If you have a sudden rush of inspiration, where do you record it? We often get great ideas while brushing our teeth or while sitting in traffic at a red light. If you are anything like me, you know that you have to record your inspiration before it flutters away from your brain.
To prevent writer’s block, I make sure that I record inspirations as soon as possible. A quick inventory shows me where my inspirations are sitting right now:
· On a yellow sticky note on my car’s dashboard, and two more floating around in the bottom of my purse
· On a tiny notepad next to my toothbrush
· In a journal in the back seat of my car, and another journal in the trunk of my car (that journal is full)
· In a journal next to the easy chair, and another journal on a chair in the dining room
· In my gratitude journal, located on my nightstand
· On virtual sticky notes in my smart phone, using an app called Color Note
· On the backs of recycled envelopes, which have been stuffed inside a manila envelope entitled “Blog Ideas”
I clearly need to simplify! I try to remember to stuff blog ideas into a manila envelope entitled “Blog Ideas,” but with life moving so fast it is difficult to stay organized. On days where my eyes are tired from working on the computer for hours and hours, I go through my journals and tear out pages and organize them into categories. If I already have a book title, the journal notes are stuffed into the back of a folder or manila envelope.
Once I’ve used my latest delicious idea, I put a large checkmark next to the sections that have been used. This helps me remember which ideas have already been put to use.
Writers, what systems do you use to capture all of your ideas? Do you have a special app that you like to use, or do you have other systems? Let me know! The more we share, the better we can all become. Writer’s block can be frustrating, so anything that you can do to stay organized can only help.
Keep writing and keep sharing! - Cronin Detzz
