I had an idea for a blog post the other day. I came up with a few sentences teasing it out, and I think I even had a title. I think it was when I was cleaning (myself or the house; I can’t remember). I thought there was no way I would forget it – that as soon as I next sat down to my computer it would flow out of me organically.
That was a couple of weeks ago. The idea didn’t come back.
This happens all the time with story ideas (both for my current WIP and new works). There’s the usual places like the shower or the commute, but sometimes it’s just impossible or downright rude to take note of random flashes of inspiration – say when you are having lunch with a friend, during a meeting at work, or in the middle of a painful beauty therapy session. The most torturous one for me is right before I drop off to sleep. What to do? I find myself repeating the idea over and over again in my head, but I have a terrible track record at remembering them later.
It seems like Murphy’s Law for new ideas. The more interesting the idea, the more inconvenient the time or place in which it drops into your head.
What is the most inconvenient time an idea has come to you? Did you manage to take note of it and/or remember it later?
Believe it or not, at a funeral. And yes, I did take notes on the little Mass pamphlet they handed out.
ReplyDeleteWow, that must have been a little awkward! The muse knows no bounds.
DeleteThanks for commenting Anne.