On the Basics: Ways for writers to find things to write about

Ruth E. Thaler-Carter, Owner

An American Editor

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It’s a question that annoys some writers: “Where do your story ideas come from?” It’s even been the theme of enough writers’ columns to be a cliché! But it comes up often, from readers and aspiring writers, colleagues, family members, and more. It’s especially challenging for freelancers. In-house writers and journalists can usually expect to be told what to write about and often have regular beats they’re expected to cover, which makes it easier to develop contacts, sources and ideas. They still can get burned out in covering the same topic over long periods of time, but at least someone else (and that regular salary) is providing the path and push to generate their stories. When you’re on your own as a writer, it can be a lot more challenging to come up new ideas — and new outlets to pitch them to.

There’s also the frustrating current trend of treating freelancers badly by websites that pay peanuts, and the growing threat of artificial intelligence being used to create articles and other writing works.

I’m seeing colleagues recommend artificial intelligence apps or bots as ways to get started on writing when you’re feeling burned out or less than creative, but I would use those only as a last resort. These ideas for ways to expand your stash of story ideas and subjects might be more effective and more “you.” 

• Stay in touch with grade school, high school and college classmates through friendships and alumni associations. Schoolmates — even ones from the years before and after you were there, not to mention staff and faculty — could be doing fascinating things that would be of interest to local, regional and national publications (including ones produced by alumni relations or development offices). You might be so well-acquainted and close that what they do isn’t new or surprising to you, but it could be fascinating to strangers, editors and readers — especially fellow alumni.

I recently proofread a collection of essays and was invited to write one of my own in a book project that came to me through a friend going back to junior high school days. (And that essay has nudged me to start compiling bits and pieces that might turn into a memoir of my own.)

I’ve also been able to include classmates as experts and sources in various writing projects over the years. Being involved in my high school alumni association has resulted in learning fascinating things about people who are great subjects for profiles in a wide variety of outlets.

• The same goes for neighbors: Don’t be intrusive, but don’t overlook the possibility that the family next door or the person in the apartment above you could be the basis for a story, either as the subject of a profile or a source when you need an expert.

Even something negative could be a writing prompt. One of my high school classmates wrote what became a widely popular and award-winning nonfiction book based on his response to a neighborhood tragedy that made him wonder about how becoming better acquainted could help neighbors head off such events.

• Colleagues in professional associations and people you meet through hobbies or contributing to a nonprofit organization are also potential stories. Most of us have hobbies or charitable interests that would be great stories to write.

Colleagues are also ideal sources of writing assignments. One of my long-time writing clients is a colleague whom I met through a professional association I joined many years ago. She initially had me write a couple of pieces for the association she worked for, and after she went out on her own with an editorial services business, has hired me to write for several of her association clients and even got me a speaking assignment at one of their conferences.

Even memberships can be profitable sources of writing income. I’ve been paid by professional organizations I belong to for everything from newsletter and magazine articles to conference coverage and more, often by simply offering to do such projects.

• People you interview for one story can lead you to new projects or stories. I was interviewing the owner of a small business for a magazine assignment when he asked if I was on the staff of the magazine. When I said no, I was a freelancer, he asked about my freelance services. I walked away from the interview with an ongoing new client for proofreading articles, blog posts and more that has lasted for several years to date — long after I stopped writing for that magazine! And he’s a great source for articles I write about small business, marketing and more.
• Keep your eyes and ears open. At the grocery store, church or synagogue, hairdresser/barber shop, family events, medical and veterinary appointments; on vacation, errand runs … wherever you go, there could be a story. There’s a market for almost every- and anything once you identify an interesting place, person or event to write about. It could be a local newspaper, magazine or broadcast outlet; a national association publication; a website … the possibilities are endless.

• Either at home or when out of town, places like museums can be a source of story ideas: Look for artwork and staff with connections to your hometown, your profession, the outlets you currently write for, etc.

• Repurpose your work. Few, if any, stories can’t be refashioned for publication beyond the original outlet. If you just can’t come up with a new idea, look through pieces you’ve already written and make an effort to find new outlets for them. Or even the same ones — you could do updates on issues or people you’ve written about.

When I was a staff reporter for a St. Louis newspaper years ago, I covered a conference featuring federal and regional resources for small businesses. I wrote about a dozen pieces for my paper about that event — and not only sold one of them to a national magazine, but was able to use it as the first in several other articles for that magazine.

• Ask for assignments! Contact editors who have used your work in the past and ask them what they need or want now. Clients might assume we’re too busy to write for them again; we might assume that clients don’t need our work or know we want to write for them again, but remember that to assume means to, um, “make an ass of you and me,” as my college boyfriend used to say.

• In a similar vein, offer yourself as a source and writer of a story. Local newspapers and hometown magazines, for instance, often publish stories about interesting homes, hobbies, travels, and careers or professions. If you think there’s something interesting about your life, look for their calls for ideas and offer yourself as both the subject and writer. As an example, I turned memories of my mom’s garden at our old house into an article for a gardening magazine; a very different kind of writing from my usual objective, non-personal journalistic articles.

I’ve also written and published several articles about a nonprofit organization’s program for high school kids that I’ve been involved with for many years — for a journalism review and a local newspaper. There are several angles to cover: the straightforward news value of the program itself, the heart-warming aspect of professionals volunteering their time to share their skills and experiences with students, even the sorry state of education and the amazing impact of a few days of work with professionals on the skills of students, etc. I didn’t get involved with the program to write about it, but once I was involved, it was clearly something worth writing about.

• Blow your own horn! If you receive an award, launch a new venture, speak at a conference, go on an interesting trip, volunteer with a cause that means something to you, etc., write about it and look for outlets that might use the result. You could craft it as a press release and starting point for someone else to jump on, or an essay or article to be used under your own byline.

• Get out there. Go to events, meetings, conferences, etc., either in person or online, and get to know the people around you. The person sitting next to you or visible in a corner of the Zoom photo gallery might be a great subject for a profile or as an expert in something you’re working on.

I once gained a client from sitting at the neighborhood pool and editing a manuscript (on paper, which tells you how long ago that might have been!) between dips — someone who noticed what I was doing and struck up a conversation. You just never know!

• Ask around. Whether you’re a columnist, a staff writer or a freelancer, ask your readers, friends, colleagues, sources, etc., what they want to see you write. Some of them might have perspectives or ideas you never thought of.

• Read more! When you expand your reading habit, you learn new things or see information gaps that you could fill. You also gain new sources to quote.

• Do your own thing. Self-publishing is a wonderful source of writing work. If you blog, you might be able to compile posts into a book or booklet that you could sell, even in something you don’t usually write about — poetry, short fiction (as a stepping stone to a longer work). There are websites that pay (usually not much, but something is often better than nothing, especially if it gets you out of a rut) for writing submissions. Do a little research about such options and see where you could become a writing star.

Such opportunities to expand your source of story ideas are yet another reason to have business cards in hand at all times, either in person or sendable as an e-mail attachment. (And yes, I had one in my bag at that pool.)

Your experience in story-hunting

What has been the most unusual and interesting way that you found a person or subject to write about? What are your go-to resources for new ideas, especially if you’ve been feeling burned out and uninspired?

Ruth E. Thaler-Carter (www.writerruth.com) is an award-winning provider of editorial and publishing services for publications, independent authors, publishers, associations, nonprofits and companies worldwide, and the editor-in-chief and owner of An American Editor. She created the annual Communication Central Be a Better Freelancer^® conference for colleagues (www.communication-central.com), now co-hosted with the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors (www.naiwe.com) and sponsored by An American Editor. She also owns A Flair for Writing (www.aflairforwriting.com), which helps independent authors produce and publish their books. She can be reached at Ruth@writerruth.com or Ruth.Thaler-Carter@AnAmericanEditor.com.