Write it DOWN!

All I'm saying is when you have a good idea WRITE IT DOWN! I can't tell you how many times throughout the day my husband will go, "Go write that down right now. That's a good idea." And I do so. But you know, he's not always around. 

ALWAYS HAVE SOMETHING WITH YOU SO YOU CAN WRITE DOWN YOUR IDEAS! You can use Notes in your phone but I find that to be a little eh-eh. I don't remember what's in my phone. I don’t even think to look there. It's not tangible and my phone is not dedicated to my writing pursuits. 

Personally I find going to Staples or Office Depot to be the CVS For Writers. The way I love candy and medicine in the aisles of chain drugstores, I love the paper, notebooks and pens in big box office supply stores. They have all the tools I need to keep track of my divine inspiration PINGS - brilliant thoughts about whatever I'm currently writing or hits about a new book, play, children's story, screenplay, etc., etc. 

To that end, when I do my writing session, I have my document open dedicated to the facet of my project I'm currently working on as well as my diary. In my diary, I write down all my incredibly important feelings about the world and my anxieties and sometimes I throw in an impromptu gratitude list, but I also at times have an idea. I believe ideas are precious. So I always type IDEA and then write that idea down just like that, in upper case. That way I can do Control Find, type in IDEA and locate my brilliance in between my mixed up feelings about Whole Foods and why I’m not able to go to yoga again.

That simple tool makes it easy for me to shine; to never be grasping and feel like I have writer's block. Same with having a small notebook I bought at the candy store for writers. My small notebook follows me everywhere – it’s in my bag, on the passenger seat of my car, it sits on my bedside table so when I’m falling asleep and think of something just before I go to unconsciousness, I can turn on the light (sorry, husband) and jot it down. That one little trick simply gives me another opportunity to find what I need to shine when I’m afraid I don’t have any good ideas.

The point of all of this is a) writer's write and b) you do have good ideas but one bad idea is believing you'll remember them all. 

​More about b... 

You're not a superhuman weirdo with ironclad memory as your superpower. Or if you are, tell me more about it. Seems like a great IDEA. (hacky hardy har har follows here).

Okay, writer people. I hope this helps. 

-CGD