From time to time those of us who aspire to become authors, or who are already authors, go through dry spells when we cannot think of anything to write about. Nothing is more frustrating to sit down with your pen and pencil, with your computer now-a-days, and find out that you have writer's block. You know that you have something important to tell the world; but you can't figure out what it is. Sometimes you need just a little help, a tiny nudge, to get you going. Last night I had writer's block and started brainstorming. I found out that there isn't a subject that we can't write on. In this column I have listed just a few of the places we can go for ideas.

Before you get started, take a deep breath, and then stop trying so hard to figure out a subject. Empty your mind of the problem and open your mind to the solution. Keep the problem in your head and it will stay a problem in your head. Now where are some of the places we can go for ideas? Everywhere!

First look within yourself. What are your convictions? What really bothers you? Make a list of every strong conviction you have and everything that bothers you. You could even write an article on writer's block. What do you like in music; what television shows do you watch; do you like working on your computer? What are your religious beliefs? Do you believe them strong enough to defend your faith? What are your political views? Can you take a stand and entice people to take the same stand as you. Do you have medical problems? What is your experience with your problem? Can your experience help some one else? What feelings are strong in you? Love, hate, sympathy or being congenial? These things could be written on. Just looking within could supply you a lifetime of writing material.

Look up. Take a look in the sky and think, what is up there? Subjects from the sky might include, the solar system, the moon, the stars, the air we breathe, God, the angels, rockets, jets, the weather. Lay back like you did when you were a kid and look at the clouds. You could write about the things you see in the clouds. You don't see anything in the clouds then write on nothingness. The mountains are up, skyscrapers are up, tops of trees are up, birds are up. There are a multitude of ideas above us.

Look ahead into the future. What will things be like in ten, twenty or fifty years. What will cars look like, what will we be wearing for clothes, will we all be living in big houses or will we be limited to living in a space the size of a shoebox?

Look back in time. Where did your family come from, how did different events in history change your life today? Do an expose on a famous inventor or a famous politician. Was the earth really created in a week? Is carbon dating really accurate. Why are there seashells in the mountains?

Look outside yourself. Think about your relationships with people. How does a close relationship improve your life? Look at all the "things" God has given us: the trees, the flowers, the birds, the bees, animals, volcanoes, natural wonders, the beach, the ocean and great rivers.

Everywhere you turn there is something that you can write about. You have no excuse for not having anything to write about. Anything you can see you can write about and even the things you can't see can be written about. Good luck in finding the perfect topic for you.