Where I find the Inspiration to Write

In the book Where’d you go Burnadette by Maria Semple, Burnadette tells her bored daughter that the world isn’t here to make life interesting for her. From then onward, the daughter is never bored again. I​t’s the same for writing. Read on below for five methods that work for me to inspire the curiosity required to continuously write.

1. Apply for writing jobs

A​ll writing jobs I have ever applied for have asked for writing samples. Each publication has its own style that they would like their writers to tune into and follow. Most applications ask for links. Some ask for attachments. If you need links to apply for an online writing job, you need somewhere to publish your writing samples. M​edium is good for that. Think of writing job ads as writing prompts.

L​ook at articles posted by the organization you are applying to write for. What are some common formatting themes? How do articles “flow”? Are there subheads in each article? Is there always a photo? C​opy that, write your first article for that publication but post it on your medium blog. O​ne trick I use to keep in touch with AP Style is to search the New York Times for the word or abbreviation to see how they published it.

Develop your writing style by trying your hand at different styles. Create a writing habit through applying for writing jobs. Analyze what makes an article good and use that in your next post. Every post you create on medium helps you build an audience on medium. Would you like to get paid for your writing? Kill two birds with one stone. Writers are getting paid right now for their writing posted on Medium. Also keep trying to find other outlets to get published in.

2. Skim Library Journal’s Book Pulse newsletter

Books are politics, culture, entertainment, and everything the publishing industry or Hollywood find interesting at the moment. Book Pulse tracks book award nominations, author interviews in print and on TV, book review coverage that goes “behind” the book, and updates on how Hollywood book adaptations are moving forward.

Librarians use it to be able to recommend interesting titles to their communities faster than any single person can try to read them. You can use it as a cultural snapshot. In an age where Hollywood is looking to Publishing for the next blockbuster, hitting the books takes on new meaning. To read the LJ Book Pulse during the workweek, create a free account with libraryjournal.com.

A​nother website worth checking out for ideas on what’s interesting right now is BookMarks. Click on a book cover to find excerpts of book reviews cited with links to review sources.

3. Re-purpose something

Lets say you are an entertainment writer looking for the next thing to cover. Perhaps you reviewed a TV show, game, or book. Next, pick a topic touched on in the media reviewed and research it.

For example, in Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson a caregiver (spoiler!) receives legal guardianship over two children. What is legal guardianship? Are there different kinds? Where did the precedent for legal guardianship come from? Write an essay. Post it on Medium.

Maybe a review is also a study guide. Or an adaptation comparison. Or a book discussion question list — book clubs everywhere would thank you for not having to come up with it themselves.

In an age of TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube #BookTok, how new a book is no longer matters. Your passion for it, good or bad, will draw people in.

4. Get on Reddit

H​ave you ever noticed how often articles are published on Buzzfeed which references posts and responses on Reddit? It’s almost like Buzzfeed writers have Reddit accounts to crowd source their articles by asking questions on r/AskReddit and then publishing the most interesting responses they received before their deadline that they can guarantee will generate clicks.

T​hey do the same for shopping too. The Buzzfeed reporter finds clothing on Amazon and recommends them on Buzzfeed, and then Buzzfeed gets clicks on articles and ad revenue, but also a cut of the sales they generated for Amazon.

W​hile things might not exactly work that way on Medium, you can still use Reddit as a cultural resource to tap into the pulse of society today.

5. Scan community events in your local

S​urprise! Librarians do marketing, too. A library event is not just a library event. It’s an interesting educational topic to be discovered and discussed.

If via zoom, that event can be recorded and posted with the presenter’s permission for their preferred length of time and posted on YouTube. The event can be promoted in the library newsletter, with social media posts across platforms, in library and online book displays, and a blog on the event topic that end in a call to action to register for the event.

So, we have an event, a recording, a blurb, two-three different social media posts, a display in person and online, and a blog, generated from the book lists created by librarians and used to post the displays.

Events generate content. Specifically, re-purposed content centered on one idea that is then translated into different lengths, types, and forms.

Y​ou can do this too. Find events in your local community. Attend them, write about them, then take something interesting you discovered at the event and write about that, too. Events that happen locally in your area are likely to be about topics that people in your local area care about.

Most of all, be interested and you will become interesting.