something as simple as seeing a small child in a restaurant with an older woman, most likely the child's grandmother, can trigger a time in your own childhood when you did something special with a grandparent. Write about the experience but also what you learned or some universal truth. Or turn the experience into a fictional tale for kids. 

Riding on a bus or commuter train and studying the other passengers can bring a writing topic to mind, or can serve to help create a character in a story. 

One of my Chicken Soup for the Soul stories centered on an experience I had at church camp when I was in the 7th grade. A girl in my cabin always wanted the spotlight on her. She paraded around in her leopardskin fabric bra and panties to show off her very mature body, was loud, and laughed at others. I didn't like her one bit, but very early one morning, I heard her screaming and then sobbing. What was wrong? A counselor came into each room to let us all know that the girl's mother had died unexpectedly. Suddenly, my dislike turned to sympathy and thoughts of my own mother surfaced.Tears slipped down my cheeks as I thought about what had happened. That was one small experience from my growing-up years, but I was able to turn it into a story that got published. 

Stories and writing topics are all arouond, but it's up to us to capure them with a word painting. It's up to us to find that creative spark in what we see around us. 

The Eyes and Ears of a Writer

Our lives are busy, and the places we go are filled with people. School, church, restaurants, parties, meetings--all of these and more. We see and hear things everywhere. As writers, what we see and hear should be an inspiration to write.

It is, IF we pay attention, IF we use our writer's eyes and ears. What we see and hear in our everyday activities can give us an idea for a story, poem, or essay. 

For example, one day I was driving down a street that had trees on both sides, leaning over and forming a canopy of sorts. The phrase 'a tunnel of trees' came to my mind, and I reached far back into my childhood memory bank to see another street that was a tunnel of trees, one that my dad drove us down many times. Later in the day, when I got home, I wrote the first draft of a poem about the tunnel of trees I'd seen that day and the one from my memory. It was such a small thing--driving down that street, seeing the trees, and remembering, but it was the basis of the poem I wrote. It was in the quiet of the moment that the inspiration came.

Sometimes, a conversation we have overheard can give us something to write about. It's not a matter of eavesdropping. There are times when you can't help but hear what others are discussing. Watching the interaction of a mother and child on a bus or train could be the inspiration for a story. Seeing fans go nutso at a football game could be another story possibility. 

Today's quote says 'The quieter you become, the more you can hear.' It's in those quiet moments that your writer's eyes and ears can serve you well. 

Even going to a place where there are no other people, where quiet reigns, can bring ideas to a writer. The surroundings and the quiet itself can be inspiration. 

A writer trains him/herself to have eyes and ears that help them find topics to write about. Of course, we can't write about every little thing we see or hear, but certain people, places, or events speak more to us than others. When that happens, we had better listen. 

It doesn't matter whether you are in a crowded place or one of perfect serenity, your writer's eyes and ears can serve you well. All you need to do is look and listen.