I want to write - looking for inspiration?

Question

I get this huge impulse to write - poetry, a novel, anything. But I don't know what to write about & where to start. Various things keep jumping into mind. How do I settle with one topic & how do I start writing?

Answer 1

i have learned when i want to write about something but no idea has struck me it is best to put my creative forces into looking at the people and places around me in a new light with an inquisitive mind. everything and everyone you see has a story. wait for inspiration. the best writing marinates first...

don't rush anything. you will know when the right idea presents itself...and of course i also have found that the best path to writing...is reading.

Answer 2

Read inspirational short stories from newspapers, Guideposts magazine, and Reader's Digest magazine. Then contact the authors and ask if you could interview them fuller for a book. Or, I suppose if you just want to write a fiction book you could just take the info you have and add more details and make up some subplots.
There is always a demand for historical fiction especially amoung young adults. (For inspiration, I'd read some of Jannette Oke,Ann Tatlock, Catherine Marshall, and Irene Hunt's books as well as old Sunfire romances.) Maybe you could make up a character and write a mystery about them-perhaps a medieval story or Civil War story. There is plenty of romantic historical fiction, something different would be nice.

Answer 3

I also like to write. Im inspired by things that go on in my life. If im really upset or depressed ill write poetry to explain how i feel. If im in a happy exciting kind of mood i usually like to write a story. The best inspiration you can get from yourself. Take your own life and turn it into a story.

Answer 4

If you're interested in poetry, you can write a sestina. That's the one I had most fun writing. What you do is pick any random 6 words, they can either have something to do with each other or not. Then you use each one to end a sentence in a stanza. Then in the next stanza, you alternate the order of the words.

For an example, you can check out mine http://prosto-writer.livejournal.com/1201.html

Answer 5

I'm the same way but I notice that if I try and force myself to sit down and write it's harder. Sometimes you get inspired when you least expect it so it's good to carry a notebook with you wherever you go. For me, it's easier to write when I'm sad. Songs are a good way to inspire as are reading other creative writing. But definately carry a book so you can jot stuff down when it comes to you. Before you know it, you'll have various things and you'll be able to piece them together like a puzzle.

Answer 6

Just do it. Decide you are going to write, and begin. Brain storm. It doesn't matter what you write as long as you start. Once you get into the flow, you'll know what to write about. Dedicate yourself to writing everyday for at least one hour. It will become a habit. Then you will see yourself becoming a prolific writer.

Answer 7

Well, you could go to close elderly family members and ask tham about thier life. Then you can write a story by immitating their life in a story and give it to tham as a present.

Answer 8

visit a fan-fic site. lots of great ideas! carry around a little note pad to write ideas in. then choose later.

Answer 9

Go for a fiction story first and let your characters create drama and suspense for you based on your own life....

Answer 10

What are your interests? If you like fantasy, write fantasy. Something original to you would be great.