5 Ways I Generate Tons of Writing Ideas

Most writers, especially beginners, struggle with finding ideas. Some are also concerned about their niche.

It’s normal. Almost every writer has been through this stage.

It can be frustrating not to know what to write about. Even though you want to write and share your thoughts, you find it challenging to identify the right topic.

The outcome?

Inability to produce consistent articles.

Most writers share their monthly progress and say they wrote 30, 40, and more articles in one month.

How’s that possible?

It’s not just about discipline, another critical factor in producing massive work.

Writing an article daily might be easy. Having the right ideas to write about is the real challenge.

After months of struggle, I overcame this challenge and learned how to generate massive ideas to write about.

I’ll share a few in this post.

1/ Reading and consuming

I read a lot of books. I read every day for at least 30 minutes.

I had this habit long before I started writing. A lot of my early blog posts include book summaries and lessons.

Reading serves directly for your content and also helps you understand different topics and perspectives of the authors.

For example, after reading Seth Godin’s The Practice: Shipping Creative Work, I understood much about creativity, writing, and sharing my work. I implemented those ideas into my articles and also discussed them with my audience.

Remember: You can’t be a great writer if you don’t read.

Besides reading, I also consume other forms of content like YouTube videos, podcasts, articles, audiobooks, newsletters, and so on.

Consume valuable content that helps you learn new things. They could be of any form. The more you consume, the better you learn. And the more you can create and share.

Start reading and consuming quality content.

2/ Gathering real-life experiences

The best way to find ideas is by living.

Ryan Holiday is one of my favorite writers. I love his advice on writing. He says that wanting to become a writer is the number one mistake. Instead, he says, you must go do interesting things and live life. By doing so, you will have something to share. You will have something to write about.

Do things that excite you. For example, take a trip or have coffee with your friend.

You will learn a lot from doing things you love.

I like to meet people and talk to them about things they like. I learn new perspectives and generate ideas by doing this.

Traveling to new places also resets my mind off work and helps me learn new things.

Ironically, new ideas flow to me when I do things entirely irrelevant to writing.

3/ Sitting down quietly for 15–20 minutes every day

Meditating quietly for a few minutes helps me generate excellent writing ideas.

I don’t know the science behind this. Whenever I sit down, close my eyes, and let random thoughts come to me, I come across some brilliant ideas I can share in my articles.

It has happened to me a lot of times.

This also works when I need a solution to a problem I have been facing for a few days. I let the idea come to me by sitting quietly and focusing on my breath. I embrace random thoughts, and in them, I find the solution.

Try it yourself.

4/ Writing down my thoughts, feelings, and experiences in a journal

Journaling is another habit that has helped me become a better person.

I have learned a lot of new things about myself and life by writing down my thoughts, feelings, experiences, and ideas.

Some writers suggest writing down at least ten ideas daily. I’ve tried doing that. But it doesn’t always help me because I usually can’t think of any good ideas when I force myself to do so.

Ideas that come naturally are the best ones. So I let it happen. I don’t forcefully think about ideas and topics.

Whenever I come across something good, I take out my journal and write it down instantly. I use the notes app on my phone if I’m outside and don’t have my journal.

Keep the habit of writing down your thoughts and feelings. You will find many ideas you can share with your audience through writing.

5/ Copying other writers

There are no new ideas. Everything out there has already been written about.

You can only add your own experience and value to an already-existing concept.

I copy a lot of ideas from other writers. Yes, that’s right!

But I don’t plagiarize. That’s not correct. Nobody should ever copy someone else’s work and call it their own.

I don’t copy other people’s work. Instead, I copy their process. I copy their ideas to add my input and opinions.

In his book Steal Like An Artist, Austin Kleon says,

“Every new idea is just a mashup or a remix of one or more previous ideas.”

“Copy your heroes. Examine where you fall short. What’s in there that makes you different? That’s what you should amplify and transform into your own work.”

“If all your favorite makers got together and collaborated, what would they make with you leading the crew?”