Using the Calendar to Find Writing Ideas, Part 1, 4 Seasons of Writing Success

by Julie Lavender @JLavenderWrites

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1 NKJV

If you’re looking for something new to write about, look no further than the calendar. Holiday and seasonal writing never runs out of style. Online magazine editors, newspaper editors, bloggers, and websites need fresh content consistently, and celebratory posts can engage and inspire readers with fun and festivity. 

July Ideas

A quick peek this month gives you much to write about. For example, July is National Blueberries Month. Why not write about childhood memories of picking blueberries and then share Grandma’s favorite blueberry muffin recipe? 

July is also National Ice Cream Month. Consider a newspaper article that spotlights the local ice cream shops. Share flavors of the month, specialty milk shake combos, and the origin of each ice cream locale. Is it a third generation business? Have famous people dropped by for a taste?

Celebrate National Tom Sawyer Days with an informative blogpost about Mark Twain, Tom, Huck, and Becky. 

In honor of National Scrabble Week, post a blog about unusual ways to play scrabble. You could even make up a new version of scrabble and share those guidelines, too!

For more silly holidays to spark the creative juices, check out some of these websites: 

• Nationaltoday.com
• Holidays-and-Observances.com
• Daysoftheyear.com
• HolidayInsights.com

Writing Seasonal Stories

When you’ve exhausted the silly holiday list, think about seasonal stories, like a newspaper article that shares the Top 10 Spots for Summer Fun Within a 60-Mile Radius or a blogpost that boasts 20 Ways for Free Family Fun this Summer.

Offer to write a guest post on a homeschooling website about How We Homeschool During the Summer or Best Curriculum for a New School Year. Share a guest post on a friend’s website with the title Favorite Summer Reads or Best Books to Read at the Beach.

Write devotions about gardening, searching for shark’s teeth on the beach, making jam with Grandma, fishing with Grandpa, and learning how to swim. Submit a story to an anthology callout about summer camp, chaperoning a youth mission trip, or that time Uncle Ernest spit out his dentures instead of the watermelon seed. 

Let’s face it … summer writing topics are as endless as the ocean waves. Get busy writing from the calendar this season and celebrate the beauty and warmth of summer. Hurry before summer slips away, because in the words of Shakespeare, “Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.”

What about you? What summertime-fun articles have you written thus far? What ideas do you have for other summer stories or devotions or blogposts? 

TWEETABLE

Using the Calendar to Find Writing Ideas, Part 1 tips from @JLavenderWrites on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Don't Miss the Rest of the Posts in This Series!

SUMMER: Part One: Four Seasons of Writing Success

AUTUMN: Part Two: Four Seasons of Writing Success

Julie Lavender loves silly holidays and any excuse to celebrate. She especially loves celebrating with fellow authors when new books and projects launch. She’s the author of Children’s Bible Stories for Bedtime (Zeitgeist/Penguin Random House) and 365 Ways to Love Your Child: Turning Little Moments into Lasting Memories (Revell). She’s also a contributor to The Seven, a podcast sharing life events with six other writer friends to ignite and encourage listeners on their faith journey.

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