Finding a Topic to Write About: Write About What You Know

This is a guest post by Zujava author Paula Atwell (LakeErieArtists).

If you are new to writing online, or if you have recently run out of ideas about what to write, my suggestion to you is to start with the basics.  Write about what you know.

You may protest at this point by saying that you do not know about anything, but I challenge you to take another look around your environment, and then another again.

The premise behind the “write about what you know” concept is that it is easiest for all of us to write about topics that we are intimately familiar with.  These are topics that we do not need to research, nor is it hard for us to talk about them.  We already know a lot about them, from our perspective.

Let me give you an example:

I am a 49 year old mother of two girls, one who is in her first year of college, the other in her first year of high school.  So right away, you can see that I know about what it is like to have a daughter in college, how it was to search for a college for her, and why she chose the college she is in.  I also know what she has in her dorm room, how she is adjusting to college life, and roommate issues she has had, and what she has done about them.

There are lots of other moms out there just like me, who will be sending their own daughters and sons to college for the first time this coming year.  It is likely that some of my experiences with the college hunt will be helpful for them.  From the paragraph above, I can write at least 6 pages regarding my experience and advice regarding sending a child to college.  This is something that I know about from my own personal experience.

This is just the very tip of the iceberg when it comes to my own personal experiences.  I can write about products that I use and love, places I have seen, interactions with customers and friends, and trends in the teen fashion industry this year.  There are thousands of ideas that I can find to write about this way, and you can too.

If you break your typical day down into segments, I bet that you could find at least one thing to write a leaf about during each hour of your day.  What did you see when you drove your child to school this morning?  What cleanser did you use to wash your hands?  How do you want to remodel your bathroom this month?  What plans are you making for your friend’s birthday?  Where will you and your husband eat dinner tonight?  What recipe did you just see that you are going to try out?  What is the latest craft idea that you have just been introduced to?  What type of flowers are you planting in your garden this year?  What book are you going to read before you go to sleep tonight?

This is one of the best ways to find ideas to write about, that are easy for you to write, and inject your passion into your writing.