Comments on: 10 Ways to Find Inspiration for Your Writing

By: Maggie How

Maggie How — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 13:46:44 +0000

Great ideas – I’ve used them all at one time or another! I also use random techiniques – here’s a few:
Turn to page 56 of ANY book. Read the third sentence…see what ideas it may spark!
Hit the ‘random’ button on Wikipeadia – you’ll be surprised!
Hit the ‘explore’ button on Flickr – choose the 7th photo as your inspiration
Go to any famous quotes site – if they have a random button – hit it!
Happy writing everyone!

By: alex wilson

alex wilson — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:37:28 +0000

Here’s my sure fire: play ‘what if’. What if I had dropped out of school and had taken a motorcycle trip instead? What if I found a bag of money and decided to keep it? What if my car skidded on ice and I killed someone? What if I overheard a plot to blow up blow up the Golden Gate Bridge? What if I made eye contact with the love of my life in Starbucks and she was wearing an engagement ring? Plug in your own ‘what ifs’ and let your mind play with it.

By: What Should I Write About? Finding Inspiration

What Should I Write About? Finding Inspiration — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 10:04:49 +0000

[...] 10 Ways to Find Inspiration for Your Writing [...]

By: Linda

Linda — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 11:47:59 +0000

Nice Post… I think most of us arent easily inpsired simply because we dont take a second look , give a second thought or try to see things from a different perspective.

By: Making Writing Easy: Practical Tools | Fuel Your Writing

Making Writing Easy: Practical Tools | Fuel Your Writing — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 11:32:32 +0000

[...] and sometimes they just come to us, prompted by something unexpected. It’s true; we can find inspiration anywhere. The key to successfully creating something from this inspiration is to have the tools to hand to [...]

By: Best of the web – week #47 | Photoshop Tutorial and effects

Best of the web – week #47 | Photoshop Tutorial and effects — Fri, 21 May 2010 19:29:53 +0000

[...] 10 Ways to Find Inspiration for Your Writing [...]

By: Merry Prankster

Merry Prankster — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:40:31 +0000

I’ve found listening to others read (Selected Shorts podcast, The Moth podcast, etc) before I go to sleep, helps me wake up in the morning with a story going in my head.

By: Suzannah-Write It Sideways

Suzannah-Write It Sideways — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:42:50 +0000

@Amy @Giselle @ Rocky:

Glad you each found something useful in this list! Thanks for your feedback :)

By: Rocky | R O C K O N O V A.COM

Rocky | R O C K O N O V A.COM — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:35:14 +0000

Great list, Suzannah! I know photographs definitely have a way of stirring up words in my head when I need em. Also lyrics have a way of doing that too for me.

I gotta try dropping some eaves and see where that leads me!

By: Giselle

Giselle — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:38:48 +0000

Wonderful list Suzannah. Two of your items have helped me tremendously in the past: Writing prompts and books. I am sure this list will be of great inspiration to your readers.

By: amy koehler

amy koehler — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:24:48 +0000

Simple yet very sound advice. Thank you!

By: Suzannah-Write It Sideways

Suzannah-Write It Sideways — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:05:08 +0000

Christopher, I do this _all_ the time, too. I sometimes wonder if I’m unconsciously staring at people when I’m grocery shopping or walking down the street :) There are stories everywhere.

By: Christopher Jackson

Christopher Jackson — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:33:42 +0000

Thanks for these Suzannah, great article!

Probably my favourite out of your examples is #8. I love to sit and people watch, and find myself doing it without even realising. I love to sit by the Monument in Newcastle city centre, watching people going by. Sometimes people stand out from the crowd for some reason, and they can instantly walk into a story. Others, if you watch them for a moment, will give you a glimpse of something, an odd habit or a candid emotion, that can really inspire.

By: Elena

Elena — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 07:29:07 +0000

Suzannah, that’s so true! I’d love to compare ten different people’s responses to the same lyrics…maybe Fuel Your Writing should host a songfiction challenge…

By: Suzannah-Write It Sideways

Suzannah-Write It Sideways — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:52:53 +0000

Elena, thanks for giving us an example of how you’ve used lyrics to get inspired. I think you could put the same lyrics in front of 10 different writers, and each one would come up with a unique story of their own.