This Is Where To Find Great Writing Ideas You Forgot Existed
You’ve already written hundreds of ideas, and you just need to find them!
Inspiration is imperative in creating a coherent and engaging written piece. Sometimes I find myself flooded with so many ideas that I can’t decide where to begin. However, there are also times when my well runs dry. That stopped being a problem once I realized that I already had a hundred good ideas right at my fingertips!
Old Email Accounts
Sign in to your old Yahoo and Hotmail accounts. It’s time to go through your folders! The first place you need to check is your sent folder. My Yahoo email scrolled back to 2001. In the folder, I found emails that;
- expressed my feelings about 911 right after it happened
- discussed the first short story I submitted to a publisher
- described how I felt about my parents separating and finding new partners
- short stories, poems, and ideas I sent to friends and family
That is just a small taste of the treasure trove of ideas I found in my inbox! I wrote this story after reading an email I sent my sister five years ago!
Another great side-effect of reading your old emails is that you’ll understand how you thought and felt years ago. Introspective pieces about how your thinking has progressed as you’ve grown will almost write themselves.
Once you’ve skimmed your sent folder, look through your other folders. Don’t forget to look in drafts. You can even search in spam if you are feeling adventurous, but unless you are writing an expose on penis enlargers, you may not find anything worth your while.
*Bonus Tip: Email yourself! When you have an idea, take out your phone immediately and email them to yourself! Include “Story Ideas” in your subject line so you can find next time you’re searching for inspiration.
Facebook Timeline
Good old Facebook. It has encouraged us to air our dirty laundry since 2004. Yes, it’s embarrassing to see the things you shared ten years ago, but you can use it to your advantage!
Click on your timeline and scroll way back. You will be surprised at how many ideas flow when you dig deep into the beginning of your Facebook timeline.
I wrote this piece based on an old Facebook post from 2011.
Old Journals
Look for diaries that you kept before you heard the word blog — the journals in which you scribbled your innermost private thoughts. I wrote this piece based on an online journal post from 2002.
Old Stories
Look through old notebooks, folders, and on writing sites for stories that you’ve already written. Another great place to look is in old writing groups. With some polish, these stories could be ready to publish in no time. I wrote this story from an old post on PostPoems.com, and it was a lot of fun to revisit it.
You have ideas all the time!
When you’re writing, and a new idea won’t come to you, just try looking back a bit for an old one. You just might find a great idea to use in your next successful article!
A Note from the Author
Other Places to Look Online
- Tumblr: See if any of your old images and comments spark an idea.
- YouTube: Look up your old comments on political posts, gaming, pop culture.
- Twitter: Go as far back as you can. Look at your mentions.
- Dating Sites: Believe it or not, there could be good stuff hiding in your sent folder! I used both my Facebook and OKCupid accounts to write the story below.
Think of any other places you frequented in the past 5/10 years and look around!
