What has your attention?

Well?

Want to make sure you aren’t writing a point that’s already been made a bajillion times? Easy. Ask yourself what surprises you most about the topic you’re writing about, or what aspect of it most has your attention.

As a bonus, this also works for making sure your social media posts are self-absorbed navel-gazing: ask yourself “what has my attention?” or “what has my attention about this piece I want to share?” and you’ll end up with a way more thoughtful post.

And, it works as a way to generate writing ideas in the first place, too. Instead of “what should I wrote about?” try “what has my attention right now?”