One of the worst possible scenarios for a writer is not the idea of a bad plot or even a room full of evil people waiting to harshly critique them, it’s being out in public somewhere with a great idea and nothing to write it down on. This may not seem like that big of a deal, but when something strikes, you have to put it down on paper before the words skip out of your head and end up being someone else’s Pulitzer.
Don’t let this happen to you! One way that you can protect yourself from this type of anxiety is to always keep paper and something to write with handy. This is easy for women because generally we carry bags that can accommodate our writing habits, but for gentlemen it’s a bit more tricky. Post-it notes can fit easily in a purse or in a wallet, and a pen can be stored in a pocket or somewhere in the bottomless pit of our shoulder bags.
Your blog is important to you so you don’t want to let an idea slip away just because you aren’t prepared.
With technology, writing has never been easier. If you have a great idea, or a line that you just can’t get out of your head, you can text it to yourself or make a memo of it on your cell phone. One thing you need to be careful of is to not send your prized words to a friend who might mistake them for loving poetry, cynical injustice, or a cue for them to use your thought provoking lingo.
Another bad scenario is if you have that great line in your head right before bed and it just won’t go away. It keeps getting bigger, and better, and finally you fall asleep. In the morning not only did you forget what you had inside of your brain, but you also have to kick yourself for not having something handy to write it down with.
This problem can be alleviated by keeping something to write with by your bed. Certainly you don’t want to have to get out of your bed in the middle of the night just to stumble over something and crack your head open just to find something to write on.
To keep yourself out of trouble when it comes to writing, keep something handy to help your creative process flowing rather than halt to a rusted stop. There are worse things in life than not having the right utensils when you need to write something down, but if you’re a writer there isn’t much.
All writers have this problem. Keeping something with you to write ideas down with – whether for blog or other form of writing – is great, and you're right about new technology making life easier. One of the other important skills is learning to tag memories and just compartmentalise ideas until you need them. Sometimes this is difficult, but if you can, it saves you a lot of time.
When I come up with a new idea, i go straight into WordPress and create a new post with just the title and save it as a draft. This way I don't forget and I can come back at any time and continue writing the post.
I remember jumping out of bed one night at least 20 times before I finally brought a notepad back to bed with me. I always get great ideas in the shower too. For awhile I was using some bath crayons that my kids played with in the tub but they don't last long. So keep a whiteboard in the bathroom!
One thing I want to do now is get a recorder. I have tons of ideas while I'm driving out of town and I can't exactly write it down while I'm driving so I figured speaking into a voice recorder would solve that problem.
Forgetting brilliant ideas sucks