Friday, March 25, 2011

A Great Idea


"An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea."
~ Gautama Siddharta

If you're a long-time follower, you know I am a fan of Suzanne Pitner's writing articles. She is full of great tips, strategies, idea starters, and information. I read this article recently and loved it, and I can't help but share one of the awesome tips she suggested.



Keep a File of Writing Prompts from News Reports

This idea has been mentioned many times, and the reason is because it works. Read the newspaper with an eye for unusual or interesting articles. In a recent week, these articles appeared:
  1. A respected man robbed three banks.
  2. Sea turtle eggs were moved to safer shores.
  3. A Druid celebration occurred at Stonehenge.
  4. Thrill seeking teenagers jumped off moving cars on a bridge into a river.
These articles could all be turned into stories. Why would a respected community member turn to bank robbery? What if something unusual happened at Stonehenge this year? How would a teenage driver deal with his buddy slipping and falling into oncoming traffic?

Is that a fantastic idea or what? I recommend you hop over and read the full article. Better yet, click the writing articles link above and bookmark away. She is a treasure trove of great info!

Have a wonderful weekend!

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love this idea. I heard radio-news story where I man was hit head-on by a train, and walked away. I have the entire 'after-the-event' story in my mind. Thanks for the links.

Patti said...

That's a great idea. My idea for my next book comes from a news story.

Lenny Lee said...

hi miss shannon! wow that a cool idea for sure. i didnt ever think on writing news stuff down for doing a story. now im gonna be looking for some cool stuff.
...hugs from lenny

Carolyn V said...

That is a great idea!!! Thanks for posting it Sharron! Have a great weekend. =D

Old Kitty said...

I do like practicing to writing prompts - so thank you for these wonderful and unusual headlines and the link too!!!

I'm having fun already - the Druid one caught my attention! Take care
x

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

Oh, what a cool idea! And now I want to read that news article about Stonehenge. :)

I'm glad you mentioned Pitner's articles - I hadn't seen them...hopping over now. :)

Erica Mitchell said...

This is in fact, just as your title suggest, a great idea. I just wrote it down for future reference if the imagination well is to ever run dry, there is a ton of inspiration in the world, but this is just a really cool idea. I can already plot a few of those!

Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend!

Tere Kirkland said...

Neat! I have a notebook full of little ideas like this, and I do get inspired by the news sometimes.

Great post, and cool quote! Have a good weekend, Shannon!

Robyn Campbell said...

A super fantastic idea. Bookmarking away, bff. Love you and hope you have a wonderful weekend. (I'm still in the bed.)

CherylAnne Ham said...

I love this idea and am off to read the full article. Thanks for sharing this.

Heather said...

An interesting idea, I love it! I'm getting inspired already.

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

Thanks for posting the idea on keeping a file of clippings ands stuff to jog the memory for ideas.

Jennie Englund said...

Inspiring! Great ideas! Love love love love love!

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

Man, ideas are EVERYWHERE. All we have to do is look with an open mind! Great writing prompts, Shannon!

Jemi Fraser said...

Cool idea - I keep an idea file but have never thought of doing it like this - thanks :)

Meredith said...

Such a good idea! This is why I keep a journal with me at all times--there are so many little inspirations out there!

Stina said...

I started doing this recently after I was running up and down the stairs (it was too cold to run outside and I don't have a treadmill). On the table was the newspaper from the day before with the huge headlines staring at me. By the time I had finished working out, I had an idea for part of the plot and characterization for a romantic supsense. :D

Myne said...

I'll surely be putting this idea into practice. Great quote up there too.

Lydia Kang said...

Never thought of this--great idea!

Lisa Gail Green said...

Great article!! Thanks for the tip!

Lisa Gail Green said...

Great article!! Thanks for the tip!

Theresa Milstein said...

I love the quote. Writers are like detectives. We dig deeper to find the motivation. We seek stories in the details.

Happy birthday, Shannon! xo

Julie Hedlund said...

Great idea and great article! Thanks for sharing.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Shannon .. great thoughts - I was doing that for my Mum .. but cutting snippets out of things I'd read - then I could chat to her in hospital about them .. and hence positive letters hatched.

Some little birdie tells me there's a birthday around now .. hope you're having a great weekend and being treated royally as an elder would be??!!! Cheers - happy days .. Hilary

Anonymous said...

I used to clip ideas from the newspaper, but we haven't bought one in quite awhile. Earlier this morning I was thinking of picking one up tomorrow for the coupons. Now I know what else I'll be looking for.
: )

Susan Fields said...

Great tip! I hardly ever read the news, even though I know I should for story ideas if nothing else. That stonehenge one sounds very intriguing!

Rebecca Gomez said...

That is a great idea. Keeping (and maintaining) a file might be way too organized for me. But a little notebook should work.

Vicki Rocho said...

Makes sense. News articles often inspire blog posts, so why not a story or book?

Shooting Stars Mag said...

Wow, what a simple thought...but SO true. This really would give you amazing story ideas. I know I'd personally read a story that deal with number 4 somehow.

-Lauren

Charmaine Clancy said...

great idea and great prompts. I use newspaper headlines in the classroom for creative writing. I like the robbery one - it reminds me of a talk I heard on 'The Creative Penn' about a man that wrote his 'stick-up' note on the back of deposit slip - complete with his name and address.

sarsen56 said...

This may help, the real Stonehenge, no druids thank heavens.
http://www.solvingstonehenge.co.uk/

Tales of Whimsy said...

Awesome quote!

Liz @ Cleverly Inked said...

I can see 4 would be a good YA book. We did crazy stuff like that here.

Ishta Mercurio said...

I love this idea! And I sort of do this... I tear out articles that pique my interest and scribble notes/idea fragments in the margins. But then they sit around on my desk in a pile. I should really file them. *rolls eyes at self*

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...