Daily Gifts

Writers often struggle with what to write about. This problem afflicts beginning writers and advanced writers alike. The difficulty may lie in focusing too much on subjects and not enough on impressions. The world is full of gifts for writers, if only writers are astute enough to receive them. These gifts come in the form of ideas, but they require paying attention. Daily experiences and details are rife with ideas for writing. It is a writer's challenge to sort through the thousands of sights, sounds and impressions that bombard us every day and focus in on them in a way that gives clarity and meaning to the ordinary. As a writer, you have infinite possibilities to consider every day. Maybe it's the way the morning moon creeps up over the horizon, the way a stranger's face smiles at you, the way the sunlight plays on a shiny object, the way you feel when your feet touch the earth, the way your dog seems to laugh when he runs. There is meaning in all of it, even the most minute, most seemingly mundane details of daily life. If considered calmly with an open mind, there is a larger meaning in even the smallest things. As a writer, your challenge is to remain open to these gifts of daily life, learn from them, grow from them, and then share that knowledge with readers. Stay awake, stay open, and you will never be without ideas to write about.