Five ways to find your next writing project

Have you started the year full of creative momentum, or has your writing mojo failed to get going? Are you keen to get on with a new writing project but not sure where to start? Or looking for something to inspire you, and kickstart a new idea? Is that blank page in front of you giving you the fear instead of enticing you to fill it with words? We can help. Here are some ways to help you get off to a flying start.

• Create a new document and keep it open on your desktop.

Use it to jot down words, thoughts, phrases and ideas as they occur to you. Don’t worry if they don’t feel finished – they aren’t meant to. These scraps often provide the seed of a new piece of work, but for now just keep adding to it when something comes to mind. Don’t close the document, and keep saving what you’ve written. At the end of a designated period of time – perhaps a week, or even better, a month, read it through. Is there an unifying theme to what you’ve written? Are there passages that stand out? Ideas you want to work up?

• Commit to free-writing, every day, for a set period of time

Aim for ten or fifteen minutes every day. Write whatever comes to mind – it might be personal, or fiction – in whatever style comes to you most easily. Don’t write it to be read, but to get your thoughts on the page. If you’re stalling to find something to write to yourself about, ask yourself these questions: ‘What sort of writer do I want to be?’; ‘What have I got to say?’; ‘What are the stories I want to tell?’ and ‘What is it about writing that makes me happy?’

• Make a list of things where you have valuable in-depth knowledge.

Don’t limit it to things that you have done as paid employment – our worth as writers doesn’t just come from our jobs – but that stem from life experience. Then, look at how these might translate into writing – think creatively! For instance, ‘Helping someone when they’ve faced difficult life circumstances’ would give you useful insight into writing a character-based story; ‘piloting a hang-glider’ might offer you insights into what it’s like to be able to fly.

• Start from scratch in a new form or genre.

This is particularly useful if you’re feeling stale about the genre or style that you usually write in. As writers, we should always be open to learning new things – and all the best creatives know the value of going back to basics and refreshing your foundation skills. Try your hand at something new – poetry, flash fiction, script writing – and you’re likely to find that learning a new skill provokes loads of new ideas and enthusiasm!

• Schedule a new experience.

Pick something that will interest you but has nothing to do with writing. Fresh ideas and inspiration can often come from a change of scenery, following an enthusiasm or doing something that takes us out of our daily routine and into a new experience. It’s up to you how far you want to go out of your comfort zone but even a minor change in lifestyle will enable fresh ideas that will feed into your creative life. Just remember to take a notebook so you can make notes of any ideas that spring to mind – after all, you are a writer!

Remember too that if you’re ever stuck for a new idea, Writers Online are here to help you with fresh ideas and inspiration, from regular writing prompts to courses and webinars! And if you’re looking for prompts and ideas, why not try our Creative Bootcamp pdf special? Happy writing, and good luck!

Read more here about how to get your writing on track for 2022!