How To Garner Writing Ideas From Your Daily Life

Many writers say they never have ideas or just don’t know what to write about. And not having any ideas keeps them “blocked” and not writing.

There are writing ideas all around you. You just have to pay attention enough to catch them. Then you need to find a process for capturing these ideas.

Writing Ideas From Everywhere

No matter where you look, there is something you can write about. Finding ideas in your daily life is simple, you just need to be in the moment and paying attention to the details of life.

Here are some suggestions to get you on the road to collecting ideas from your daily life:

• Carry A Notebook–If you always have a notebook on you, then you’re always ready to capture an idea. And keeping a notebook with you at all times signals to the Universe that you’re open to new ideas, which will attract more of them to you.
• Write Things Down Immediately–When something happens in life, you might notice it as it’s happening and then forget all about it. That’s why it’s important to immediately write down any ideas you think of or snippets of conversation you hear or details you notice. It’s the best chance you have at remembering everything. Just be sure to write a few lines of information for each idea, otherwise you’ll come back to something later and have no clue what you were referring to.
• Make Time to People-Watch–People-watching is one of the most interesting things you can do. It’s amazing the details you can pick up just from watching a person walk or talk on a cell phone or ride a bicycle down the street. So make time for people-watching. Bring your notebook to a crowded coffee shop and people-watch for an hour. Write down pieces of conversations around you at lunch one day. Sit on a bench outside a shopping center and write down details about the people going in and out of the stores.
• Notice How Unrelated Things Go Together–If you pay attention to enough details, you’ll start to see how seemingly unrelated things go together. Drawing conclusions like that can cause some interesting story ideas.

The more you watch for details and pay attention to the little things that happen all around you, the more story ideas you’ll begin to find in your daily life.

How do you find writing ideas in your daily life?

Today’s Challenge: Set aside time to do some people-watching. Even if it’s only for five minutes. Record everything you hear, see, smell, touch and taste (if applicable) in your notebook. Once you’re finished, make a list of anything that may be worth writing about.

About the Author: Jennifer Blanchard is the founder of Procrastinating Writers, a blog that offers guidance for writers who struggle to get started. She is co-founder of the Better Writing Habits challenge.

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