How to Avoid Losing Ideas

Every writer I know can tell one of these stories. Young, old, new or experienced. It doesn’t matter, we all do it. A great idea, or a part of one, blooms. We’re amazed at ourselves at how our own brain works and how marvelous this idea is. The neat turn of a phrase the potentially award-winning play or novel. Breathtaking, inspiring…gone. Why?

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• determination
• self-discipline
• pad and pen, or at least pen

1. 
   by Chance Agrella

   Because you didn’t take note of it, you didn’t write it down.

2. The solution? Simple, write it down.

3. 
   photo by Chance Agrella

   But is it that simple? The writing part is. The training yourself to actually do it isn’t. Again, every writer I know will tell you he or she experienced this light-bulb-over-the-head moment, smiled secretively to him or herself absolutely positively certain without a doubt that that idea would be recalled when needed.

4. 

   You think you’ll remember later. You’re sure you’ll remember later. But where it gets stored is in your short term memory and unless something miraculously happens to cement it, then in a matter of hours, sometimes only minutes, it will be gone. Poof, evaporated, inaccessible. Oh, you’ll remember some tiny bit or piece that will plague you, tug at you, irritate you, but that wonderful idea will be gone.

5. So train yourself. Pay attention. Write it down. No doubt everything you write in personal notebooks or jot onto the back of napkins won’t be worth keeping. But that idea you put to paper in the notebook beside your bed just before dropping off to sleep could be worth it’s weight in gold.

6. You’ll never know how much that idea was worth unless you lose it. And few things are worse than believing an idea you’ve lost is your best or one of your best. If only bits and pieces surround you, if your original idea is lost in a crowd of other thoughts, you’ll never even know if you were right. Wouldn’t it be a relief to have something to tell you it really wasn’t that good? If you don’t write it down and don’t remember you’ll never know.

7. So train yourself. Write to yourself. Even a few words will help cement that idea in long term memory and you won’t have to worry about that lost idea again.

Tips & Warnings

• Even after you train yourself, you'll do it again. Just use that to reassert your determination to write it down next time and not let the ideas get away.
• Don't get angry with yourself for not jotting down that idea. That'll only mke holding onto the next more difficult. Let it go and resolve to do better next time.

Resources

• Classroom approach to notebooks
• Psychology Today Article - writer's notebook

[inquire]

on 10/5/2009 Wondeful article!!! 5* and a rec.

[mommyhen42]

on 9/13/2009 I really needed this one, I forget things all the time... really embarrassing at times... sigh

[somuchtodo]

on 7/18/2009 So simple - write it down to avoid losing those great ideas. Bought mu notebook today. 5*

[ladyselene]

on 6/11/2009 I really needed to hear this today, I have been telling myself I need to start writing things down this whole month. Thanks for the solid advice and validation. *****

[amandaford]

on 6/2/2009 Yes! Yes! Yes! Nora Ephron says that her mother used to tell her again and again, "Write it down! It's all material."