How to Never Run Out of Ideas to Write About

Everything is copy.

My partner and I talk a lot about nothing — the minutiae of our day. And, we also talk about subjects of great interest to us, usually sparked by something we watched together or something going on in politics or in our respective businesses or some deep dive into our relationship to gain more understanding about the other.

We both have a lot of ideas, and similarly, we love to drill down to the essence of whatever is catching our attention at the moment.

During our conversations, he inevitably asks me, “will this end up in a blog post?” And to this, I respond, “everything is copy.”

“Everything is copy,” was the family motto in the Ephron house, which meant that anything and everything that happens to you is fair game to write. Nora Ephron was an American journalist, filmmaker, and writer. She wrote such hits as When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle.

Ephron’s mother used to say this to her when Nora was struggling with some perceived negative in her life. Nora would fall or have some other experience she viewed as a hardship, and her mother’s advice to her was always “use it.” Use it as copy. Use it in your stories. Write about it, and own it as your story.

How to Keep Your Creative Juices Flowing

Podcasts

This is a big one for me. I go to podcasts a lot to fire up my brain because I always hear something that interests me.

Podcasts take less time than reading a book, and since I find myself in the car most days for a minimum of two hours a time, podcasts are a blessing. I do not wish this commute on my worst enemy.

Podcasts are my saviour for avoiding boredom and the occasional episode of road rage.

Once I discovered a few podcasts that piqued my interest, the commute was not nearly as daunting as I first made it out to be. Listening to something interesting changed my attitude. I started looking at my drive time as a way to get ahead of my blogging.

Part of my process for turning out large amounts of content is to marinate in an idea for a day or two, then see what I can add to it from my personal experience.

Podcasts flood my brain with endless possibilities. I almost don’t have the time to write about all of them. I often wonder how people run out of things to write.

I blog about many different things, from love to money to writing. I get the most from podcasts that dive into various topics — especially productivity and how to live life to achieve more effective results.

Here are my top five podcasts right now

1. The Tim Ferriss Show: This is probably the one I go to the most. I love his voice, his detailed-oriented, and analytical mind. Tim Ferriss knows how to drill down on a subject, and I get so many ideas from his show. He explores the strategies and productivity hacks that his high-performing guests use to achieve success.
2. The GaryVee Audio Experience: Another podcast that leaves me taking notes furiously — not when driving. This is a good place to gain knowledge of business and marketing, and to get motivational advice.
3. The Unmistakable Creative: Srinivas Roa’s podcast is another of my go-to’s to get the creative ideas flowing. I also listen to his podcast for encouragement and support. Srinivas interviews a lot of well-known and not so well-known entrepreneurs who give great advice, talk about their failures as well as their successes, which is helpful for entrepreneurs just starting out.
4. Fresh Air with Terry Gross: When I arrive home in the middle of listening to one of Terry Gross’s interviews, I often get stuck in my car, waiting in my driveway for it to end. Terry Gross is an excellent interviewer and asks the questions I want to know the answers to from her guests. And she gets the best guests.
5. The Report by Lawfare: OK, this may not be for you, but I’m obsessed with both the law and the Mueller Report. This is the most comprehensive explanation of what went down in the 2016 presidential election. It is methodical, analytical, and reads like a crime thriller. I love this series.

Documentaries

The right documentary is fascinating. Some are OK, and some are just bad. Read reviews.

I almost always catch NPR’s FilmWeek, where they review the movies — documentaries included — coming out that Friday.

Just like podcasts, docs make you think and expand your mind. Whether I see a documentary in a movie theatre or at home, I learn something new.

The last documentary I saw in the theatre was “Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins,” about a brash, liberal Texan who told it like it was through her writing as a print journalist. I had never heard of her before, but now I want to read her books. Writing was her gift, and people quickly took notice of the sharp wit in your words. I love writing that sticks, and she knew how to make it stick.

I recently binged the three-part Netflix limited series on Bill Gates, “Inside Bill’s Brain.”

There are at least four ideas I’m attracted to learn more about in this series and want to drill down on, distil, and write more about, especially on focus. Gates is a master at focusing his time and attention on what matters most to him, he gets an enormous amount done in the same 24 hour day period we all have.

Books

Books are the primary source for me to generate ideas.

I read a book with a pen in my hand.

I’m not the fastest reader because I don’t skim, so I only average about one book every two weeks. I read every sentence. I underline words, sentences, paragraphs that spark my curiosity.

After I have finished a book, and sometimes before, I write about what I have highlighted.

Reading is the most effective content generator for me, but it takes time. I have five books by the side of my bed I’m dying to dive into them.

If I could read all day and get paid well for it, that would be my profession.

Exercise and walking

My best ideas come when I’m in my regular exercise class each morning or walking my dogs.

There is a rhythmic, meditative quality to exercise that allows my mind to settle and process my thoughts. I often have light bulb moments when I’m in my class, which can be frustrating because I can’t exercise with a pen. It’s not allowed.

When something connects in my brain, or I think of a sentence I want to remember, I repeat it to myself a few times in my head during class.

Immediately after class, I jot down the point or the connection of ideas and turn them into a blog post.

A similar thing happens when I walk my dogs at night as long as I’m not looking at my phone. Walking and looking at my phone slows my thought process down. But walking with my phone in my pocket allows me to process what I’m mulling over. When something hits, I pull out my phone and write what I figured out into my notes app on my iPhone.

Friends

I have one friend who I only have to spend an hour with, and I come away with several blog posts ideas on dating and relationships.

Unlike me, she isn’t in a serious relationship right now and is meeting people on dating apps such as Tinder and Bumble, and she isn’t discerning.

I get a lot of great content from her. I get most of my ideas, with her blessing, from her relayed experiences when it comes to dating and love — what to do and what not to do.

Hearing her stories makes me feel grateful for my current partner.

She and I have a running joke between us, often she is in mid-sentence and either I will say, “I’m using that,” or she says, “You’ll get a ton of content for your next blog post on this one, wait until you hear about the date last night.”

Many of my close friends are writers, and we find inspiration in our discussions together, whether it’s about the latest influencer conference we attended or the newest book to hit the New York Time’s bestseller list.

Inspiration is everywhere — keep your eyes open, and you will see it.

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