Find Inspiration for New Story Ideas Online
Are you making the most of online resources?
Do you find it hard to come up with new story ideas? If so, you’re not alone. When I’m feeling uninspired, I turn to online resources, social groups, and personal experiences. The internet is a brilliant resource and I have a process to keep me up to date and inspired…
Every morning I sit down to check my Twitter and Science Daily alerts, all of which provide hooks and inspiration for feature ideas.
One day the strongest idea on Science Daily was ‘Does Sugar Make You Stupid?’ It came through a news link outlining a study which shows that a high sugar diet reduces memory and intelligence amongst mice. And by implication, in humans.
I thought this could form the basis of a discussion piece on sugar in a health publication, so I pitched some ideas. Sadly, there weren’t a lot of takers (perhaps my editors had been eating too much sugar), although I spotted the mainstream press all picked it up.
However, the downsides of sugar have been much included in my numerous articles about immunity, so it’s worth keeping in the loop when new studies are published.
Twitter is an endless source of contentious discussion topics, which you could turn into articles. When I saw someone complain on Twitter about how she was “Tired Of Being Lectured To By Kids And Millionaires,” it got a massive response. So I wrote about it, including plenty of my own opinions and perspectives…
A few weeks ago, I was looking for anniversary listings for 2023 and discovered a story about utility furniture. It sounds boring, I know, but it’s actually quite interesting. It’s the only domestic furniture that was allowed in the UK during the Second World War, between 1943 and 1952.
Anyway, today I found someone with a photo of a utility chair in their museum, and they told me a little story about it, which I think means, I’ve sold a story idea to a magazine. I’ve been chasing this for weeks! Woohoo!
Social media, science websites, and even anniversary listings can all provide loads of inspiration for story ideas. A good number of the people I’ve interviewed for magazine articles are people I met on social media.
Have a think about that when you’re chatting online or reading about new developments. There are story ideas everywhere!
© Susie Kearley 2022. All Rights Reserved.
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