Generating Something To Write About
Writing can be daunting, agonizing and mystifying process. Every serious writer faces writers block at some stage of their writing career. Its not easy coming up with a steady stream of topics to write about.

So how do you decide what to write about? The most common advice given is to write about what interests you personally. Occasionally this advice can make authors think that one topic is as good as another, as long as it's what they like.

But choosing your topic correlates directly with how strong your content will be. A dopey idea or tired angle, regardless how honest and earnest, means at best an average and uninspiring piece of writing.

That's why the suggestion that you write about what appeals to you isn't really helpful advice. There's no guarantee that what interests you will end up being interesting content for others.

So here are some time-tested ways to help generate good ideas, whether you are writing a blog post, an article or even a book. None of them, except maybe the last, is a quickie. They're truly lifetime mental habits you should instill, the earlier the better.


Read
A good writer needs to acquire a lifelong habit of reading. True writers read a great many of newspapers, magazines, journals, scholarly books, history, memoirs, novels, even poetry. I'm not talking of looking for information on a certain topic, but reading generally about nature, science, history, culture, politics, commerce. A person who's cultivated her curiosity of everything connects with readers from many walks of life and with a diverse range of interests, Besides anything can set off a good idea or insight. Cultivate a lifelong habit of reading and contemplation.


Set aside judgment
Another good way to generate good ideas is to acquire the habit of setting aside judgment as you read. Most individuals make poor debaters because they've already settled their minds before they ever put pen to paper. Passionate partiality sometimes produces magnificent argument, but most of the time it belittles an argument's power by acting as a sort of mental blinder, leading the author to brush aside anything that doesn't fit the preconceived argument.


Look at the problems
Among the first things good authors learn is to look for potential problems in whatever they're subject matter is. Don't simply read texts or study data looking for answers: look for unanswered questions, for stresses, for unsolved issues. Those supply the vital openings for you to say something new, to take a fresh approach to an old matter. In the ideal instance one not only scrapes up a incisive question, but a keen answer too, but often the question is all that truly matters.


Inquire
An inquiring mind is a thinking person's mystery weapon. Ask your acquaintances, family, mentors and associates above all, ask your potential readers. Most people don't like to ask questions as they see them as a sign of ignorance and something to be avoided at all costs. Here's a different way to view it: questions are a signal one that you are attempting to learn. What true potential reader wouldn't welcome that?



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