Robbing the Idea Bank
67I have to confess to a complete paucity of ideas. Seriously, I am amazed
at the amount of things people find to write about, including many prolific
hubbers here. Some of you even write multiple hubs a day, and I would doff my
hat to you if I wore one! As it is, I will only hang my head low and sheepishly
admit that I need help. Quite a brave admission from someone in the writing
profession, wouldn't you say?
For a greater part of my working life I was a journalist and that meant
that more often than not I was commissioned to write something from an editor
who seemed to have all the ideas. Suited me. I didn’t have to think. I just
went ahead and fleshed the sometimes vague ideas into a reasonably coherent
article, slapped it on her desk well in time, and went back to dozing in my
corner seat.
I’m still dozing more or less, but this time in front of my computer, and
I hate to admit I’m kind of missing that old editor for all that she was quite
the most annoying character you ever met! One time she made do a story on Valentine’s
Day that so horrified the publisher with its laboured soppiness that he
predicted I’d end up in a rocking chair surrounded by cats! He wasn’t far
wrong.
I don’t mean to digress but I
suppose it sometimes matters who is handing out the ideas. The aforementioned
editor wasn’t the brightest or most imaginative spark in the magazine world but
at least she had some ideas. The only ideas that occurred to me revolved around
food, and really, how often can you wax eloquent about food in a magazine with
rather more lofty goals?
Now that I choose to work for myself things are very difficult indeed. I
say breezy things like “I only work when I choose to”, which is only another
way of saying I don’t have an idea worth a…well...you know what I mean. So how
did I get pushed into registering on HubPages in the first place? Well, I have
some friends who seem to think bullying me into writing is a good pastime, and
(you know I’m pretty much a wimp, right?) I stupidly gave in to their devious
coercion.
Ok, so in the first flush of enthusiasm I dashed off some hubs, not one
of which was about anything earth shattering of course. And soon enough my luck
ran out, and with it, my ideas. Desultorily poking around in areas of HubPages
I had never bothered to investigate earlier, I came upon something called the
Idea Bank and perked up considerably. Here was help! All I had to do was rob
the bank a bit and voila…I’d be able to churn out hubs with the regularity of
an overworked tickertape machine!
You think? The Idea Bank had ideas indeed: Satellite Radio Receivers,
Anti Static Products, Choose a Wood Table, How to Paint a Floor, Adding Orange
Shoes into Your Wardrobe, and other such eclectic subjects. Impressed though I
was at the variety of topics that Hub Pages had painstakingly listed for
uninspired hubbers like me, I didn’t have a clue how to go about writing about
any of those doubtless important subjects.
I wouldn’t know where to begin answering questions such as ‘What is the nicest black men’s watch?’ or ‘Choosing white flat sandals and where to find them’ or ‘Black and pink clothing and accessories’ or ‘Types of hoop earrings’. The only thing I felt inspired to do was run my editor’s pen over some of the more glaring typos! ‘How to Effectively Loose Pounds’ particularly grated, not least because I’ve never figured out how to lose them, leave alone have them flapping around loosely around my unfortunate middle.
So I’m back to being idea-less. “You need someone to make a list of
things you can write about,” helpfully suggested a friend who is a star on HubPages and certainly never runs out of bright ideas. Note, she didn’t offer to
be that person! Till I find another Idea Bank to rob or someone willing to
come up with ideas for me I may as well attend to more mundane chores. Watch
this space. I could soon be writing an inspired piece on ‘Home Plumbing Tips’!
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Comments
I think, Adding Orange Shoes into your Wardrobe, would be a good topic to write on. Imagine the plight of so many aspring Imelda Marcos without you to guide them :P
Quite, quite understand your plight...I dont even try writing hubs...toooooooo lazy.....just comments for those who are brave enough to write. And I can be quite 'lose' with the comments.;)
Another good one FP. Even if you don't write often..you always make us ponder.
I hear you, Feline Prophet, I admire those who write hubs daily, maybe one of these daaaays, I will get a burst of inspiration and write and write. I seem to do better when I am pressured to do things.
How about a hub on Feline Prophet's words of wisdom with your own twist? :)
LOL!! Dear lady, when short of ideas start writing about weight loss, health, herbs and geeky things like software and GPS and other stuff. It works
hehehe...come on FP...u never opened ur bank account with me...lolllllllll
I forgot to mention...any bright ideas will be welcome! :P
And VioletSun...if I had words of wisdom to share would I be in this state? :D
Funny, FP! And you WROTE a mighty entertaining hub about not being inspired to write! Well done!
Thanks Elena...it's a funny situation to be in! :P
I share your dilemma, and I admire your ability to say a lot about a little. It always takes me forever to find more than a few words to say about even the biggest subject!
Well, that happens with me all the time... atleast you are writing :-D
Great one again FP! You cetainly have the talent to say a lot in a little. Guess that's why you are a great editor!! Must send my book to you for editing .. heehee
It all depends on the purpose behind the writing and people write for so many personal reasons, ranging from passionate pleas on issues, stress release, or just sharing their thoughts. Sometimes a few short, wise, prophetic words make a big impact!! So I say, let ideas surface from within .. we are only an instrument anyway!!
Thanks for reading my 'lot about a little' Amanda! That's something I also learned to do as a journalist! :P
FP!...All said and done, you have what it takes, Talent with a big 'T'!
The ability to write about anything and everything....or even nothing, with so much flair and panache that you leave us wanting more!
You don't need a pushy editor ....or friends', to give you ideas for hubs!....you can write about anything you put your mind...or rather pen to!
So, keep it coming!:-)
Beware!These days banks are failing-- even ideas banks.
Ideas? Let me scratch my head, not that there's much grey matter inside the thick skull.
How about writing on stuff which is of interest to common people like me? It might not be quite up to the taste of the high brow variety. Tell us grippingly interesting stories, put into them some pretty women, good wine, even some song and dance or old fashioned fighting. For good measure you could twist in a mystery or throw in some thrills. The stories could be about anything: Mountain streams, lush verdant valleys, tough peaks to climb, car races or even bull fights. Add large doses of raw courage, humour, romance and good luck ... Let the good guy come out with flying colours at the end and claim the lovely damsel ...
See, so many ideas... Anything for you FP, you've just got to ask!! :)
Haha...you don't ask for much do you Jaspal? :P
Hi Feline Prophet!
It is a good idea to swap ideas, or exchange ideas, or even discuss ideas. Sometimes you run out of ideas and your mind wanders, wondering what to do next.
I would suggest that each member picks a topic that he/she knows nothing about, creates a header and put it up on the board. Somebody else who knows, and knows not that he/she knows, is bound to take appropriate action.
Cool? :) :) :)
Very cool! But what if no one puts up a topic I know or know not that I know anything about? :P
Awesome Hub. Love the story about your journalism job and the editor. I know what you mean!
For me, it's not so much that I don't have ideas, it's more like I have trouble developing ideas into pieces of writing, mostly because the ideas only interest me to a certain degree. I keep a file of this stuff, and lately I'm starting to turn some of the ideas into Hub requests. Hey, if I can't use them, maybe someone else can. So, with all that said, here's how I get ideas.
I listen to public radio almost all day while I work. I keep pen and notebook handy, and scribble down things I hear that interest me. A few days later I'll review the entries, and whatever continues to interest me I'll start doing some research on. I'll know in about a half-hour whether I care enough about the subject to actually create a piece from it. Out of ten scribbled entries, I might find only one that ever goes anywhere.
I engage with my friends and family members who also have a vested interest in writing. A good example of what can come out of this exchange is the fine-tuning Hub you so kindly commented on. Trish1048 asked for some feedback on her advice draft the other day, and later she said to me, "Hey, I like that "So what?" approach. Why don't you write a Hub about it?" I loved the idea, and I wound up loving the work that went into the Hub. The reason? I'm passionate about helping people become better writers, like I'm passionate about food and its related topics (science, cooking, farming, gardening).
As for the idea bank, in itself it's a great idea, but I find most of the suggestions to be, well, uninteresting, or unstimulating, and I'm not often tempted to rob it, although that silver accessories idea is kind of appealing (because I love silver). In other words, I agree with you completely!
So I have a question for you...What are you passionate about? If you'd like to email me with your answer, I'll be happy to suggest some ideas, and maybe one or two of them might seem worthwhile to you. I think you are a very talented writer, and I'd love to see plenty more Hubs from you.
Oh, did I say thumbs up on this one? :)
Thank you Sally! I am so touched at your offer to suggest ideas...I will certainly be emailing you soon. I suppose, like every other field, a little networking helps! I should try to pick the brains of friends and family in the hope that they have some idea of what would interest me! Perhaps I better start watching television too! Thanks again for your detailed comments! :)
Feline Prophet ...I guess as you are saying here ...you are a writer ...now what better thing to write about for people that really do not know anything about writing.
Come on FP ...give us some tips ...you must know way more than we do ...you are the expert. We are just "want to bes" ...You even did a good job of writing about the fact that you did not know what to write about ...
:-)))) ...As always I am smiling. Good job ...my best to your success!
Interesting article but you certianly knew how to churn this one out and it was wonderful!
If you honestly need ideas write about something funny that happened to you??? 20 ways to inspire someone , when there isn't any inspiration at all? Do we really shake our groove thing? What is a groove thing? Just right silly willy you can do it. Have the people around you inspire you...:) Enjoyed this one too!!!:)
If you e-mail me I bet I can also give you some extra topics. :)
Thanks for stopping by gjcody and for your kind words...and why won't you believe me when I say I don't know what to write about! :P But I'm not saying any more about that...in case you offer to give me ideas...
...as has AEvans! Hehe, thanks for reading, AEvans. Hope you aren't serious about getting me to write more! :P
Hey hubba bubba! Say why did you not slum out the hub i told you about?
Feline Prophet ...how about college ...ask my son Ron ...he will tell you that you spent a lot of time in college ..and how about Pitt (University of Pittsburgh) ..for starters ..or how about the Steelers ....I think that is a good subject. All people everywhere love the Steelers! Or if they don't ...they should start. They have not heard the last of them!! ...not don't cry ...it will be okay :-)))
Good writing ..my best to your success!
Hi gjcody...you'll have to depend on your son for more about Pitt...I'm sitting halfway across the world from it! :P Unless you mean Brad Pitt? :P
Thanks for reading! :)
Feline, It's simple--it's in you and all around you. Just look at your family and friends---they are the stories because LIFE is a great story.
You're right GN, life is a great story indeed...I just need to pay more attention! Thanks for stopping by! :)
neelisfunny says:
9 months ago
and what depths do you propose to plumb???/