It’s a new day, it’s a new week, and in my spare time I came across a kindle book about finding ideas for blog posts. I won’t name the book, because to be honest, I can’t rate it. There were too many spelling errors! But, I bought it not just for the blog, but for my articles.
I am really, well and truly struggling! Ideas for articles are like gold dust for me. I see fellow writers having no problems with it, but yet I do. Ideas for fiction, not a problem! Prompt or no prompt with fiction? Easy peasy.
But put a Writers’ Bureau Assignment in front of me, and my mind goes blank. As a kid, I wanted to be a Journalist. I even did work experience on The Shropshire Star (Telford’s local daily) but my Careers Advisor knocked the aspiration right out of me. I now think she did me a massive favour, as it seems I am pretty rubbish at it. Tell me ‘get a story on a woman who jumped out a plane and learned to fly’ and I could probably do it. But when I am given:
Pick a women’s magazine. Now write A personal experience type article or an interview with a local personality or someone who is likely to interest the readers of your chosen magazine or a humorous article
I come out in a cold sweat! Now, this means that either I pick the wrong magazines or I am not cut out for this writing lark.
I have thought that I could do a personal experience type article, but there is nothing really that I would willingly share with the whole world. And as the ultimate idea is that it will be published, I guess that means I am doomed!!!!
Do you have any ideas on how to come up with ideas for non fiction? Answers on a postcard (or the comments box below) please.
Related articles
- Fiction V Non Fiction (Memoir) (the-view-outside.com)
Sam Perkins 
Stop worrying 🙂 Not all writers are cut out for all types of writing. There are plenty of good journalists out there that couldn’t put a good fiction story together for lack of ideas. Articles are obviously just not for you and you may be better concentrating your efforts on the short story market.
In the meantime you have to do this for your course. You will have plenty of hot topics in your life you can draw from and there will be a market for them. Think about what inspires you, find the market and then get stuck in. You can write about things that you are passionate about in your life without making them too personal. Use them as grounding and a knowledge base without necessarily telling your life story 🙂
Hi Sam – I am doing the A-Z blog and finding it a struggle too. Probably just the doldrums because it’s the middle – rather like getting stuck on the middle bit of a novel!