Writers find ideas by exploring topics that interest them

Most people are passionate about something. That passion often leads them to learn a lot about that particular subject, and gives them a desire to pass on their knowledge or understanding to others. This is one of the most common ways people find their ideas. Out of their lives, and values, they think of something they

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Writers find idea by theft

Yes, you are allowed to steal ideas. That’s because you can’t copyright an idea. And what I would do with an idea might be very different from what you would do with it. Now, there are some common sense boundaries. If I tell you I’m going to query a specific editor about an article on

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Writers find ideas by observation

Have you ever found yourself in a position where you could overhear things that were supposedly private? You might have been standing in a check-out line while a mother and her young son had a long, heated argument about buying a certain kind of candy. The mother may have been embarrassed, but so were you.

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Getting organized to write: create files

The moment you have several ideas down on pieces of paper, you need some files. Not a lot of them. You might start with only five or six. You can easily buy a small metal holder with half a dozen or so coloured folders in it. Mark the blue folder Nonfiction Ideas, the red one

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