I’ve Just Discovered a Great New Way to Get Content Inspiration!
It’s been right in front of me the whole dang time!
This morning started as many of my writing mornings do — with a bad case of BPS (Blank Page Syndrome).
So, I did what I often do when BPS hits. I dove into my Medium feed.
Only this time, I did something different.
It came from a simple piece of advice.
As I perused the articles, I recalled a great piece of advice I got just yesterday from reading Derek Hughes’ article, “10 Easy Ways To Get A Fresh Writing Idea.”
One of his “10 easy ways” is to create a swipe file.
What’s a swipe file, you ask? Real simple: it’s a collection of writing ideas and examples for inspiration.
Well, guess what I did? I turned my daily Medium feed into my own personal swipe file!
So what does my “swipe file” look like today?
My writing falls into 4 “niches:”
- writing (particularly down-to-earth, no-hype help for new writers);
- life wisdom and inspiration;
- faith;
- cultural and political commentary.
So, as I scrolled through the feed, I clicked on the headlines from those “niches” that most “grabbed me.” Then I copied and pasted them into a Word document. (Yup, it’s that simple.)
Here’s what I came up with just from the writing niche:
From the “writing” niche:
- This is Why I Don’t Run Out of Content Ideas (And Probably Never Will), by Asad Educate
- How I Earned on Medium Without a Niche, by LunarLinquist
- Writing 2 Weeks Ago. I’m Mind-Blown With The Results, by Dr. Sean Pine
- Stop Worrying, Just Write, by Adrian CDTPPW
From the “life lessons” niche:
- Never Give Up On What Makes You Happy In Life, by Empathic Warrior
- If You Were Born With Ears, USE THEM!, by LunarLinquist
What I will — and won’t — use this for
What I use these titles for is very simple:
- to gain new tips (especially in the arena of writing);
- to interact with — and encourage — the writers;
- to build confidence that I, too, can write successfully in these niches;
- to gain inspiration for new posts.
What I will NOT use these posts for is to steal ideas or flat-out plagiarize. There’s a reason why writing is deemed a creative art. Creativity is original. It is not a copy!
Two qualifiers for my “swipe file”
As I considered which titles to “swipe,” I asked three questions (in ascending order of importance):
1. Does the writer generate good engagement and/or have a strong following? In other words, has (s)he proven his or her chops?
2. Is the writer positive? This is a big deal for me. I have no use for posts written out of anger, loneliness, etc. I love articles that instruct me on how to overcome these things — not on how to linger in them.
3. Can I relate to the content? This was most important in determining which titles (and posts) I would — and wouldn’t — hold onto. I don’t read about “life lessons” that don’t intersect with my values and priorities. As for “writing success” posts, I avoid stuff that’s either too formulaic or too advanced for my level.
A shout-out to one of my favorite Medium author-teachers.
Derek Hughes is, in my book, one of the greats on Medium. In less than a year, he’s built a great side business on the platform with his oh-so-practical tips.
Here are the sources he lists for generating a swipe file:
- A clever email subject line
- A well-written headline
- An intriguing sentence
- An interesting concept
- A thoughtful quote
- A powerful story
- A funny photo
I highly recommend you read the entire post. Here it is:
In the meantime…
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