Ray Bradbury says that ideas are like cats and women: the harder you chase them, the faster they run away. Instead, inspiration comes at odd times and under strange conditions. It hits when you’re driving, or mowing the lawn, or standing in the grocery line. Or as you’re drifting off to sleep, or when you’re four-thirds of the way to drunk with your brothers on Christmas Eve. All of this underlines the importance of one of the best habits a writer can take on: always carry your magic notebook. When ideas stream through your consciousness, scrawl them down in the magic notebook. When you’re working later, you can review your ideas and work on what’s on your plate that day. This process accomplishes several things:
- You stop forgetting brilliant ideas you had while away from your work area.
- You can avoid writer’s block by having a list of ideas ready to hand.
- You’re less tempted to abandon current projects for new inspiration, because you’re confident the idea will still be available later on.
Your notebook doesn’t have to be an actual pen-and-paper notebook anymore. Many writers use a digital audio recorder, or even a practically antique handheld tape recorder. Cell phones will do in a pinch with an integral audio recorder, or you can just call and leave yourself a message. The new app phones combine the best features of notebooks and audio. Me, I stick with my grid-ruled Moleskine notebook — just like Hemmingway and Morrow, but Odin knows I’m a bit of a Luddite. One final word on the notebook for shower thinkers. By happy accident, my baby boy taught me a solution to the shower inspiration: tub crayons. These wipable, waterproof babies let you preserve those ideas without stepping out, chilling yourself to the bone and soaking the floor in the process. Thanks for listening.
My father was a great writer and he used to write his ideas down on paper–any piece of paper. When he passed away, we found sheets and sheets of little pieces of paper with “snippets” of writing on them, whether it was a story idea, dialogue, or just a witty line he came up with. He’d write stuff down during his day at work and bring the pieces of paper home every night in his lunch box. Sometimes, he’d write it on paper that had his Home Depot list on it, too. We even found a small notebook filled with story ideas in his fishing vest. He took every opportunity to jot ideas down. It’s really a must for writers–ideas can strike any time. Great post!