YOU GET IDEAS FROM DAYDREAMING.
YOU GET IDEAS FROM BEING BORED.
YOU GET IDEAS ALL THE TIME.
THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WRITERS
AND OTHER PEOPLE IS WE NOTICE
WHEN WE'RE DOING IT.
(Neil Gaiman)
I would have to add the same is true for any artist, inventor or entrepreneur. It's in the taking of the idea and the running with it where we often let ourselves down. How many times have we said to ourselves "Oh, now, that's a good idea" but instead of writing it down - on a post-it note or on the white board hanging on the refrigerator or on the backs of our hands - our minds drift to grocery lists and errands? Or, how many times have we had the idea, but then dismissed it with a "Nah, that's been done before" or a "No, that's silly" and a shake of the head?
Of course, it doesn't mean that all of our ideas are good ones. I cringe when I think about the pages and pages of weirdness all over my office. But you know what? I actually want to weep when I think about all the ideas, dreams, scenarios, bits of dialogue, and quirky people I didn't jot down or I dismissed with an "I couldn't pull that idea/story/character off." And I think I'd rather cringe than weep.
Let's make a special point to notice our ideas and thoughts this week. And let's make an extra special point to make a note of them, some how, some way.
I feel the same way about not writing ideas down. I kick myself for months, even years when I realize I've forgotten. I try harder now to get it down fast, but life still gets the best of me sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this quote! It is so true.
ReplyDeleteI heard someone once say that if you forgot an idea, it couldn't have been that good in the first place because otherwise you'd have remembered it. Not sure if that's true but it's definitely something to think about. :)
ReplyDeleteAngela, I think we're trading great blog quotes today. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat motivational point, and like you said, not just for writers. I recently became friends with two engineers, and almost every time I hang out with them they see a product they'd like to improve or a problem that needs to be solved, and off they go brainstorming out loud in terms I only half-understand. I really hope to see them create some of these things that they imagine... and since I don't need a lab or welding equipment to productively use the random ideas that come to me, I feel like I have no excuse but to follow suit!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny you say that, Jillian, because my husband is is not a writer but he always has lots of ideas for all kinds of things. He writes them down but he only sometimes follows up. Hmm, maybe I'm a bad influence in him...
ReplyDeleteMy wife got me a small digital recorder for my birthday this year, and I've been using it as an idea receptacle -- but not nearly as much as I should!
ReplyDeleteMilo, that's a good idea. Maybe this post will trigger you to use it more? :)
ReplyDelete