So many words, so little time . . .
Many of us writer-types (ha! see the humor there?) find ourselves with words all around us, flitting around our heads, and with ideas bursting from us. Little explosions of creativity that light up our inner writer for a brief moment - that moment where we think, hey, this is great! Unfortunately, that little explosion is usually just that in my case. Brief. For instance, I've had an idea for a baby book. I jot things down about it, sketch ideas, and browse the baby books in the local bookstore. But then I find myself drawn to the new explosion - an idea for a coffee table book that would help spread the word about HELLP Syndrome, or maybe a short story idea for that contest I've been meaning to enter, or maybe even the kernel of an idea for the Great American Novel. If you struggle with the same problem, you need to find a way to channel, organize and control your creativity.
One way you can do this is to have a creativity journal. I funnel my ideas through my Morning Pages journal. For those of you who have followed my blog, you know that I follow the Artist's Way and that I write three pages of longhand stream-of-consciousness type writing (journaling) each morning. If I am working on Project A and suddenly have a little explosion of an idea, I jot a quick note to myself so that I can explore the idea further during my Morning Pages the next day. Then I go back to working on Project A. The unexpected plus to this method is that your little explosion will roll around in your brain while you're not consciously thinking about it. You may even dream about it. It will ferment and then you can journal about it - and you can mark that page with a post-it note tag so that you can find the idea again AFTER you finish Project A!
I've known other writers who keep idea notebooks, where they literally just jot down ideas. If you do this, I suggest you use a small notebook so that you can carry it with you and keep it by your bed. You have to have it with you all the time, or it won't work.
Another writer I knew had a shoebox. Literally. In her office. When she had an idea, she wrote it down on whatever scrap of paper happened to be around. Then she stuck the scrap in her pocket until she got back to her office, then she tossed it in the shoebox. When she needed an idea, or was lacking inspiration, she reached in and grabbed a scrap of paper. The advantage to this is that you could jot a note on a newspaper column and stick it in the box.
So . . . the moral of the story is that if you want to actually FINISH something (and, yes, I'm doing a little self-coaching here), you have to learn to channel and control your ideas.
Happy channeling,
Elle
One way you can do this is to have a creativity journal. I funnel my ideas through my Morning Pages journal. For those of you who have followed my blog, you know that I follow the Artist's Way and that I write three pages of longhand stream-of-consciousness type writing (journaling) each morning. If I am working on Project A and suddenly have a little explosion of an idea, I jot a quick note to myself so that I can explore the idea further during my Morning Pages the next day. Then I go back to working on Project A. The unexpected plus to this method is that your little explosion will roll around in your brain while you're not consciously thinking about it. You may even dream about it. It will ferment and then you can journal about it - and you can mark that page with a post-it note tag so that you can find the idea again AFTER you finish Project A!
I've known other writers who keep idea notebooks, where they literally just jot down ideas. If you do this, I suggest you use a small notebook so that you can carry it with you and keep it by your bed. You have to have it with you all the time, or it won't work.
Another writer I knew had a shoebox. Literally. In her office. When she had an idea, she wrote it down on whatever scrap of paper happened to be around. Then she stuck the scrap in her pocket until she got back to her office, then she tossed it in the shoebox. When she needed an idea, or was lacking inspiration, she reached in and grabbed a scrap of paper. The advantage to this is that you could jot a note on a newspaper column and stick it in the box.
So . . . the moral of the story is that if you want to actually FINISH something (and, yes, I'm doing a little self-coaching here), you have to learn to channel and control your ideas.
Happy channeling,
Elle
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