The Search for Writing Ideas

There are several things you can do to help you get ideas of what to write about and what types of writing you want to try your hand at. One thing is to think about what you enjoy reading--novels? short stories? essays? poetry? Do you like mysteries? Nature writing? Biographies? History? This alone will give you an idea of what you would most enjoy working on and would be a great place to start. If you enjoy reading mystery novels, try your hand at writing one. If you enjoy nature poetry or history essays, try writing those.

Another idea starter is to read brief blurbs about what a movie or book is about--Amazon is a good place to start. Sometimes those little blurbs can sound quite intriguing and give you an idea for a novel, poem, or essay. It won't be at all like the book or movie the blurb was for because you'll give it your own twist and write it the way you would like to see it written.

Still another place for harvesting ideas is in the literature of other countries. Google Japanese literature or Spanish literature or whatever country or region strikes your fancy. Read a little literary history to see what they wrote about. Mix and match with other ideas you've come across. How about a Spanish mystery novel or a Japanese nature essay?

News stories can give you ideas, too. Do you see a mention of a country that sounds interesting? How about a profession? It doesn't necessarily have to be the main topic of the news story--it can be a brief mention of a small detail in the story that makes you curious.

Just some things to think about as you search for writing ideas.