Great Essay-Writing Fodder Eludes me!

I want to write 500-word essays each week – But this is difficult. I look at Npr.org CNN.com and other news sources, and sources for cultural observances like the Black History Calendar at BlackMarket.com.

My life is too homebody and introverted to provide me with fodder for great cogent weekly essays. So I often rely on news stories or calendars of cultural events in order to identify essay-writing fodder.

It is remarkably difficult to write essays every week. To write 500 cogent words within three or four days, a self-imposed turnaround time, including research, demands a surprising amount of time and energy. In order to opine on most news stories, I’d need a ready reservoir of subject knowledge in order to competently opine on or observe about most news stories. Few stories check that box That nixes those as writing fodder!

As examples of fodder I took note of, National Librarian Day and the National Public Radio piece about the Ipsos survey about adults and reading. Why? Because I work to maintain that habit; I know something about those subjects. I know enough to observe about them.

Thinking, further, if no aspect of a story or observance touches my point of view, then the essay will be too abstract to bring my ideals home to readers. Superior essays include some research. If a story that I might comment on doesn’t connect to me clearly that means that I must do research to find a contextual connection to me. But with finite time and energy to write one, research time increases the effort that is involved.

Weekly observances, and domestic news abound. But…the end-of-April-into-May news stories and cultural observances elude my standard for writing 500 great and cogent words within a few days.

Yes. To come up with a fresh 500-word essay premise is a humbling and frustrating challenge. But much of me wants to engage that challenge of artistic writing.