Press the Panic Button: What Happens When Writers Run Out of Ideas?
How to collect the next set of ideas for your stories?
I like to imagine a large red plastic button, to be pressed when a writer runs out of ideas. Once the button is pressed, a bell can be heard ringing. Within seconds, three muses appear with ideas for stories, articles, and poems for the writer to create.
I am sure that if your mind can visualize the large red panic button, with a bell that rings loudly and three muses appearing, then your subconscious mind, will provide you with some amazing ideas. Try this experiment, tell me if it works and if the ideas flow in a continuous stream.
How to collect the next set of ideas for your articles, stories, and poems?
1. Pick up a book or read one online on your favorite topic. Make a note of ideas that strike you.
2. Visit news websites for current affairs, that matter to you and which you know your readers will enjoy.
3. Writing Prompts are great ways to get new ideas and to express yourself, as a writer.
4. Sit in meditation and clear your mind. Ask your subconscious mind and the universe to provide you with a few powerful ideas to share with the world. You will not be disappointed.
5. Keep a scrapbook or file, with news items and all topics that you are interested in writing about, from hobbies to life-related issues.
6. Trending topics online are what your readers will be interested in reading about.
7. Look at ordinary things and imagine the stories that they are a part of, like the broken glass from a stained-glass window or the cup filled with coffee that has been left behind by a customer who was in a rush to leave.
8. Look at ordinary places and situations and create stories around them, like the railway station, the airport or the post office.
9. Visit, online or in-person, a museum or an art gallery. Study the art and imagine what the artist was trying to tell the viewer in his or her artwork.
10. Join a writer’s group or a writing community or have a writing mentor, who can guide you to find great ideas.
I am interested in knowing your writing tips and tricks for getting great ideas. Have a good day and press that large red panic button, if you reach writer’s block.