To be a content creator, the most important thing is creating content but people often get stuck on getting ideas. Where do people even get ideas? In an ideal world, all ideas come to our minds naturally and that will be enough. Unfortunately, we can’t control when inspiration strikes. Since this way isn’t reliable, I turn to a few places so I can actively search for inspiration. That way, I’ll never have to worry about running out of ideas.
I’m the type to get inspiration out of nowhere. I can be walking down the street and think of an idea of what to write next or I would be in bed and suddenly an idea would pop into my head. As you can probably guess, this is my favourite way to get ideas. All I want to do is write when ideas come to me randomly. Being in that creative space makes me want to write like there’s no tomorrow.
One suggestion I do have is to write your ideas ASAP. I GUARANTEE that you will not remember 100% of your ideas if you are solely relying on your memory. I don’t recommend it either because who knows how many ideas you will forget in the process? What if they’re really great ideas? I always get mad at myself during times I thought I will definitely remember an idea only for it to disappear into thin air.
That’s why I have a little notebook. Ideas come and go easily so I write them down as soon as they come to me. Having your ideas in a notebook keeps you organized. It’s also helpful to have something to refer back to. I’m very much a ‘what do I feel like writing about today?’ type of gal. There are some days I don’t know what to write about so I go looking in my notebook to see what I feel like writing about that day. If you’re like me, I really recommend this way.
I understand carrying around a notebook isn’t convenient for everyone so you can use your notes section on your phone. Personally, I prefer using a notebook and pen but sometimes, that’s just not a viable option. Your phone is a safe bet because you’re more likely to always have your phone with you 24/7. The notes section also has a search bar, which makes it convenient to search for ideas. On the other hand, in a notebook, you have to keep flipping through the pages until you find it and that can be annoying.
I also get inspiration from conversations with people around me. They can ask me a question and it would give me an idea of what to write about. For example, one of my first blog posts was about my visit to Terre Bleu Lavender Farm. My friends/family asked me what it was like because they might want to go too. That seemingly simple question got me thinking about writing a public detailed review.
I always research a place before visiting and I tend to browse the Internet for thorough reviews. These reviews influence my decision on whether or not a place is worth going so it does carry some weight. Since I have relied on other people’s reviews in the past, I want to contribute as well. I hope by looking at my reviews, others can have more information about a specific place before deciding whether or not a place is worth going to.
As much as I love those two methods, I also need like foul proof methods on hand because those aren’t the most reliable. Hence, I turn to online platforms such as Quora and YouTube because there is a plethora of content there. Just with these two websites alone, I can write probably years worth of content.
YouTube is one of my favourite and most visited social media platforms. I watch videos on YouTube daily. The videos I watch vary from music videos to documentaries to celebrity interviews to the news. By watching a variety of videos, the algorithm recommends me quite a few options. I know what’s up to date on the news but also on topics I like. In turn, these videos give me the inspiration to write. For example, a video I watched a few months ago was about how to clean your groceries after you get home during COVID and it got me thinking about how a menial task such as grocery shopping has changed during the pandemic. I then got inspired to write about the steps on how to grocery shop at this time.
Quora is another platform I like to spend time browsing around. I look around the website for questions people want answers to and go from there. Even comments can be inspirational. By giving me an idea of what people want to know, I know what to write about. I have to be honest though. Out of all the ways, I use this the least. It’s not because it’s ineffective but because the others just work so well! I have used this method in the past and thought I should include it in this post in case you need more options.
Where do you turn to for inspiration?
Xoxo,
Nicole