What? (Subject Matter)

You decide to start writing a story, and right away you smack face-first into a wall. What should I write about? Sometimes topics come easily, but everyone has moments when there’s just a complete blank. It’s frustrating, but many things can be done to fix this.

     1. Inkshed. Set a timer, and put pen to paper for twenty minutes. The topic doesn’t matter. When time is up, read the results closely. Look at every sentence. Even a single word could be the spark that leads you to your story.

     2. Keep a small notebook with you at all times. Every time you come up with a possible topic, write it down. This way you won’t forget ideas, and when you can’t think of one there’ll be plenty waiting to be written about.

     3. Expand on a previous story, or re-write it from a different perspective. Look for stories you wrote when you were little and re-write those.

     4. Topics don’t always have to be extravagant. They don’t even have to be about people. Is there a moment you remember vividly, even though it’s seemingly unimportant? Perhaps you could write that moment entirely from the perspective of an animal, mosquito, or even an inanimate object.

     5. Think outside what you would normally consider. Pick random words and write about them. Potato. Helicopter. Fashion. What kind of story would include those things? With effort, almost anything can be made interesting to read, so don’t limit yourself.

     6. Take a break. While you’re doing other things, you’ll be thinking of ideas subconsciously.
Have conversations with people. Something they do or say may break you out of your slump. Ask people for ideas; they might think of something that would never have crossed your mind.