Ever free-written in your head?

Travis J. Smith · Dec 24, 2008

I was having my usual random, incoherent, jumbled thoughts when trying to fall asleep and then they started to morph into a story. All I can remember is that it was about a werewolf, because one thought seemed to be a quite serviceable line of description for one. At the time it was between picking up the pen and notebook I keep under my bed and finding a light source so I could manage to keep my writing somewhat legible or get up, walk over to my computer and type it up. I was in desperate need of sleep, so I gave up on both options, yet I continued this free-flowing, genuine stream-of-consciousness story weaving for quite a bit longer. Though it kind of petered out when I started putting too much thought into it.

I was wondering if anyone else has gone beyond simple brainstorming without paper and had a story come to life and play out in your thoughts.

If only I'd had my new Asus laptop then. Then I would've only had to reach a short distance to pick it up, type it quickly, and put the laptop back.

Cyia · Dec 24, 2008

Yep, happens all the time... especially when there's no way to write it down. I'll get a kernel of an idea and then it's a feature length movie within a few minutes.

WireHair · Dec 24, 2008

Travis J. Smith said:
If only I'd had my new Asus laptop then. Then I would've only had to reach a short distance to pick it up, type it quickly, and put the laptop back.

Hey, next time you lack a pen or laptop write it in the "notes" of your cellphone if you have that application. It's usually in the same section as the calendar. So convenient!

Ciera_ · Dec 24, 2008

I've thought out entire scenes (word for exact word!) in my head, usually either in bed or on the bus. God, my morning bus time has become my main muse-time, it's excellent for my creativity.
The problem is that these scenes usually come in far past the point I'm actually at...I never have sudden inspirations and word-for-word mental writing about the scene I need to write to get to the interesting stuff >.>

smoothseas · Dec 24, 2008

Travis J. Smith said:
and finding a light source so I could manage to keep my writing somewhat legible

Get you one of them pens with a built in light source like the theater reviewers use. Handy dandy little items.

Mad Queen · Dec 24, 2008

I write in the dark when this happens and I have always been able to read it the following morning. Just remember to leave a lot of space between one line and the next.

Travis J. Smith · Dec 25, 2008

WireHair said:
Hey, next time you lack a pen or laptop write it in the "notes" of your cellphone if you have that application. It's usually in the same section as the calendar. So convenient!

I don't own a cell phone . . .

MadQueen said:
I write in the dark when this happens and I have always been able to read it the following morning. Just remember to leave a lot of space between one line and the next.

I more or less did that once and I could read it the following morning, but barely. Having some sort of proper light to write with seems like the better idea than scribbling blind on the page. Heh.

scarletpeaches · Dec 25, 2008

Carry a pen (or a pencil; they get blunt but don't run out of ink) and a mini-moleskine everywhere for this very reason. Even to bed.

Don · Dec 25, 2008

scarletpeaches said:
Carry a pen (or a pencil; they get blunt but don't run out of ink) and a mini-moleskine everywhere for this very reason. Even to bed.

If a woman showed up for bed with a notebook, I'd be tempted to cancel the engagement. Just sayin... :roll:

tehuti88 · Dec 25, 2008

So that's what that is? Freewriting? I can't for the life of me freewrite in reality but there's almost always this constant rattle of story lines and ideas running through my head throughout the day. Bits of dialogue, sentences that want to make their way into something, not to mention the ever-present random musings about my characters and plots and whatnot. I don't write most of this stuff down because it's so random, and the musings, well, that's just me, the writer, always mulling over my stories. Just so normal I don't even consciously think about it most of the time.

I never "freewrite" a full story in my head, though. If something is that developed I'm going to be writing it down for real.

C.H. Valentino · Dec 25, 2008

Every minute of every stinking day. It gets old after a while- don't it.

I bought a digtal vocie recorder and I carry it in my purse. That way I can talk to myself, outloud, ESPECIALLY in my car (where all brilliant ideas seem to hit me!) And then go over it later.

That made people stop looking at me weird because when you talk out loud, they think you're nuts. LOL

dancingandflying · Dec 25, 2008

I've written entire stories in my head; however, it's always at an inconvenient moment where there is no way to write it down, so I forget about them. It's annoying, but somehow, I've managed to survive...

d&f.

Red-Green · Dec 26, 2008

I usually write everything this way. The "first draft" is all in my head, typically while I'm out walking, which I do for at least an hour a day. Then I have to re-write it into the physical world. I'm just used to it, I guess, so I rarely forget things. You just need to train yourself to remember these unwritten stories.

Beach Bunny · Dec 26, 2008

I do this all the time. Usually I am in the shower when I come up with my great

ideas.

Don said:
If a woman showed up for bed with a notebook, I'd be tempted to cancel the engagement. Just sayin...

Don · Dec 26, 2008

Beach Bunny said:
I do this all the time. Usually I am in the shower when I come up with my great ideas.

Can I bring a camera? I'm afraid the notebook would get wet while I was taking notes. :e2brows:

On topic: There's another thread about using Dragon Naturally Speaking with a voice recorder. I may have to look into that combo.

Beach Bunny · Dec 26, 2008

Don said:
Can I bring a camera? I'm afraid the notebook would get wet while I was taking notes.

No. The last time I let you bring a camera the pictures ended up on Mom's Gone Wild.

Back on topic: I've had some bizarre dreams and nightmares which would make great literary short stories. Unfortunately, when I wake up I only remember bits and pieces. Keeping a notebook by the bed doesn't help.

Don · Dec 26, 2008

Beach Bunny said:
Back on topic: I've had some bizarre dreams and nightmares which would make great literary short stories. Unfortunately, when I wake up I only remember bits and pieces. Keeping a notebook by the bed doesn't help.

That's another reason I'd like to have a voice recorder. Turning on a light chases away my dream memories.

Mad Queen · Dec 26, 2008

I read once about a psychologist who kept a notebook and a pen beside her bed and wrote her dreams in the dark with the notebook on her belly, IIRC. She had a system to help her write in straight lines and not overwrite anything. It had something to do with pressing the little finger against the spiral so the hand won't move up or down by accident. It seemed complicated, but whe she woke up in the morning, she always found a couple of new dreams on that notebook.

circlexranch · Dec 28, 2008

Every minute of every day. I never turn on the radio in the car and seek out quiet places to do my shopping, laundry, etc. All the better to watch, enjoy, and retain the movie that always plays in my head.

I love silence for that reason.

Pragmatic_Dreamer · Dec 29, 2008

*sigh* I feel your pain. Every night when I go to bed, my imagination goes into overdrive. I do actually keep my laptop on my night stand for this purpose. It annoys me though when my creative juices flow when I am on a long tedious bus ride, and have no way to access my laptop. Pen and paper just don't work for me.

ABekah · Dec 29, 2008

My best ideas come to me when I'm not writing. Usually happens when I'm at a crossroads in a story that needs to be dealt with. I make a mental note of the brainstorm and incorporate it into the story later.

scarletpeaches · Dec 30, 2008

Isn't "free writing in your head" just...well...thinking?

Don · Dec 30, 2008

Well, it's a bit more specific, like thinking about characters and plot and how they actually go together, and maybe even writing a whole scene in your head so when you set down at the keyboard it's more like transcription than writing.

I can get through the day without free writing in my head. If I tried to get through the day without thinking I'd end up plastered to the front of some truck (or lorry).

scarletpeaches · Dec 30, 2008

Maybe it's because it's my default setting I don't have a special name for it.

I'm never not thinking about how I would decribe something in writing.

thethinker42 · Dec 30, 2008

Don said:
Well, it's a bit more specific, like thinking about characters and plot and how they actually go together, and maybe even writing a whole scene in your head so when you set down at the keyboard it's more like transcription than writing.

Fair enough. I actually go walk around my neighborhood each day before I start writing for this very reason...for some reason, getting AWAY from the keyboard/paper actually helps me sort through plot issues. I've even gotten to the point that if I'm stuck on a scene, I go walk around the block. By the time I'm halfway up the road, it's usually resolved.

I can get through the day without free writing in my head. If I tried to get through the day without thinking

I could theoretically function without ever doing any mental freewriting during the day, but I can't remember the last time it's happened. My husband has even got to the point that he knows when Lori's off in FictionLand and he understands my obsessive need to carry a pen and paper. LOL

I'd end up plastered to the front of some truck (or lorry).

Don, for the last time, it's spelled L-O-R-I. Jeez.

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