Big ideas start small

How to generate writing ideas from the little things you encounter every day

Staring at a blank page is frustrating.

At best, you risk becoming bald with a lot of hair-pulling.

At worst, it made you think you are a hopeless procrastinator.

There you sit, at your desk or in front of your laptop.

Page blank, mind blank.

Cursor blinking at you, you blinking back.

Hoping for some telepathy event to happen between you and the blank page.

Where’s the big idea that’s going to kaboom your brain?

In my last post, I talked about magic happens even when you write small things.

Today, I’m going to share some strategies for capturing those small ideas and writing them down.

If you thought you should only write about:

• big ideas

• clever stuff

• things that help people

You are right!

But besides these, people may be looking for other things:

• entertainment

• inspiration

• stress relief

What’s big, clever and technical will not attract them.

But something small, something special, something striking a chord might.

The key to unlocking your creativity lies in the tiny details of your everyday life.

I had no big ideas

When I started a publication here, I had absolutely no idea what to write (gasp!).

I had a vague notion of writing about mindset and self-improvement, but nothing concrete.

Just a big round ball of woolly thoughts unraveling in my mind.

This publication is called Dare-to-Fail, so I thought of sharing some stories about overcoming failures.

I talked about my job failure, super shy syndrome, being socially awkward, my fear of heights.

But there was no clear direction.

It felt like I was fumbling in the dark, trying to grasp onto something that made sense.

I was so confused but I decided to go back to my core: write about mindset change.

Someone told me to focus on subset topics.

I cracked my head over that.

What are subset topics?

Eventually, I decided these were related ideas that I could explore in more depth later.

I wasn’t ready to write long pillar pieces, so I started small.

My action plan

Every day, I would write 3-5 notes of about 100-250 words and pair them with an eye-catching visual image.

This simple practice was a game changer.

Ideas started to flow, and suddenly, what felt like a struggle before began to take shape.

Where did the ideas come from?

They could emerge when I’m doing stretching exercises or taking a walk.

When that happens, I wrote them down.

Those thoughts are tiny, almost fleeting.

Have you ever had small thoughts like these?

Don’t brush it off, thinking it’s not big enough to matter.

That small idea could be the seed of something greater.

Think about how many ideas you’ve let slip away because they seemed too insignificant at the time.

What if, instead of waiting for a big idea to hit, you started paying attention to the small ones?

What if you trained yourself to see value in the tiny moments of inspiration that come from your daily life?

Start turning small ideas into big ones

Stay Present

Be more mindful throughout your day.

You may be doing mundane stuff, but stay open to the ideas that come naturally.

Nothing’s too trivial, but not everything’s worth writing down.

Note those that are.

Draw Inspiration

I drew inspiration from other writers here.

• Personal stories

• Struggles and fears

• Valuable tips

These are your fodder.

Incorporate these ideas into your writing.

These small actions create a snowball effect, leading to more substantial ideas over time.

Journaling

I have a messy journal where I jot down any thoughts, ideas, or observations.

It could be a quote, a drawing, or bullet points of learning.

Over time, you’ll build a library of potential ideas.

You could refer to these from time to time.

Reflection

Make it a habit to review your notes regularly.

Your brain will start looking out for patterns, connections, or things that stand out.

When that happens, small idea develop into comprehensive concepts, leading to more ideas.

Are these enough to help you generate ideas?

Here’s one more tip.

An idea may not always lead to something huge.

But the practice itself is valuable.

The process of nurturing small ideas will sharpen your creative instincts and prepare you for when the big one does hit.

Big ideas can come out of nowhere, but that’s very rare.

They’re often the result of consistently recognizing and nurturing small ones.

By shifting your focus to the little things, you’ll start to see opportunities where others see nothing.

Here’s your simple challenge for the next week.

1. Write down every small idea that comes to you.

2. At the end of the week, review your list and see what connections you can make.

You might be surprised by what you find.

Big ideas start small

it’s up to you to see the potential and make them grow.

Who knows?

Your next big breakthrough could be hiding in today’s smallest thought.

Thanks for reading.

If this post spark a small thought in you, please write them in the comments below.