In this coaching-style YouTube video, Nicolas Cole guides participant Ian through a practical framework for consistently generating writing ideas. Cole debunks the myth that ideas must be novel, introducing his "10 magical ways"—a set of universal content angles (tips, stats, step‑by‑step guides, lessons, benefits, reasons, mistakes, etc.) that apply to any industry. He reframes idea generation as answering specific reader questions, urging writers to compile lists of the most compelling questions a beginner or a dinner‑party audience might ask about their niche. Cole emphasizes concrete action: spend focused time creating a list of 20 targeted questions, set a deadline, and return for a workshop to build pattern‑recognition skills. The conversation ends with a promotional plug for Cole’s free masterclass at startwritingonline.com, which offers hooks, distribution platforms, and growth‑hacking tips for online writers.
Chapters
People think that ideas need to be novel, and the reality is the novelty wears off very quickly. I always go back to what I like to call the, the 10 magical ways. All content leads back to these 10 things. Like you, anything related to your industry, how can you give people tips to do it better? How can you maybe share some stats or data or something that backs up the reason why you recommend something or where the industry is going? How can you break something down into steps? How can you share lessons, lessons learned? How can you talk about benefits as to why one thing is better than the other? How can you share the reasons why someone should do something? How can you share mistakes so people don't make those mistakes? Like oftentimes the, the I'm struggling to come up with ideas is thinking that you need like every idea has to be some like massive new novel idea. It's really not. It's, it's recognizing that in every single industry or every single topic, there is infinite stuff that needs to get explained. And so all you're doing is you're just cycling. Like, what's the next thing I got to explain? What's the next thing I got to explain? What's the next thing I got to explain? So like, what's, what's the topic that you write about?
It's about using fiction, art, and spirituality to analyze geopolitical events.
Well, there you go. You picked a nice and simple topic. So then, I mean, I would just take that little flywheel and go down the list. It's like, all right, I'm brand new to that world. What are some— how do I even begin to do that? Explain that to me. You know, what are mistakes that people make when evaluating, I don't know, the history of art and how it applies to the geopolitical landscape? What are lessons you've learned in doing that? Like, you kind of just have to, like, sit there and pick it apart and go, wait a second, I take the amount of information that I know about this thing for granted. Pretend you know nothing about it. What would you— what would you say?
I have no idea.
Like, what would you ask if you— if you know nothing about this thing? Like, what would be your first question?
I guess I would say, what is this about? How does this make sense?
Have you written something that answers that question?
No.
Well, then that's step number one. Do you, do you, do you have a background? Like, why, why, why did you pick this topic?
Yeah. Yeah, I have a background in foreign policy as a career. And, uh, I'm, you know, I've been a creative writer for a while too.
Cool. So the, the answer is always like, I actually think a more helpful, uh, reframe is don't think in terms of generating ideas, think in terms of answering questions. Ideas are like these big amorphous, like, how do I wrap my hands around it? The best ideas are really just answering people's questions. So sit down and make a list. What are 10 questions that if you met someone at a dinner party, they would ask you, or if you were a beginner and you knew nothing about this, what are the first 10 questions you would ask? Do you write about all geopolitical issues and conflicts? Do you only write about geopolitical conflicts in the West versus the East? Do you only compare geopolitical conflicts to literature? Is it all literature? Is it only Russian literature? Is it American literature? Like, you notice how as you start to pick it apart, you're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, there's like infinite things I need to explain here.
Um, yeah, no, those are great questions. Um, that might make it a good deal more focused and make my process a lot more focused as well.
Yes.
Well, thanks.
Yeah. Uh, just start with questions. Every— everything you write should in some way be answering a reader's question. Either overtly or inadvertently.
Okay. Um, yeah, I'll, I'll put that to use somehow.
What I would— here's what I would recommend to make this really tangible. Spend some time, like you might have to just sit there and stare out the window for an hour. Make a list of 20 questions that your target reader has. Try and make them the most compelling, most specific questions that you can come up with and then bring it back next Monday and let's workshop it.
No, thank you. It sounds like a really fun exercise. Honestly, I really appreciate that.
Yeah, that's the whole takeaway here for you and for everyone. The takeaway is not, oh yeah, I guess that's kind of a cool way to think about it. And then you don't do anything with it. I genuinely like I want you to take it, go do something with it, push your brain a little bit, come back, let's workshop it, maybe do it again, come back, let's workshop it. Like, that is how you build pattern recognition. That's how you improve the skill. So let's do that. Go make a list, bring it back next week, and let's workshop it.
I mean, someone like me, like, it's like what you just gave me was like giving like a cat like a ball of yarn that they're going to like, you know, untangle for a long time and be occupied with, but, but there's gold inside.
There, there's gold inside. And this is not a— and you're just going to go entertain yourself forever with no, like, milestone. Like, that's why it's like, okay, go do this thing, and next week, like, homework is due, you know what I mean? Like, you, you have to have— you have to set some sort of deadline, otherwise it just becomes a, an exercise of unproductive procrastination, you know.
I know what you're gonna say. Yeah, okay, I'll do that.
Awesome.
I'll bring it back.
Yeah, great.
Let's go.
Well, I'm looking forward to it, Ian.
Awesome.
Real quick, if you wanna write online but aren't sure where to start, click the link in the description of this video and check out startwritingonline.com. This is a free masterclass I put together sharing all of our most helpful frameworks for beginners, like proven hooks to capture your target reader's attention, where to write online to get the most distribution on your work, and little growth hacking tips to build your social audience and email list faster. Over 100,000 writers have gone through this free masterclass, and many even send us emails afterwards thanking us for sharing such valuable information for free. So click the link below this video to check it out and make this year the year you start seeing success from your writing online.
