My Remedy for Writer’s Block

I get a lot of thoughts that would make great pieces.  Sometimes they are lengthy ideas, and others they are just a few words.  But the problem is this: They don’t always come at a convenient time for writing about them.  What I have taken to doing is carrying a small notepad (3×5 spiral) and pen ( it is a half-size pen that is full size when you put the cap on it) with me almost all of the time.  I find if I keep these items handy I am more apt to jot down at least enough to recall the idea and sometimes a lot more, a whole outline.

I keep these notes for months sometimes.  But I always hold on to them for a while, just in case the idea may not be right for me now but could be in the future.  Right now my pad has probably a dozen as yet unused “starters” in it.  As I use the notes I cross them off the list.  Seeing the items crossed off the list inspires me to keep up this practice so I don’t tear out any pages, just keep adding to them.

Since I don’t tear out the pages, just cross off the note, I find it makes meat least give the idea a shot on paper/screen (depending what I’m writing on).  Sometimes these notes turn into great things and others just feed the shredder/recycle bin.  But I figure if the thought was worth writing in the notepad in the first place, it has to be worth giving it a few minutes worth of effort to see if I can make it into anything.

I know of others that use a recoder (tape or digital) to basically do the same thing.  I’ve tried that myself but didn’t find it worked for me.  The recorder was too cumbersome, the batteries die, and, heck, my goal it to write so why not actually write the notes?