Writing Down Your Ideas

ACEnders · Jun 19, 2008

Last night, it took me forever to fall asleep. My mind was a mess between reality and my writing. Not a bad mess, mind you, but a mess nonetheless.

I was thinking about my WIP, and a really great sentence popped into my head, right where I left off last.

My husband was sound asleep. He'd had a really long day at work, had to work late and pick up his boss from the airport who's flight was delayed by 2 hours, and he was knocked out.

The closest pen and paper was in the bathroom (where I was last writing down my ideas). If I could just get out of bed without waking Nathan and gently close the bathroom door, I could write down that sentence. But I knew if I got up, he'd wake up, and I didn't want to do that.

So instead, I said the sentence over and over and over again in my head as I finally drifted off to sleep, hoping that I would remember it in the morning.

I didn't.

Has this ever happened to you guys?

WendyNYC · Jun 19, 2008

Constantly. I now keep post-its and a pen right next to my bed.

Calla Lily · Jun 19, 2008

What Wendy said.

Blondchen · Jun 19, 2008

My Treo is a lifesaver. Right there, next to the bed, in my purse, wherever. Send myself a quick email about things I need to remember and voila! I'm good.

Adam Israel · Jun 19, 2008

I carry a small moleskin notebook and pen with me wherever I go. Before I started that habit, I forgot more ideas than I care to admit.

ACEnders · Jun 19, 2008

StoneTable said:
I carry a small moleskin notebook and pen with me wherever I go. Before I started that habit, I forgot more ideas than I care to admit.

I think I need to start doing this. Just a small notebook in my purse, keep one by the bed. We have a ton of notebooks lying around the house, but they never seem to be where I am at that exact moment.

gypsyscarlett · Jun 19, 2008

I always have my pen and journal under my pillow for that very reason.

James81 · Jun 19, 2008

I now have a small digital recorder that I speak into with all my ideas.

Best $40 I've ever spent. I love it.

StoryG27 · Jun 19, 2008

It happens to me all the time. I try to keep a pen and paper with me at all times, but then I end up walking here and there with it for various reasons and I always misplace it or forget to put it back where it should be. I have learned to live with fleeting brilliance, knowing if you love a good idea, you have to set it free, and if it was a really good idea that loved you too, it'll come back to you (probably while standing in line at the DMV, where again, you won't be able to write it down).

DeleyanLee · Jun 19, 2008

ACEnders said:
So instead, I said the sentence over and over and over again in my head as I finally drifted off to sleep, hoping that I would remember it in the morning.

I didn't.

Has this ever happened to you guys?

All the time, I think, maybe--I not only forget what I wanted to remember, but even that I wanted to remember something.

Perhaps that's all for the best, y'know?

Dave.C.Robinson · Jun 19, 2008

It only ever happens to me on days ending with 'Y'

Soccer Mom · Jun 19, 2008

I have little notebooks stashed everywhere! Purse, car, all over the house...

JenUK24 · Jun 19, 2008

WendyNYC said:
Constantly. I now keep post-its and a pen right next to my bed.

Thats what I do. But not just for my writing ideas, but also for things I have to do the next day, shopping lists etc. Without post its I'd never remember anything...LOL!

J x

JenUK24 · Jun 19, 2008

ACEnders said:
I think I need to start doing this. Just a small notebook in my purse, keep one by the bed. We have a ton of notebooks lying around the house, but they never seem to be where I am at that exact moment.

I find this with pens...I have hundreds... When I need one I always pick up the ones that dont work...Never throw them away though, i just put them back in the penbox...I mean DUH!!!

J x

tehuti88 · Jun 19, 2008

This only happens to me when I try to remember dreams and don't take notes before going back to sleep. Barely ever remember them later on. :/ Fortunately, I don't ponder exact phrasing or sentences for my writing unless I'm actually sitting there writing. I do ponder more general situations and scenarios, though. If I've forgotten any, then I can't remember!

MsK · Jun 19, 2008

It happens all of the time. I work out entire scenes as I lie in bed in the middle of the night. And I never remember them.
I must start keeping a pen and paper near the bed.

Righting · Jun 19, 2008

lol - same here. never works!

I've learned my lesson - i now have a pad on the floor next to my bed.

mirrorkisses · Jun 19, 2008

that used to happen to me until i got a writing notebook. I tend to carry it with me everywhere when I'm working on something.

ishtar'sgate · Jun 19, 2008

I used to keep paper and pencils on my nightstand and wrote down ideas that came to me in the night. But writing in the dark bending over the edge of the bed without a) waking up my husband or b) knocking it all on the floor, didn't work out so well. Also, when I read it the next morning it looked like some strange alien language no one could understand, least of all me. Now I sneak out of bed and creep over to my bedroom desk where there's just enough light to see what I'm doing. I hate getting out of bed but I hate losing an idea even more.
Linnea

ACEnders · Jun 20, 2008

JenUK24 said:
I find this with pens...I have hundreds... When I need one I always pick up the ones that dont work...Never throw them away though, i just put them back in the penbox...I mean DUH!!!

J x

That's so funny because I do that with a lot of things. Not just pens. Like, taking the last bag of popcorn out of it's box and leaving the box in the pantry. I'm so careful to keep the house clean, but then I do things like that. Idiot!

Alice.S · Jun 20, 2008

I randomly started typing up a story but then decided to close the computer with out saving it...then I thought about it some more and decided to write more...but I couldn’t remember what the first couple of sentences where that thought where really good...

oh well....I hope you remember your sentence..

JenUK24 · Jun 21, 2008

ACEnders said:
That's so funny because I do that with a lot of things. Not just pens. Like, taking the last bag of popcorn out of it's box and leaving the box in the pantry. I'm so careful to keep the house clean, but then I do things like that. Idiot!

Oh I do that too...So glad I'm not the only one. I found it worse when I was pregnant... I put the bread in the fridge, milk in the cupboard, even once nearly put kettle in fridge!!! My husband says thats just me in general...I'll just put it down to lack of sleep

J x

DamaNegra · Jun 22, 2008

I always keep a tiny pad, like the ones detectives use at old movies, with me. It's very useful, and not only for writing down ideas, but anything else I need to remember but know I definitely won't. Otherwise, I use my cellphone, especially in the middle of the night when I also need a light or something. I SMS myself with ideas, sentences or flash fiction pieces I think of, and then type it to my computer when I reach home.

steveg144 · Jun 22, 2008

I'm an old fart, so I always keep a little black Moleskine cahier nearby. I have one on the end table in the living room, on my night table in the bedroom. Heck, I even have one in the bathroom. (TMI, right?) And for when I'm barreling down the highway at 70MPH, I keep a small digital microrecorder in my truck. I can't tell you how many ideas I've captured this way.

Disa · Jun 22, 2008

I used to keep tiny notebooks everywhere. I can't remember when I stopped. Now I have scraps of paper that I've invariably ripped off of whatever happened to be closest to me at the time of inspiration, a bill, a flyer, an eyeglass prescription- whoops. Those pieces of paper are stuffed in my purse, in pockets, in my tote bag, they're everywhere. The last two good ideas I got came to me while I was in the shower wouldn't ya know. Geez. I just kept repeating them over and over until I was dry and I ran to the computer to type them.

Writing Down Your Ideas

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