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Harvesting Ideas From Everyday Life

May 7th, 2007 · 10 Comments

Although most of my writing assignments come with parameters and topics already assigned, sometimes I do have the opportunity to choose my own writing topics.

On the writer’s message boards that I read I sometimes find comments from writers who are asking for ideas on what to write about. (This always puzzles me, because I usually have more ideas than I could possibly develop. Of course, as I explained earlier, I don’t usually get to choose my own topics.)

I propose that, whether you are blogging or writing web content articles, you don’t need to look much further than your own life to find topics to write about. If you are struggling or frustrated with something, there’s a good chance that other people are struggling or frustrated with it also.

(Of course, you can always go to sites like Yahoo Buzz Index, AOL Hot searches, or Google Zeitgeist to grab the popular keywords and then write an article or post based on those keywords.)

I’ve decided to show how some common events from a typical day can be used as inspiration for blog posts or content articles. So, here’s a look at some common daily routines and some article or blog topic inspiration that could be drawn from those routines.

Event: Rise and Shine (morning routine, dress, breakfast, make sack lunches)

Possible Topics for Articles or Posts:

  1. Why Americans Don’t Get Enough Sleep
  2. The Five-Minute Beauty Routine
  3. Why Breakfast Is The Most Important Meal
  4. Five Quick Breakfasts Your Kids are Sure to Eat
  5. Five Sack Lunches Your Family Will Love
  6. Six Quick Early Morning Exercises
  7. Are Kid’s Backpacks Too Heavy?
  8. Product Reviews (backpacks, lunch products, etc.)

Event: Mid-Morning (work, pay bills)

Possible Topics for Articles or Posts:

  1. Tips for Saving Money on Your Utility Bills
  2. Mid-Morning Snacks That Won’t Bog You Down
  3. The One Thing That Has Helped My Business Succeed
  4. Where to Find Leads for Freelancers
  5. Essential Equipment for the Home Office

Event: Lunch

Possible Topics for Articles or Posts:

  1. Healthy Lunch Options
  2. Get Organized in a Half Hour or Less
  3. Restaurant Review (Your Favorite Lunch Spot)

Event: Mid-Afternoon (Work, Pick-Up Kids From School)

Possible Topics for Articles or Posts:

  1. Dealing With Difficult Work Situations
  2. Dealing With Difficult Clients
  3. My Biggest Work Challenge
  4. Do You Know What Your Kids Are Doing Between 3 and 5 p.m.?
  5. Do Today’s Kids Have Too Many Extra-Curricular Activities?

Event: Dinner

Possible Topics for Articles or Posts:

  1. The Disappearing Family Dinner
  2. Five Easy Crockpot Recipes
  3. Six Questions To Ask Your Kids
  4. The Importance of Spending Time Together
  5. Restaurant Review (your favorite restaurant)

Event: Evening (homework, bedtime, etc.)

Possible Topics for Articles or Posts:

  1. Ten Websites That Can Help Your Kids Do Their Homework
  2. Product Reviews (homework tools and workbooks)
  3. How to Bathe a Baby
  4. End Bedtime Arguments
  5. Keeping Romance In Your Relationship

There you have it — 31 article ideas, and it only took me about a half of an hour to come up with these.

A few key questions to ask when developing a topic idea from a life event:

  • Did the event go well, if so, what went right?
  • Did the event go poorly, if so, how could it have been made better?
  • Can I review some piece of what is happening?

(Note: I’d be thrilled if some of you are able to develop articles or posts from these ideas. If you do develop some of them, won’t you leave me a comment or drop me a note? I’d love to read your work and see how it turned out.)

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

Tags: Inspiration · Writing Tools

10 responses so far ↓

  • 1 KWiz // May 8, 2007 at

    What terrific ideas! I often wonder how people get so many ideas to blog about so quickly. Nevertheless, I still struggle with this considering my “niche.” I want to make sure I’m true to it while developing good content.

  • 2 Karen M. Lynch // May 8, 2007 at

    What a great list. I’m going to digest it then copy the idea using my own morning ’til night life. Thanks for sharing!

  • 3 Lori // May 8, 2007 at

    I can’t understand it either, Laura. To me, ideas are bombarding us. The bigger issue is drowning them out long enough to get other work done!

    Nice exercise. 🙂

  • 4 Mommy's Getaway (Tam P) // May 8, 2007 at

    Those are great topics! I really like the ‘food type’ ones…If I use one (which I probably will), I will send you a note and link to your site.

  • 5 Laura // May 8, 2007 at

    Hi KWiz, Karen, Lori, and Tam P!

    KWiz: If you have a niche, it is good to stay within it. I think you can still adapt ideas from your own experiences. I do think it is important to select a niche that you are comfortable with.

    Lori: You must be like me — too many ideas, too little time.

    Karen and Tam P: I’d be thrilled if someone turned these ideas into an article post. I’d love to see the finished pieces.

  • 6 Randa Clay // May 9, 2007 at

    Really good post Laura. I think it’s just getting in the habit of thinking that way about writing topics. This is a good jump start to help those of us who are still learning to do this.

  • 7 Laura // May 9, 2007 at

    Thanks Randa! I hope that the posted helped somebody.

  • 8 Laura // May 11, 2007 at

    Hi Yvonne! Well, the ideas that you post on your blog seem pretty good. I think that blogging helps us by getting us into the habit of writing regularly.

  • 9 Lisa // May 12, 2007 at

    Great post! Very helpful! Thanks. 😉

  • 10 ecd // Jun 6, 2007 at

    You are absolutely right. The world is fairly bursting with possibilities for writers. The key is to be as curious as a child. Ask the question words, Why, Where, When, How, What, Who? Ask them constantly.