My goal in this installment is to show how you can use the World Wide Web as an idea tool for your stories, blog entries or whatever else you happen to be writing.  Everyone knows that you can use the Internet to play games, view pictures, chat or check the weather.  Most writers know how powerful it can be as a research tool as well.  There are a myriad of helpful web sites available, regardless of the genre you write in, or your topic of the moment.

Can you use the web as a brainstorming catalyst?  Yes, if you use the right tools.

The tool I use as a brainstorming inspirational medium is StumbleUpon.  StumbleUpon is a social bookmarking service, much like digg or Technorati.  All of these tools allow you to add sites that you like to a list of favorites, keep track of the sites that are most popular with their subscribers and browse through the hot topics of the day, but StumbleUpon has a distinct advantage in the realm of brainstorming, they call it Stumbling.

Once you’ve signed up for a free StumbleUpon account, then fill in your interests in your profile.  Then you’ve got the option to install their toolbar in either IE or Firefox.  Install it, then click on the “Stumble!” button.   This will take you to a website that your preferences suggest you’ll be interested in.  If so, click the “thubms up” button to save it to your StumbleUpon favorites and click “Stumble” again.

Each time you give a site a Thumbs up or thumbs down, StumbleUpon refines the sites that it guides you to, which gives you the opportunity to view places and gather new ideas and inspiration.  As a plus, if you give a site a “thumbs Up”, you’re letting other people know that you liked the site and giving them the opportunity to visit it as well.

As an example, My interests are writing, recipes, cooking, guitars and humor. I click the “Stumble” button in my toolbar and:

  • The first site is of no interest to me whatsoever, Thumbs Down
  • The next is a blog entry titled “I’m too poor for Bisquick Biscuits“  that I think isinteresting and a bit funny, thumbs Up!
  • The next site is called “Writer’s Resources and Links For Writers” Thumbs up, they’ve got some good information here, and I’ll probably be blogging about it soon, so it’s good to have it in my favorites.

My interests are pretty varied, so I end up with quite a variety, but I think you’ll see the value here.  If you focus your interests on just those topics that really inspire you, StumbleUpon can be incredibly useful in generating ideas, inspiration, adn occasionlly just a good laugh.  Give it a shot, I think you’ll be surprised.