Flashes of inspiration are not few and far between for me. I'm constantly inspired by the world around me - things I read, things I see, things I hear. Ideas fly at me from all over the place. I'm an ideas kind of person.
This should be great news, right?
Except.
Except that this flow of information always comes in...and then flits away into the recesses of my brain, never to be heard from again.
I'll be reading a passage in a book and start analyzing what's going on and think "WAIT! I have an idea! What if the world is dying, but it's because of x. And y is the only one who can fight x. And if y does z in this really interesting and unique way...I could make a really interesting story." Then I'll nod to myself, acknowledge my genius, and file it away for a more convenient time when I can flesh out the idea, returning my attention to the book or task at hand.
Except.
You know where this is going don't you? Of course you do. Because unlike me, you are not an idiot. You are a smart, organized, "with it" guy or gal who knows better than to let ideas sink into the deep, dark parts of your (presumably human) brains without jotting a backup note to yourself.
I, however, am an idiot. I let these ideas roam unchecked through my grey matter, and
After struggling for the past two months with crippling writer's block, on Monday I was hit with an idea not just for a vague project in the future, but for the book I'm working on now. And as much as I wanted to just keep reading my book on the train, I decided that since my purse was right in front of me, I should grab a scrap of paper and a pen and just WRITE IT DOWN.
So I did.
And then I went back to reading.
When I got home, got myself and the dog fed, I whipped out that piece of paper and my laptop, and BOOM. The scenes started flowing. The words poured onto the page. Before I knew what hit me, I had 1,600 words down, and a solid sense of direction for the next few scenes to follow.
An obvious lesson, yes, but an important one nonetheless. When I have these ideas, I need to write them down. Immediately. It doesn't matter what I'm doing - eating, reading, sleeping, talking on the phone, writing a blog post - just WRITE IT DOWN.
Logan. You need a notebook.
You need to write it down.
4 comments:
I'm just learning that, in general, if I don't write it down, I forget it. Makes sense that would translate to writing ideas, too. :)
Yes, good for you! I, of course, do write things down. And then I find scraps of paper with realllly weird notations and can't figure out what it all means. I need to write coherent sentences!
Logan if you were like me, you'd always have a scrap of paper or seven in your purse to write on. But, being a mom, I always carry a small notebook because you never know when you're going to pick up new words when listening to conversations between kids. Or if I'm in Target and I'm watching a daughter and mother shopping. Best time to pick them up is when school starts.
Heather
@Amanda - I know this about myself (that I need to write things down) but I'm too lazy to do it. I keep trying to convince myself that I will magically start remembering everything.
@DebraZ - That's the other part of it. I need to make sure I write things in a way that makes sense later on.
@Heather - I'm never short of a pen and paper, but it's still tough getting in the habit of jotting down a note RIGHT THEN. I tell myself I'll do it later, but later never happens. :)
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