Find Writing Topics

Beginners often ask, "Where do you get ideas?" for both nonfiction and fiction writing. I usually reply, "Ideas are all around you" or just "from life". More experienced writers know what I mean, but here's an example: this morning I read a newspaper article about the 100th anniversary of the nearby Cleveland National Forest. Halfway through the long story, the reporter mentioned a local man who recently published a book about the woods. The name was unfamiliar to me. Bingo! Someone new to interview about his writing/publishing experiences.

If I had been trolling for fiction material, the article also provided interesting juxtapositions: loggers vs. park rangers, environmentalists vs. recreational activists, forest management vs. the national budget. The reporter even mentioned some noteworthy individuals that might make great characters if a story fell in the woods. My mind grinds out "what if Grover Cleveland's ghost haunts the forest named in his honor and doesn't like what's happening to it?" The fact that the property is punctuated with private holdings offers infinite possibilities for plots and twists. How about the old lady who is the last of her dynasty to live on her family's land in the middle of the woods and uses magical alchemy to prevent others from finding her? And the shadow government know about her secrets and wants to steal them for military use against invading aliens (from outer space, not nearby Mexico)....

Similarly, snatches of conversations I overhear when walking around my neighborhood or sitting at Starbucks, scenes I see on the streets, events in my own life and those I know about others -- all provide endless ideas for stories, poetry, nonfiction pieces. Everyone has opinions and these can become essays or op ed articles. Ideas surround us. We are swimming in data; an avalanche of information threatens to drown us daily. These are the ideas. What you do with them is the work of writing.