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skydragon

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Just wondered if anyone else has experienced this. About 3 days ago I decided to take a short break from writing because I'm having health and personal issues at the moment which have been very stressful. I decided I'd put my project/s aside for about a week whilst I sort out some things in my life.

In the past three days, though, my mind has been buzzing with characters, stories, dialogue, scenes, and make-believe worlds. I have only written about 200 words of actual prose but my mind has not stopped coming up with ideas, all of which I have been jotting down.

Is anyone else's mind always on the go like this?
Sometimes I think it's impossible to take a break from being a writer.. :D
 

DanielaTorre

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Lulz. Think of this as a good thing. That tends to happen to me when I'm doing things that I don't want to do like work, school, driving. All places and things I have to focus on. That's when creativity strikes and then I'm screwed. Especially while driving because I can't exactly drive and jot things down at the same time. By the time I get to a stop light, I forget the lines in my head or whatever.

The most aggravating bout of creativity is when I'm about to go to sleep and them BOOM, idea. Then I have to force myself out of bed and write it.

Your body and brain tend to betray the crap out of you. It's like some mean joke. :(
 

HoneyBadger

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Oh yeah. My mind's got a mind of its own.

It's especially fun when my 7-month-old wakes me up at 3am to eat and my brain's IMMEDIATELY at work. Like, go to sleep, damn brain.
 

LittleKiwi

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The only time I don't want to think about writing is when I'm snuggled up in bed, but that's when most of my ideas appear. It can be frustrating.
 

Ken S.

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Yup, that's me. Any time my mind thinks it can get away with it, I start (or continue) cooking ideas. If I'm really lucky, I'll do that when I'm in a position to jot stuff down. Otherwise I'll have to either try and remember for later or sneak something in and hope that no one notices that I'm not paying attention :)
 

Swordfish

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All. The. Time.

Today I was driving to work and a million ideas about changing the plot came up. I wrote them down as soona s I parked
 

GFanthome

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This is a very good thing indeed!

Happens to me all the time. It's like exercising a muscle. If you keep at it, you stress the muscle too much. A break allows the goodness to sink in!

I usually find that I have to bring a notepad or my phone with me to jot down ideas if I go for a walk because that's when they start to flow like crazy.


______________
One Broken Wing
 

Niiicola

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It's especially fun when my 7-month-old wakes me up at 3am to eat and my brain's IMMEDIATELY at work. Like, go to sleep, damn brain.
Sometimes I think tedious moments with little ones are actually good for creativity. At least that's what I tell myself ;)
 

SomethingOrOther

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Raising children can be draining, but it's ultimately very rewarding.* Just like art. So in that way it is good for creativity.

*N.B., I have zero idea what raising children is like--well, I've tutored and babysat a decent amount, although that probably doesn't compare--but that sounds like something my parents would say.
 

mfarraday

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My mind is constantly going, as well.

I have one little notebook, one big notebook, my cell phone, and various websites where I record all of these ideas...
 

dangerousbill

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Is anyone else's mind always on the go like this?
Sometimes I think it's impossible to take a break from being a writer.. :D

That's your subconscious mind working at full throttle. You're wise to keep notes as much and as detailed as possible.

I find an inexpensive voice recorder to be helpful, because you can't always take time to pull out a notebook and write--while driving, for example.
 

McBeanie

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Yep, I've taken the last week off with no chance to write and I got a bunch of new ideas, all of which I obviously wrote down.

The strangest was probably in the middle of a debate about tax policy...
 

Laineywrites

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That happens to me all the time and when I least expect it. The strangest things will spark a story idea, or an idea for a really cool character. I was in the dentist's office last week getting a tooth pulled when a great idea for an alien race came to mind. As the Novocaine needle came toward me I was wishing for paper and pencil (and a Valium).
 

Fallen

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I work best away from the computer where ideas are concerned. Usually when I sit down to write, all the thought has already gone into it.
 

bearilou

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I don't have the manic word dump sessions but it happens quite often to me when I'm away from the keyboard. The moment I'm not where I can write something down, I'm filled with ideas and resolutions to stick problems...

Especially true when I'm up to my elbows in soapy water. My personal theory is there is something in the soap....
 

KellyAssauer

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Raising children can be draining, but it's ultimately very rewarding.* Just like art. So in that way it is good for creativity.

*can depend on if the child in question is reading their acceptance letter to Harvard, or practicing the line: "You want fries with that?"...
 

WaveHopper

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Definitely. Sometimes I'll decide I'm taking the weekend off from writing. Then I'll go for an evening walk and scenes and plot twists race through my mind.
 

skydragon

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Totally agree with the ones who said it happens most when they're trying to sleep! It's so frustrating when you've just got all snuggled up in bed, and then you have to get out again in the cold to pick up a notepad.. ha ha.

I like the voice recorder idea, though. I might have to start using that feature on my phone.. :)
 
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Niiicola

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Totally agree with the ones who said it happens most when they're trying to sleep! It's so frustrating when you've just got all snuggled up in bed, and then you have to get out again in the cold to pick up a notepad.. ha ha.

I like the voice recorder idea, though. I might have to start using that feature on my phone.. :)

Maybe keep a little notepad under your pillow? ;)
I have a lot of virtually unreadable scrawls that I make in my bedside-table notepad in the dark.
 
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