As soon as you’ve released your first article, you may experience a feeling of somewhat addiction. You want to write more and more, especially if your piece of writing was found a good one.
Regardless of the sphere of your concern, you will get ideas of what to create and how to embody your ideas into a written content. And you will be doing that over and over again.
Until the moment comes when you will see a white sheet of paper in front of yourself and you feel like all the ideas and words you used to have are gone. You’ve exhausted all possible avenues, topics, approaches, angles, possibilities, and techniques.
Don’t worry, it’s a common thing, and many have faced this issue.
As we have already mentioned it is highly important and valuable that in every article and single post you create, your uniqueness is felt. Nothing could be compared to the content which expresses bold thoughts, ideas, which shows high professionalism in every phrase. Create from your heart because your target reader will immediately feel on all possible levels, starting from the language level, to the specific topic you write in.
Next thing you can do, which may also mean a lot for your creative process. You need to slow down for a short second and make yourself wait for an inspiration. As soon as you have plugged into one process you will never be able to get out of it quickly. Even though you may feel like you have run out of words, they will come.
Now, let’s get closer to simple and practical tips.
Stay tuned into the voice of the people through social media comments. Don’t stop looking for ideas after reading the most respectable and popular publications. Why? Because some of the best conversation starters are trending on social media.
Remember that the most important for you is to create for a target reader. Following comment will help you to gauge what people are thinking about trends, the questions they ask, and what’s inspiring them to comment. Ask questions about the stories and articles you read.
- Why did this inspire controversy?
- What made people comment?
- What was the biggest issue people commented about?
- Who else might this event or trend affect besides the person interviewed for the story?
- What might be the long-term result of these new trends?
- What does this show us about how people’s attitudes have changed on a given subject over a period of time (several years, for example)?
Stay on top of industry news
While social media is important to review so you can learn the voice of the consumer, blog writing it really its own entity.
If you don’t move beyond social media, you’ll frequently pass over some really good stuff because of poor hashtags, too much competition, and bad scheduling.On the other hand, using a blog news app will help you stay up-to-date with relevant industry blogs as soon as they are updated.
Stay in research mode at all times
In order to keep your queue filled with great content ideas, you need to stay in research mode at all times.Research shouldn’t be reserved for planning or writing sessions only. The quality of your content will increase substantially if you do it on an ongoing basis, as ideas pop into your head.
As soon as you have some interesting thoughts, start adumbrating them so that you will be able to develop them. You can wait until it’s time to produce your content to think about what you want to say. But it’s often easier to begin developing your ideas before it’s time to write.
Useful tip: always get ready to jot down the ideas
Creativity gurus explain how, from a scientific perspective, our best ideas come when we’re totally disconnected from our work. It could be when you’re jogging, showering, or waking up in the morning. That’s why you always need to be ready to write down your ideas.
Gather resources to use as reference material
Research the Web. Whenever you’re online, be on the lookout for material that could help you tell your stories. If you see a social media post or article that relates to a topic, grab the URL and create a list of links within topic.
Create your “passion list”
There is a simple set of questions that may turn up useful for your inspiration at some point.
- What are you passionate about in your industry?
- Is there a certain angle or approach that gets you excited?
- What’s your greatest skill? How can target reader of your content benefit from your experience?
Rather than answer these questions directly, think of article angles that you can derive from them.
Get inspired by simple things
Could you ever suggest that simply trying to think of ideas could be a source of ideas?
Some of the sources, such as a fascinating person or an interesting experience, are themselves subjects. Others are the sorts of things that start your mind working, get your thoughts moving in general or specific directions. Here are few simple things that may turn on your imagination:
- Newspaper and magazine articles
- Short stories and novels
- Television programs or movies
- A painting or any piece of art
- Conversation
- Memories
- An interesting experience
- A fascinating person
- A lecture or class
- Social media/ comments
- A beautiful landscape
- An ugly building
You may ask how these far-out topics can do any good. Well, there is no clear answer because no one can predict a human brain. A small detail can provoke and lead to an insight. Ideas can be classified as “derived from” and “inspired by” so anything can turn to be a source of your ideas.
Stay in learner mode
Always be learning. Whether it’s from reading, talking, watching videos, or social media, you should always be in learner mode. The more you take in, the more you’ll be able to come up with great topic ideas. Absorb, read, consume, gain information. Always.
To sum it all up, don’t get discouraged if you feel like you need some time to charge your creative-writing battery. Occasionally, an idea comes unbidden, and fully developed and sometimes an idea may demand an effort of thinking and developing to turn into a good piece of writing. Lastly, remember that your brain is constantly working, it can subconsciously give rise to new ideas. Don’t panic and pursue. Let your mind dwell on the idea over time, and make subconscious connections while you attend to something else. Before you know it, inspiration will strike you.
Read more about Using Content for Brand Identity
Source:
Entrepreneur, Writers Write, Writer’s Digest and Quick Sprout.