By John R Hewitt
When looking for that next great article, there is a whole world of inspiration to be found if you keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground. Some are obvious yet others might not seem so obvious but can still yield good results.If you keep an eye on Google trends you will be up to date with what people are searching for and the topics that seem to be hot at the moment. This is also valuable for generating maximum traffic to your article. If you write about a popular topic then you will get visitors. Do not be put off by a topic that you have no experience in or are not that interested in. The research itself to produce an article can be fascinating and you learn something new as well. Also during your research you can often stumble across another topic that you can write about.
News from television and periodicals
This is obvious yet can be overlooked. Again the top news items will reveal what is important at the moment and give you inspiration for an article. Sometimes just walking past a newspaper stand and catching a headline can prompt you to create an interesting essay.
Your own experience
Again obvious however, just stop for a moment and go into your past or present employment. Anything from a job well done to a funny experience or perhaps the way you might have been unfairly treated. These are all events than can lead to a good article. Your childhood as well can be inspirational, whether good or bad and any health issues you have encountered can be valuable both to you and your potential readers.
General public
When writing in a local café I will often "accidentally" eavesdrop on conversations and hear some fascinating article material. Sometimes it will be an employee complaining about their boss or a reunion of friends and hours of "catch-up" conversation. All of this can be used from poetry to prose or perhaps a ground breaking piece on employment law! You never know what you might hear. This is true of restaurants, outdoor events or any other occasion that brings people together.
Time out
Believe it or not, this works great for me. If I am at a complete dead end looking for inspiration I will stop and have a coffee. I might start browsing the internet for no reason at all or go for a walk. Even playing a quick video game can so remove me from the thought process that upon return I will get a flash of inspiration that seems to come from nowhere. Sometimes a complete break is the answer. Do not be put off by sleeping either. If you have ever recorded your dreams you will know that your mind is better than any cinema experience. Keep a notebook by your bed and upon waking note down those dreams. They can be fascinating sources for prose or poetry or the next article on sleep disorders.
As you can see there is inspiration everywhere however, you need to remain open to it. Whether you write full time or not, treat it as a business and use everything from search engines to newspapers as part of your working day and as valuable tools in the search for the next winning article.
John Hewitt is a freelance writer and online euntrepreneur . He has worked in many fields including finance, the restaurant industry, film work and as an RSPCA animal welfare officer. One of his websites is http://www.prosperityandfinance.com
