Always carry a notebook or a digital recorder...

I was reading tips for writers on the web, which is a favorite way to get started on days I need motivation. This could be dangerous if one is apt to go down the rabbit hole and just start reading everything on the web. Fortunately I don't do that often. Anyway I sat and thought about what tip I would have for writers and realized for myself the most important thing is to be able to capture those inspirational ideas that strike me anywhere, especially away from the computer.

I do this using a technique that I learned way back in the 6th grade. I have a tendency to forget my ideas when distracted so writing them down really helps. I keep a notebook on me at all times. Today it may be a paper one (old habits die hard) or I use my iphone. I do possess an ipad but it is just not my favorite method of writing and I always seem to have my iphone on me so I use that if no notebook is around. I also get quite a few ideas while in the shower or in the car driving so that prohibits me from writing down my idea. In that case I use a voice activated recorder and just talk my idea to the recorder placed nearby.

Talking my idea to a recorder was particularly helpful when I was working on my doctorate. I would write papers and work on my dissertation while stuck in traffic in Los Angeles because it really did seem like a waste of an hour and a half in the car (that's for each way to work I might add). I used a voice activated recorder because I personally found it worked better than the iphone but use whatever fits your personal preference.

I've also written creative stories this way. Nothing is more boring that literally sitting still on the 110 in downtown Los Angeles. There is something freeing about writing a story orally. You are not inhibited by staring at the blank page on a computer screen or text that you are finding bland. The bonus to writing by speaking your story is that later when you type the tale you told you can edit it as you go. If you decide you didn't like anything you spoke into the digital recorder, just delete it.

But back to the notebook. I have lots of them filled up with ideas. There's something about having real paper to shuffle through that makes me inspired. These notebooks are great for brainstorming. For times when you need to write and are looking for inspiration or a story to flush out. Sometimes my notes are very detailed and I'm surprised I didn't work on a story sooner. Some story ideas sit in the notebook for quite a while until I can revisit them. My point is don't let those ideas pass you by. Inspiration can come anytime and anywhere. Make sure you capture it.