Detrick, that’s the $64,000 question. Your question, put another way is how do you develop ideas for writing. It’s an age-old question with no easy answer. Everyone has their own method, but I believe there is a commonality…perpetual curiosity.
One would think that practical application of the article is a science, but it this is actually where the art of writing occurs. Paying attention means being purposeful in your everyday walk. You must consciously ask yourself why to anything that seems odd or interesting. You must also ask yourself whether there is story value in whatever it is you’re considering. I’ll give you an example. The other day I was having dinner with my family at a local restaurant. We were looking over the menu and I noticed that there were a lot of tomato-based options available, and it wasn’t even an Italian restaurant. This made me think about all of the other types of food that have a tomato base.
I then asked myself whether there has likely been a proliferation of tomato-based products in the U.S.? How has that affected the food industry? Why tomato-based products versus something else? These questions are a result of me being perpetually curious about the germane and banal items that affect our everyday life. I ask why a lot and am often surprised by the answer. Like I said in the article, I’m like Gladwell in the way that I look for connections to things that I already know and then seek to reconcile those connections with stories that others will find interesting. This requires me to be well read in a variety of topics, so that I have a well of knowledge to pull from at any given time.
