Writers are asked this question frequently. It’s one that most try to avoid. To me it always feels like someone is asking for the map to buried treasure. Perhaps they think if I tell them where I get my ideas, they can go there and become writers too. Sorry, pal. It doesn’t work that way.
But it is a fair question. Penny recently forwarded me this answer from author Marcus Zusak (See the Biography section on the linked page). In response to the question, he replied:
I used to lie about this, but now I actually know: I started writing when I was sixteen. I’m thirty now. I get my ideas from fourteen years of thinking about it.
He’s spot on – ideas come from thinking about things. But he glossed over the key point – you have to feed your brain, give it things to think about. That means reading, watching, and participating. Zusak had fourteen years to think about writing and during that time, he did more than just think.
If you’re writing for business, you need to keep engaged in the aspects of the business you’re writing about, the industry it’s in, its customers, and the larger economy in which it all takes place. That will give you things to think about. It might seem vague, but it’s really just two steps:
- Read and live an active life.
- Think about what you’ve read and done.
After which, you have something to write about.
Getting ideas doesn’t make you a writer. That step is usually the one that most wannabes never get around to. But it’s OK to ask “where do ideas come from?” Talking about the process of taking ideas and shaping them can be useful. One of the things that helps fiction writers is participating in a writers’ group or workshop where you can get criticism, learn how to give criticism, and discuss the process of writing. Business writers and bloggers don’t have access to these groups, but once again, the internet comes to the rescue. There are any number of resources that are aimed at helping the business writer, sites like Copyblogger and a myriad others. Take advantage of these sites and form your own virtual writers group by regularly reading and commenting on other blogs.
Where do I get my ideas? Reading a lot. Thinking about it. Writing. And writing brings up more questions, the questions lead to research, which ends up with more thinking. Wash, rinse, repeat.
So, where do you get your ideas? Leave me a comment or map to that buried treasure!
