Often times when we think about references, we think about getting someone to  say nice things about us.  That way we can get the next great job that we’re looking at getting.  But that’s not the type of references that I’m talking about.  In this case the type of references being refereed to are those sources that you can use to write papers, blog or other such paper.

Articles

Articles are one way that you can get ideas or inspiration for writing.  It’s not that you don’t have knowledge, it’s just that sometimes, you can come up with something to write about that will be worth reading let alone writing.  That’s where resources and references come in.  Going to a place where you can find topics of interest to you as well as to others.

This is one of the wonderful things about Twitter.  If you use Twitter for something other than where you’re going for dinner, you’ll be able to find links to just about anything.  This means that you’re going to need to follow people that will give you that type of information.  Bloggers, newspapers, social media specialists.

Blogging!

Blogging sites are another good place to get ideas from.  Why?  The flow of information is never ending.  If you put a topic in, you’ll get hundreds of responses. From that you’ll be able to glean ideas as to what to write about.  Keep in mind too that you may also get a compilation of ideas that are out there for one article.  My daughters had to do a ‘health’ report for the health class.  They both picked the topic of bullying.  But one decided to integrate mental health with bullying and the other decided to focus on the burlier and why they did it and how to get them help.  They both came at the root topic of bullying, but complied other information and angles for their projects.

Take A Walk!

That’s right I’m telling you to go take a walk! There are a number of reasons for this, and while you may know them,  you  may not have considered them as of late.  When you go for a walk it clears your mind, but it can also give you ideas as to what to write about.  Sitting by my window I see much that can be written about.  The sirens that wiz by, the trees, the pollution that they pain in the sky and so much more. Which is why walking may help you out.  Consider too, that walking alone may give you ideas about exercise, the heat and it’s ramifications and any number of other ideas.  All because you went for a walk.

Movies And Documentary’s

Movies and documentary’s can also give you ideas.  If you’re a visual person, you may think and get ideas best by mental stimulants.  Movies and documentaries may open up a plethora of ideas for you to pull from and not just for today.

Friends

Sometimes you just need a break and talk to your friend.  When we get into conversations something almost always comes up that gives us an idea.  It usually takes form of an opinion.  For example: Mary decides that she’s going to take a trip to the Bahama’s for her vacation this year.  I’m sure you’d have an opinion on her doing that.  Maybe it’s about the Bahama’s, how safe it’d be for her to go their or the cost that would be involved, maybe all of the above.  The point being you now have lots of ideas about what to write about!  Which was the point of visiting with your friend.

The List!

The list is something that you always need to have.  When you’re walking, going to a movie, going to blogs and reading articles,  you need to have a pen and paper with you.  Write down all of the ideas that come to you, EVEN if you think that they’re no good.  You  never know that bad idea today may be a good one for public events or a world wide disaster down the road.

Having a pen and paper with you (or for you minimalist a phone with a notepad), has to become secondary.  That way whenever you get an idea you don’t lose it, you have somewhere to put it without having to worry about losing it.  This is especially true if you are on the cloud in anyway.  Be it saving documents, backing them up or any social media.  Most of them now have a place where you can put your personal thoughts.

Conclusion

There are a lot of different things that you can do to spin ideas off.  There are also tons of things that you can do to have ideas come to mind and move you from being stuck (also known as writers block). Most all of these ideas all had one thing in common: relaxation.  Often times writers block occurs because you’re to stressed and pressured to get that ‘perfect’ idea, when the reality is most ideas aren’t perfect, but we unpack them and they develop into something wonderful!