Jot Those Ideas Down

Hey guys! You’ve made it through most of the week. Congratulations!

Me, I’ve been editing all week. Seriously. All week, for the past three weeks. So it’s nice to get away and write a blog, get some creativity out. That being the case, I thought I’d talk about something that’s super applicable to me while I’m editing.

Writers always think about plots…

We always see people as characters…

We’re always on the lookout for the next idea…

And you know what else?

We never go anywhere without a pencil and paper… or at least a cell phone.

You know those ideas that we’re always on the lookout for? Well what kind of writer would we be if we weren’t prepared to write them down?!

There’s a saying that goes around, among writers, that says if you don’t write it down you’re probably going to forget it. Unfortunately, it’s true in a lot of cases. All those amazing ideas that surround us all the time, we have to write them down as soon as we get them, or there’s a strong chance that we won’t remember what they were. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve woken up from a dream in the middle of the night, thinking the dream I had would make a wonderful novel, but by the time I got up in the morning I didn’t remember what it was.

That, my friends, is why we always be sure we’re prepared to write those ideas down.

I keep a little notepad and a collection of pens in my nightstand, all set for me to write anything down at a moment’s notice, in the middle of the night. And I always keep my cell phone on me, because even if I’m out and about, I want to have a way to write that idea down. These days, a smartphone fits the bill quite nicely.

When you’re walking down the street and a notion strikes… write it down.

When you’re half asleep and you have an idea that’s either amazing or horrible… write it down.

When you’re deep in thought and something occurs to you… write it down.

When you’re in the middle of a conversation and someone says something that sparks even a hint of a notion… stop and write it down. 

When you're editing a book (even if it isn't yours) and something hits you... write it down. 

That’s what we do.

We’re writers, and so we write. Even if it's only a tiny little note that says “the humans should have radiation poisoning” – it’s something we have to do. And yes, that’s a note I’ve been holding in my phone for a long time, waiting until the time is right to use it.

Writers all have notes like that, little reminders of things we never want to forget. Even if the ideas are ones that we’re probably never going to use, we don’t want to give up on them. At least we have a little reminder, that there was one time when we thought up this little thing. When it was a bad idea, it’s a way to keep ourselves from going down that path again, which is a very good thing. Believe me.

So we never go anywhere without pen and paper, or without a way to write things down. Because if we did, then we wouldn’t be writers, would we? 

Especially when all we're doing is editing, this is a great way to keep our minds on writing. 

[love]

{Rani D.}