What Should I Write About: 22 Writing Prompts to give you BIG IDEAS

what should i write about writing prompts

What should I ask myself when I’m wondering, “what should I write about?”

It is that fateful moment again.

You have gotten out of bed. Brushed your teeth and showered.

The aroma of coffee (or tea, I’m drinking more tea these days personally) fills your kitchen. You pour that beautiful hot steamy comforting liquid into your #1 Boss Mug that you unashamedly bought for yourself since you work from home.

You make your way to your favorite nook to write and you get into your brain stimulating position.

You stare at your computer screen and here it comes…”What should I write about?”

You sit for a moment staring at the screen. Then out the window. And think again, “What should I write about today?”

You wait and wait for inspiration to WOOSH through your door and slap your brain and the words to start flowing masterfully and…nothing.

The dreaded question we ask ourselves every morning doesn’t seem to help much when we are stuck in the vaccuum of our own head. But not you.

If you are reading this you are one of the smart ones that knows in order to get the words flowing ideas must come from elsewhere and you are here to find them.

I hope that this post helps you find that spark to get started today and many days from here on out 🙂

22 Things to help you think through the question, “What should I write about?”

What you can look forward to in this post:

Start with simple writing prompts: What are you passionate about?
What do you already know a lot about?
What relevant events are going on?
What do you have strong opinions about?
Is there a controversial topic that’s ‘hot’ right now?
What do you want readers to take away from your writing?
What do you want readers to do with your writing?
Do you want to write fiction?
Look at your other posts to see if you can go into details about something you previously covered broadly
If you already have a following, have you asked them what they want to hear about?
Have you used Quora?
Have you checked Twitter?
Have you written about a time you failed?
Take one of your popular posts and write about it from a different angle.
Check the comment sections of other bloggers and influencers in your niche.
Can you write about a mentor and how they helped your business succeed?
Have you written an income report to let your readers in on what’s really working and what’s not for your business?
Have you written about your readers’ problems and how to solve them?
Have you shared with your readers your writing routine and detailed the different aspects of how you work through a blog post from start to finish?
Have you written about a problem you are in the middle of discovering for yourself?
Have you shared about a negative comment you received and how you turned it into a good thing?
Have you shared with your readers a recent time you were personally refreshed by a blog post you recently read?

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What Should I Write About: 22 Writing Prompts to Give You BIG IDEAS

1. Start Simple. What are you passionate about?

When you are asking yourself the question, “What should I write about?” the easiest writing prompts to write about is to share about things that you are most passionate about.

Something that you are either very knowledgeable because of experience is easier to write about than something you have to spend hours and hours researching.

On the flip side, you can choose a topic or subject that you know little about but may find interesting to write about and do the research knowing that you are going to enjoy it compared to looking into a subject you care little about.

Another convenience of writing about what you are passionate about is that it’s easier to write about things you care a lot about and have enjoyed thinking about.

Try this little writing exercise:

Focus on: describing your passion.
Try to write this: I love [your passion]. I love doing this because [talk about what excites you and what you find rewarding about it]. Or I love thinking about [your passion] because [talk about why you like it.]
Example: I love writing because the English language and the art of storytelling is fascinating.
Now go deeper.
Google: [your passion]
Read an article or 3 that pop out to you.
As you are reading pause and write down facts, opinions, quotes, etc, that stick out to you as things that will be important to others as you read them.

If you do just this one exercise you will have enough information and inspiration to write a blog, journal, essay, project, etc.

Just this one writing exercise can take you far if you use it well when you are wondering, “What should I write about?”

2. What should I write about: What do you already know a lot about?

Going back to the first point, it’s easiest to start with something you already know a lot about. Choosing a topic that you already have a great knowledge base on is simpler to share than something you have to go out of your way to find out about. So, when you are having trouble knowing what to write about start with topics you already have a large base knowledge with.

It will take less time, to begin with. You won’t have to take long research breaks and you’ll enjoy writing about something you know very well and have put a good amount of personal time into.

When you’re thinking, “what should I write about?” try this simple exercise:

What do I know about already that I have spent hours learning how to do?

Make a list:

Exercise
Health
Fitness
Music
Art
Your profession
Supplements
Finance
Tech
Gluten free
writing
Research
At home recipes
How to get your kids to sleep
How to get your kids to eat strange foods
How to get more readers to your blog
How to potty train your pet
How to get stains out of shirts
Etc

You can see in this list that nothing is off limits when it comes to knowing a lot about something.

No matter who you are, you may know something more than someone else about a given subject

How to get my little brother to stop sneaking in my room
How to get my kids to get along on a car ride
What movies are family friendly
What are star constelation names
What are some ways I can save money grocery shopping
How can I save time grocery shopping
How do I relieve back pain

If you have done something and figured out how to do it its worth writing about because someone else is going to be looking to do that same thing eventually.

How do I level up faster in this game
How do I get my boss to treat me with respect
How do I make friends
How can I get my brother in law to think I’m cool
How do I learn to type faster
How do I sleep better
I hope the point 🙂

Any topic is up for grabs and you might just be surprised to find out what you know how to do very well that others are looking to read about 🙂

So the next time you are thinking, “what should I write about?” think about anything in your life that you know how to do or know a lot about. And write as if you were telling someone else how to do that thing.

3. What relevant events are going on?

Another great thing that can be very interesting to write about depending on the day would be an event that is relevant.

This could be carried out in three ways.

You can write about a worldwide event that everyone is thinking about and talking about.

For instance, the world pandemic.

2. The other path to carrying this out is to find a relevant event in your specific niche.

Maybe you want to write about fashion and it’s fashion week.

Maybe you want to write about marine life and it’s shark week.

Whatever your niche may be there are almost always big events going on that have to do with your main ideas or relevant ideas.

3. You could write about a specific event in your life that is relevant to your subject.

If you write about fashion you can write about what got you started in your love of fashion.

Or you could write about a controversial situation that happened to you and your fashion. Maybe your friend said your outfit was ugly behind your back and you found out about it?

If you are going to write about an event try to include these tips:

Make the title short and powerful

2 title examples:

Bad- This week is fashion week and we are so excited to see all the different colorful items that the designers will be showing us.

Good- 7 Outfits From Fashion Week That You Will 100% Regret Not Seeing

9 Outfits From Fashion Week that Will Shock Your Socks Off

A little over the top, but it tends to work and I think you can see the difference.

Give tasty info at the start but don’t give away everything

If you are going to write about the event give a few exciting details away at the start but don’t give away the entire cake in the first 3 paragraphs.

Give them something enjoyable to latch onto but save something delicious for the end.

Stick to the facts Jack

Make sure to give your reader really good information and facts not JUST opinions.

We can most certainly include our opinions about the event but make it in small fun doses that give extra personality to your writing.

Name drop

If you can drop important famous heavy hitting names into the writing, don’t be afraid to do so and if it happens to have fun information about the person feel free to add that as well. Personally I would say stick to the facts and don’t let it turn into gossip or slander.

You most certainly don’t have to use all these tips, but use the ones that you think are relevant to the type of event you are writing about.

If you are trying to figure out, “what should I write about?” a great angle to go from would be to consider what relevant events are occurring.

4. What do you have strong opinions about?

If you are still wondering, “what should I write about?” it is easy to find many words when you think of ideas you have strong opinions about.

Sometimes it is easy to punch out a quick article when you have a strong opinion compared to trying to write about things you have no opinion about or haven’t thought about at all.

The stronger your opinion the better and if it is about controversial topics, that’s okay!

It’s okay to have a strong opinion about something and share that opinion knowing that in the comment section you might have people agreeing and disagreeing with you.

The fact that it’s controversial might make your writing have more reaction.

Here’s an exercise to try:

Make a list of topics you would rant about with a close friend or at the dinner table

Religion
Politics
Healthcare
Equality and inequality
Things at work
Things at home
Dating habits and practices
Movies
TV Shows

I’m sure that even in this list you may have seen a topic that you feel like it would be easy to rant and rave about.

Go ahead and write about it in your journal. On your blog. Maybe you have a story you could share with your readers about any of these topics.

If you are looking for something to write about today consider writing about a topic that you have strong opinions about.

5. Is there a controversial topic that’s ‘hot’ right now?

If you are wondering, “what should I write about?” controversy is great for storytelling and marketing.

If you have an opinion about a topic that is a hot button for a lot of people, write about it.

If you have a blog, make a post. It’ll be a great way to get some good comments and conversations rolling.

If you have an essay due and you think that something controversial going on in the world today could be an interesting topic for you to dive into then write about it.

Don’t wait for inspiration to come smack you upside the head if you are thinking, “what should I write about?” go find that inspiration and write about it.

6. What do you want readers to take away from your writing?

When you’re thinking, “what should I write about?” a great and effective tool is to put yourself in your potential reader’s shoes for a moment.

How often do you ask yourself questions like these before writing:,

What do I want my readers to learn from this?
What do I want my audience to run away with?
Did I do a good job of delivering great information that helps them?
What will they say to others about what I wrote for them?

Writing is a great way to give back to people. If you have figured something out or had some great success with a particular field, a good place to share with people how they can better their lives is in your writing.

Did you write a personal note to someone to say thank you?

Will your professor appreciate what you put into your writing?

Will your blog readers really enjoy the way you put together your post?

When you are wondering, “what should I write about?” think about the end person who will be reading it?

7. What do you want readers to do with your writing?

When you are pondering, “what should I write about?” thinking about what you want your reader to do (if anything) will really help start you writing on the right track.

Figuring out what you want to say in your writing is paramount, but figuring out what you want your readers ‘to do’ is a key piece of the puzzle.

Figuring out what you want to say in your writing is paramount, but figuring out what you want your readers ‘to do’ with that information next is a key piece of the puzzle. Click to Tweet

Do you have a “call to action?”

Do you have a plan for what you want your readers ‘to do’ next after they are done reading or do you have links to other pertinent information you want them to find next?

If you are writing a book, do you want them to search for the next book?

If you are writing an essay, do you want to get a good grade?

If you are writing a blog, what do you want them to click on next?

Do you want them to tell people about it or share it on social media?

An easy way to do this successfully on a blog is to say something like:

If you’d like to learn more about “topic” you can see my detailed post here: “Post Link”

Example: If you want to learn more in-depth about becoming a blogger in 2019, you can check out this post right now: 11 Easy Steps To Becoming a Blogger in 2019.

If on another hand you want your friend to mention your wedding card you sent them, be sure to include a meaningful quote and some personal thoughtful sentiments in it.

Depending on what your medium is will determine how you go about getting the person reading to action.

When the question pops up, “what should I write about?” decide on what you want your reader to do when they are done reading.

8. Do you want to write fiction?

When you are wondering, “what should I write about?” it’s important to note what style of writing you are doing.

It is good to know if you want fiction or nonfiction. Do you want your writing to be about inspiring poems? Or do you want it to be factual information?

Do you like teaching? Or do you like creating?

If you enjoy teaching than it might be a good idea to write blog posts about stuff you’re learning and enjoying yourself, whereas if you like creating characters and a story you might enjoy creating a blog that is a bunch of riveting short stories or poems or whatever writing style you’re passionate about.

If you are thinking, “what should I write about?” know what your writing style is that you are getting into.

9. Look at your other writing to see if you can go into specific detail about something you previously covered broadly.

When you are wondering, “what should I write about?” you can sometimes look no further than your own writing.

You can find a good amount of writing prompts directly in posts you have already written.

If you have a blog or social presence you can even look in your comments to see if commentators have left you details you can write about. Whether it is in the comment section where you have answered some questions that could be turned into blogs or you can scan your major points of a broader post topic to see if there is a major point that you can write another 600 to 1,000 words on.

If you are thinking, “what should I write about?” look at your past writing and see if inspiration has been staring you right in the face.

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10. If you already have a following, have you asked them what they want to hear about?

When you’re thinking, “what should I write about?” have you ever considered straight asking your followers, “Hey! What should I write about?”

Have you made your readers feel comfortable enough that they know they can ask questions and receive answers from you?

Have you asked them directly in the posts or in the comments what your followers are interested in hearing about next?

When you are thinking, “what should I write about?” look no further than your peeps.

11. Have you used Quora?

Thinking, “what should I write about?” consider looking at the questions people are asking on Quora and how many answers they’ve received.

Quora is a great site to be a part of the conversation.

What makes Quora great about getting superb writing prompts is that people are literally just asking questions there.

They go to this site to find answers. So make sure you are there and ready to help out and answer their questions.

All you have to do is just browse through the most popular questions related to your niche and presto! You’ve got great material that you know people all over the world are interested in.

When you are thinking, “what should I write about?” download the Quora app and start scrolling not trolling.

12. Have you checked Twitter?

“What should I write about?”

“Have you checked twitter?”

Check out the most popular tweets going on in your subject matter and run with it.

For any social site these things ebb and flow in popularity, so be sure to stay up to date and take advantage of when certain topics are going viral.

If you are trying to promote your blog, do your best to get into the conversation and be helpful and relevant so that when the right time comes you can drop your post into the conversation naturally to get more viewers on your page.

Thinking, “what should I write about?” a little birdie told me to check Twitter.

13. Have you written about a time you failed?

People love a great story.

And if you’re still thinking, “what should I write about?” they love a great comeback story.

We as humans eat that stuff up because we all fail and we all want to know that it is possible to succeed even though we fail. We resonate with each other and learn through others’ failures and successes.

Don’t be shy to write about a time you biffed it majorly and then how that turned into a reason for you to get back up, try again, and crush it the next time around.

When you are wondering, “what should I write about?” try writing about a failure in your life.

14. Take one of your writings and write about it from a different angle.

Wondering, “what should I write about?” try writing about something you already wrote about but from a different angle.

If you have a blog and one of your posts went viral or maybe just one that is very popular on your blog, take a moment to think about if you can write this post or story from another angle.

Seeing it from a fresh perspective might resonate with more of your followers and it might help you see things from a new light as well.

“What should I write about?” try thinking outside your own box.

15. Check the comment sections of other bloggers and influencers in your niche.

When you are concerned, “what should I write about?” check other bloggers comment sections.

You can tell if its going to be a good topic if you see it repeated by many commentators or if it’s a topic that is highly debated.

Have you perused comments to see if there may be a great comment to expound upon?

Did someone ask a great question that you can answer in a post? Or did they add some advice that makes you think about another topic you can go into even further?

An easy way to see this is to look for comments that got lots of conversation going. Find a comment that went on a little bit of a buzz or maybe started a good discussion and use that to create another amazing post.

“What should I write about?” look at the comments and reviews.

16. Can you write about a mentor?

“What should I write about?” what mentors have you had?

Maybe you took an online course that shared some information with you that really helped you succeed whereas before you were failing.

Perhaps your mentor has an affiliate program and you can add some good reviews about the product because you have used it and learned from the person and have good insight to give.

See if you can help your readers by posting a clear and concise review of the product.

Maybe you had a teacher or professor that inspired you?

Fitness instructor?

Parent?

Pastor?

Older sibling?

It could even be a book they wrote.

When you are concerned, “what should I write about?” think about people in your life that have inspired you and what that lead you to.

17. If you have a blog have you written an income report to let your readers in on what’s really working and what’s not for your business?

If you have a blog and are wondering, “what should I write about?” consider starting a monthly blogging income report.

Many bloggers feel comfortable sharing the income they are making through their blogs.

They share what they are making through sponsored links, through freelancing, and through affiliate links.

I have seen this work very well for them and their blogging business as it can be used as social proof for them for affiliate products they write about.

Can you share a report and how can you make that information benefit your readers?

“What should I write about?” consider starting a monthly blogging income report.

18. Have you written about your readers’ problems and how to solve them?

A lot of internet searching comes down to some simple user facts.

I have a problem and I am searching for an answer.

Think about how many times you’ve done that this week.

“Hey Siri, where’s a good place to eat near me?”

“Alexa, what time is it in London?”

“Hey Google, do I strain the noodles before I add the salt in?”

You may not have asked any of these exact questions, but think about the ones you did ask and think about your exact wording.

It is very common that as consumers we ask very similar questions.

Use Google’s keyword planner to see how many people are looking up what you’re wanting to write about.

So since we know people are looking up answers to their problems it should be an easy writing prompt for you to think of a common problem many consumers need help with that you have already solved for yourself.

That makes for a great writing opportunity and now you have plenty to write about since you’ve already gone through the problem yourself and came out the other side with a solution.

“What should I write about?” Solve your reader’s problems.

19. Have you shared about a negative comment you received and how you turned it into a good thing?

If you have a social presence or blog and you’re thinking “What should I write about?” consider writing about a negative thing someone commented about your post.

As humans, we love reading about a good controversy. I mentioned this before.

This is why it could be easy to take a negative comment you receive and turn it into a good thing for your writing career.

One of my email mentors does this frequently on his email list.

Someone will reply to his email negatively and say horrible things about his style, marketing tactics, and character at times.

He will almost always write about the negative feedback and spin it into a good thing he can teach his email list.

Now you could take this and retaliate and say all kinds of firey things back to this person, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

I would instead take the opportunity to thank the person and explain how they are missing out on great information or how a comment like that is completely justified and that they have valid points.

But you have to decide how you would deal with negative comments on your blog or social presence.

“What should I write about?” Write about a negative comment.

20. Have you shared with your readers your writing routine and detailed the different aspects of how you work through a writing project from start to finish?

If you’re wondering, “what should I write about?” it might be inspiring and helpful for your audience to see into how and why you write the way you do, especially if you are in the writing, freelance writing, and blogging niche.

For me, one of my key secrets is outlining.

Outlining sounds awful and boring and to be honest it is!

But once you get the hang of it and you are doing most of the foundation work in your head it becomes second nature and is extremely useful. (Thanks, Mrs. Louden! My English teacher.)

I used to think it was useless as a kid, and it was because my essay had all of 3 points, so pretty pointless as it would be hard to forget three points, but in a post like this with 22 points, it is EASY to forget where you are, where you came from, and where you’re headed next in the point.

So if you think your readers would enjoy looking into your writing process, consider blogging about how you create a brilliant blog post!

“What should I write about?” Share your writing process with you readers.

21. Have you written about a problem you are in the middle of discovering for yourself?

We already discussed writing about a problem and solution you have already found, but are you brave enough to write about a problem you are in the middle of and the fact that you haven’t found a solution yet?

Could you create a post while you’re in the midst of the problem and write the post live and update it as you solve your own problem?

There are several ways you could take this, let me know if anyone does as it sounds like an interesting writing experiment!

22. Have you shared with your readers a recent time you were personally refreshed by a blog post you just read?

Considering the question, “what should I write about?” What have you been reading lately that inspired you?

Don’t back away from paying it forward and sharing about a recent post that you read on someone else’s blog that really inspired you or helped you get out of a rough spot.

Do you have a blogging mentor of sorts?

Reach out to them and see if they don’t mind you reviewing a post that you personally found helpful.

You can even let them know about it and see if they’d like to link to your review.

Especially if you give them social proof of high praise they might be likely to send some of their readers to it so they can see how the mentor’s writing helped someone in the real world on a completely different blog.

You never know how much helping someone else out will help you.

Don’t be afraid to invite others along with you on your path to success as a writer.

Did you enjoy this post?

Did you find a prompt that helped you?

What did you end up writing about from reading the post: What Should I Write About?

If you found your prompt here, feel free to share a link to your post in the comments.

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What Should I Write About?

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