, he says, "Your job isn’t to find these ideas but to recognize them when they show up."A writer's mind is open to ideas. Ideas come at the most inconvenient times. Those times you don't have a pen & paper, a computer, or a recorder device nearby to jot the idea down. You vow to yourself to remember the idea, only to forget it a minute later. You kick yourself.
Had I wrote all my 'great ideas' down, I might have a few more books written. I have notebooks in my car, by my bed, by my remote controls for the TV, and one at work. Each notebook has some random scribbles that I hope to form into something that can be understood by me and eventually read by others.
What are these ideas? They are anything from character names, plot twists, single words or phrases I like, a line of dialogue or two.
Dialogue example:
One night I was flipping through channels and "One Tree Hill" was on. What was looking to be a mother & daughter talking, I stopped at that moment to see what they were talking about. They were silent for awhile, the daughter finally spoke and asked a question, "Mom, talk to me about the cancer." The words, the tone, and expression had an impact on me. It sank in just as I hope my words sink in with readers who read my writing. Sure, that dialogue was sad - but it is real - real things people are facing each day.
Writers: When do ideas most frequently come to you? What do you do in order to remember them?
Writers Bookstore:
Here is an idea book for writers that is on my bookshelf:
The Writer's Idea Book
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