Writers have a plethora of ideas. Idea Bombs usually come at odd times–when driving, during a conversation, at work, or while drifting off to sleep.
It never fails, one minute you’re engrossed in some task, the next--kapow!— an explosion of ideas blows up your mind! I have some of the best ideas while cooking ( shhshsh….don’t tell the hubby).
The not-so-great thing about an Idea Bomb is they are quick to dissipate into the ether, often before one can do anything about them.
Here’s a few suggestions for storing those ideas before it’s too late. Use Idea Vaults. Warning: This is for the techno-proficient. Sorry Luddites, you’re just have to carry pen and paper wherever you go.
- Use Pintrest’s secret board for top secret photo ideas for the next novel.
- Create a separate board for each work in progress.
- No time to type? Take a photo and pin it to one of your boards. (This is one of my teacher tricks. If class is over and students are still mid-task, I have them take a photo.)
- Take screen captures of information before it disappears on the fast-moving Twitter or Facebook feed
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Use the Notes section on your phone or ipad. Create separate notes for:
1. blog topic ideas
2. character and place names
3. each novel/work in progress
4. future plots/novels
5. 1-sentence pitches
6. catchy words/phrases for future promos
- Keep unused witty 140-character tweets in drafts. Having a brain dead day? Scroll through your tweet drafts and voila!
- Set up devices so they sync—if you’re not sure how to do this just ask any three year old. LOL
- Set up a Cloud account. My son the computer engineer says, “If a document isn’t in 3 places, it doesn’t exist.”
- Create folders for any giant chunk of words you cut from an MS but suspect might one day come in handy
The downside of using technology? Computers, phones, and iPad can be lost, stolen, or go under water. However, I’ve lost more scraps of paper with brilliant ideas ( cough cough) than I’ve lost with technology.
Do YOU use Idea Vaults?
Related Links: Readin’ & Writin’
