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 Perfect Present

I ran across this poster telling us that one of the best presents we can give is memories. The big gift giving season just finished but there are other times of the year that we can offer a gift to a friend or family member--Valentine's Day, birthdays, anniversaries--to name a few. We can even give a gift for no reason at all.

Around Thanksgiving, I used a piece about November in Chicago during my growing-up years. I then shared it with a childhood friend who wrote that she enjoyed it so much as it brought back myriad memories. Writing about your memories can be the perfect present for someone you care about.

I've often suggested that we all keep a Family Memories Book. Write one story at a time and put it in the book, something like a three ring binder so that you can easily add to it. It's overwhelming if you try to write about your entire childhood, family stories and characterizations of family members all in one big piece. You'll start and give up before you get very far. 

But single out one person or one story or one specific memory to write about and you'll feel a sense of accomplishment. You can divide the notebook into sections any way you like. It might be by the age you were at the time, or relatives names, or places where you lived. Your choice.

That book will grow as you add story upon story. Consider what a treasure it will be for your children and grandchildren in the years to come. It will be one great big gift!

Besides doing one big Family Stories book, write one story or a musing about a period of life or how you felt about a friend. Make it 500 words, 1,000 or more. Again, it's your choice. Then send it as a gift to whoever can relate to it, whether friend, cousin, sibling or other family member. They will feel pretty special to have been singled out to receive something you wrote. 

Memories are gifts to ourself, as well. Have you ever sat down with a cup of coffee or tea and mused over some long ago memory? It's a pleasant pastime and one memory often triggers another. They give you story ideas. Base a fiction story on a real happening rather than creating it from scratch. 

As the poster says, memories don't need to be returned, don't take up room, have to be replaced and they fit just right. Besides all that, they never have to be dusted!