Content Is Everywhere
Struggling to find topics for your writing? Feel as though you have writer’s block? Not sure what interests people or what “content” really is?
I have news for you. Content is everywhere. Content is ideas, interactions, and explorations. Look no further than your own little world to capture some content.
This morning, I was perusing LinkedIn. I read a post asking “Who are the clients for public education?” I thought this was an interesting question to consider. Because I am trying to be more engaged in the platform, I responded. Ideas just started flowing to me, and my response was a bit longer than I had expected. And so, a new blog post was born. I sat down and wrote my ideas immediately. One simple social media question inspired my next 900 words.
Earlier this month, I became frustrated with my mindset and my pandemic experiences. I knew I needed to shake up my life to move forward. I took the time to reflect on areas I needed to improve and crafted a plan for myself. I used these life experiences to write “Is It Time to Level Up?”
As a teacher, I enter a hectic and chaotic world filled with people each and every day. All of these people make interesting comments, take unique actions, and share ideas that could be considered content. Sometimes my blogs pop up from conversations, like those with my colleagues.
I have written many blogs based on one-liners given to me by my friends at work. I think about what they say, describe the situation, and expand on their ideas. Sometimes, my colleagues’ comments can be quite profound. Three blogs were inspired by conversations with my colleague, Colleen. I now joke with her, “Give me a blog idea today, gal!”
I have also created many essays from small moments and experiences in my classroom. For example, I tried a new teaching strategy in the spur of the moment, and How I Spiced Up My Peer Editing Session was born.
I angrily quit Facebook after the Cambridge Analytica episode, and I wrote An Open Letter to Mr. Zuckerberg. He inspired me to craft these 900 words.
When I visit my local Starbucks and look around, I see plenty of content.
- Top five reasons why someone would write at a coffee shop.
- How I escape my dirty home and find solace to write
- How caffeine supports an entire population
- Why would you wait 15 minutes in the drive through when it takes 5 minutes to walk inside?
When I go to the grocery store, more content swarms me.
- How can I save $100 on my monthly food bill?
- Why are the grocery shelves empty?
- Is there a cheese shortage?
- Oh no! Toilet paper is out of stock again.
- Why I spend no more than 20 minutes in the grocery store on each trip.
- How to avoid unhealthy foods while shopping.
When I have conversations with my children, my content ideas become particularly interesting. My essay: How I Know Gen Z Will Save Us was created from conversations and observations of my own children and students.
My teen daughter is currently obsessed with TikTok. She is always showing me clips she finds to be hilarious. I could write about the generation gap because honestly, I don’t think the videos she shares are very funny. Or, I could write Why A Middle-Aged Woman Loves TikTok. I could even write How to Reach GenZ through video clips.
Don’t make writing content more complicated than it needs to be. Connecting with people is the point of content. I see so many essays about how I made this much money on Medium. While these may receive extra clicks, these kinds of essays do not build an audience or help you truly connect with more people. Broader experiences and ideas connect people.
Content is not this magic formula or a profound statement. Content is created by how we live our lives. It is not separate from our experiences. Content is our experiences. The content reflects our sadness, our hopes, our dreams, and our joy.
Content is life.
