Wednesday 4 June 2008

The Perceptive Notebook

Tell Me a Story - writing tip

The first fundamental for writers is to be perceptive. Yet, some writers are so caught up with their novel, that time away from it is spent in oblivion. They don’t really take in what’s happening around them. If only they’d come out of that trance, they’d find inspiration jumping at them.

Ideas are fleeting.

Ideas are fleeting. Sod’s Law says we’ll have the most brilliant idea when there isn’t time to jot it down. I know, it’s happened to me more than once. I’m confident I won’t forget it, it’s so important how could I? But forget I do, and it’s exasperating. Knowing I’ve had the inspiration of the century, but can’t bring it to it mind, pisses me off.

Ideas seem to come at the most inopportune moment, usually when we don’t have a notebook. Author, Mary Wibberly, has apparently solved the problem in the past by jotting it down on the cover of her chequebook – bankcards have seen that off though. It’s difficult scribbling on plastic.

Important conversations

I’m considering buying one of those digital voice recorders and stuffing it in my pocket. At least that way I’ll be able to record those all-important conversations – much more convenient than scribbling illegible notes whilst talking.

I suppose the moral is, always carry a notebook and you won’t forget that all-important idea! The problem is, forgetting to put it in our pockets …


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