Top Gun Sundays — #1
7 Writing Ideas for The Upcoming Week
First of my Sunday bulletins for writing ideas inspired by outstanding writers
Being an editor at ILLUMINATION and ILLUMINATION-Curated has been less of a responsibility and more of a rewarding and fun journey.
The joys of working with some of the best writers in the editor room, and getting a first peek at some of the best content on Medium are unparalleled. So here’s my way of paying back to the Medium community via this Sunday bulletin where I will highlight seven writers and some of their stories to inspire your writing for the upcoming week.
Writing ideas are everywhere — we just need to keep an open eye and you’ll never lack inspiration. So let’s dive straight in.
#1 — Find Inspiration on Twitter Feeds — Kalis King
Kalis is a writer extraordinaire. A top writer in Art, also an editor of a publication, and skilled at writing on a variety of topics.
Here’s a tremendous piece by Kalis on Naval Ravikant — and how he teaches us the ways of getting rich by “owning and not renting”.
The interesting takeaway here is that Kalis spends an hour of his day on Twitter reading interesting feeds of people in his network who he thinks he can draw value from.
Each tweet, and the thread that goes with it, brings with it a topic, opinions, and in turn can serve as an inspiration for many stories — try this out and write a story inspired by a tweet that got you thinking!
#2 — The US Election Won't’ Disappoint You — EP McKnight, MEd
From today until Nov 3 — the day of the US Presidential elections, there are not many conversations that go without the discussion around the topic and its impact on the whole wide world.
If you dig deep enough, there’s ought to be some way in which the US election affects you directly or indirectly. Tell the world about it — tell the world how you feel about the elections and what its repercussions on the world are.
If you don’t know enough about US politics, use this to learn enough to be able to write — the constant learning is the biggest joy of writing.
Look at this genius 35-word story, that says so much in so few words!
#3 — A Poem Will Never Disappoint — Alexandra Forsyth
Alexandra writes about poetry and horror — a look at her profile and a read of a few of her pieces will tell you she’s got some skill at it. Clearly sharing the last name with the great Frederik Forsyth must rub something off!
When you’re lacking inspiration, just put whatever is in your head into a stream of words, without trying to be too formal about it. Poetry can be free-form or rhyming, short or long, simple or complicated, humorous or poignant, yet almost always it manages to touch the soul.
This beautiful little Haiku from Alexandra will give you some inspiration!
#4 —Fiction — Why Not Let Your Imagination Run Wild — Jess Tam
Here’s a writer who writes fiction, poetry, and a variety of other genres. Yet, her fiction and her skill of telling a story with a few, yet, powerful words is impressive.
Storytelling is an art that I haven’t yet mastered and fiction can be one of the hardest things to write. Yet, trying your hand at it will feel liberating and fun and will challenge not just your writing skills but also your imagination.
At the same time, it will allow you to build a world of your own liking, at your own will, and no one will tell you what’s right or wrong. So take some inspiration from Jess — and try your hand at fiction!
#5 — Science — You Don’t Have to be a Scientist — Charles Stephen
Well, Charles is of course a legitimate retired scientist and a celebrated Medium writer with a whopping 16k followers. Of course, being a scientist/expert in a field is one thing but putting it into engaging writing is another.
So, why don’t you take some time and research your way into something scientific that has always interested you, and then use that to also educate the world about it?
I always wonder things like what causes the Northern lights in Scandinavian countries, or something as simple as how water is the cleanest in mountain springs? Find something that interests you and enlighten the world about it.
Meanwhile, take inspiration from Charles and his legitimate science knowledge.
#6 — Technology — Don’t We All Love It? — Flavio Aliberti
Tech is all around us. Whether it is our phones, social media, fitness gadgets, entertainment, work, or any other part of our lives. There is nothing that technology doesn't touch.
And so naturally people love to read about it. A review for the latest gadget, an upcoming technology that no one has yet heard of, something that is fascinating and at the cutting edge of technology but isn’t yet well known.
Find that hidden gem that would engage your readers — technology is definitely one of the most read topics across platforms, and especially on Medium.
#7 — Self Improvement and Life Lessons is Staple — Aldo Alberto Naef-Cruz Martinez
Well, nothing on Medium or in the general realm of writing is more read than tips on self-improvement.
Don’t we all want to lead a better life and in turn want to read everything that we can get on how to achieve that? Writing about self-improvement, life lessons, and advice around things from personal experience is a winning formula.
When you do this, don’t try to reach every user — write from experience and write on specific topics that will find their way to the right readers. Aldo Alberto does this beautifully in the below piece — he may be new and have a small following, but the content he writes is truly top-notch stuff.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this first edition of my Top Gun Sundays and got your dose of topics and ideas for the upcoming week’s stories. Happy reading and writing! Below are a couple of my latest pieces that you might enjoy!
