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The first piece of writing, that play, novel, short story, and so on may have come easy for you. It's the inspiration that drove you to begin writing - it had all the spark, the fire. But what happens when you've finished the first project and have no ideas for the second? You know you want to keep writing, but where do you find ideas?

Ideas are everywhere and anywhere. They are everything and anything. You just have to know where to look and to know what you're looking for. One of the best skills you can cultivate as a writer is a habit of observation. Observation is a concrete method for finding ideas.

You can break down your observation in categories: The world at large, the world nearby, the world that directly affects you. If you want to break it down further you can divide these three categories into People, Places and things. (ie: People at large, People nearby, People who directly affect you and so on)

First, get a notebook that you can take with you whever you go - it must fit in your purse, your knapsack, your briefcase. Take it everywhere and get into the habit of writing down your idea in the moment. Never wait till you get home.

It's important to corral all your ideas in one place. This way you're not writing that next great idea on a napkin, a receipt, something loose that is easily lost. Divide your notebook into the three above categories. That way you're not just throwing notes in willy-nilly, there's some organization. The worst is when you come up with an great idea and then can't find where you've written it down.

Now that you have your categories, your job is to observe. In this technology age, it's very easy to observe the world at large. Spend an hour (or half an hour, or fifteen minutes) a day searching newspapers online. Write down headlines that spark your interest. Stories of the weird. What's happening in the world that turns your stomach, that ignites a passion. Write it down.

It's important to note that at this point in the process you don't have to be precious. Write so you can read and understand later, but only get the genesis of the idea down. Write point form. Write images. Write single words. The point is to get it down, make it pretty later.

The World nearby involves your community. What's happening in the community. Your school. Your work. What do you see? What do you hear? Write it down.

A great observation exercise is to walk down a street you're on all the time. Perhaps it's the way you walk to school, or a place you go regularly for lunch. Try to observe this street as if you've never walked it before. Look around through writers eyes. Look up if you normally look down. Look at the buildings. The people. Are there people you see on this street every day? How do the people generally look - stressed? Happy? Write it down. What do you notice that you've never noticed before.

The World that directly affects you is self-explanatory. What's going on in your life? Your relationships, or the relationships of those close to you? What's gone on in your past? How are you affected by life? Write it down. There is a very old and well worn saying that writers should write what they know. It's certainly a good starting point for finding ideas.

You will find that if you start this habit of observation and keep it up that your next project will evolve naturally. There is a natural progression from observing the world as a writer, writing down ideas to full blown writing. Try it and see what happens for you...

Learn more about this author, Lindsay Price.
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