When Ideas Come at the Wrong Time

dlachance9 · Post by **dlachance9** » 03 Apr 2014, 21:20

Like others, I will sometimes wake up in the middle of the night with a "brilliant" idea. I'll jot down some notes in my phone or using whatever I have by my bed. However, when I wake up in the morning and look at what I've written I just can't make heads or tails of it! Or it's the dumbest idea I've ever heard!

K_Robinson · Post by **K_Robinson** » 04 Apr 2014, 23:23

This has happened to me on several occasions, and its normally when I'm on my way home from work. Since I'm driving I can't write them down and unfortunately, by the time I get home (I have quite a long drive) I forget most of the details. Any ideas how to improve this ability?

-- 05 Apr 2014, 00:26 --

Dlachance9: Thats funny! Sometimes thoughts do sound better in our heads

RILENTLISS · Post by **RILENTLISS** » 04 Apr 2014, 23:57

@dlachance9: Maybe your creative self is not accepted by your logical self...
@K_Robinson: Bluetooth earpiece, microphone, audio recorder, or get a passenger.

Bennett_Ashley8921 · Post by **Bennett_Ashley8921** » 06 Apr 2014, 23:35

I just jot down a few words so I don't forget about it.

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 07 Apr 2014, 17:33

When I first started writing fiction, I often found myself having brainstorms while driving or in the shower or at work (I worked full time as an oil & gas consultant) and got stuck and frustrated, forgetting the brainstorm by the time I finally was able to jot it down.

So I bought a little cassette memo tape machine (shows you how long ago this was, ha ha) and that helped a lot.

I'd therefore recommend an inexpensive electronic memo pad. Also, you can simply phone yourself and leave a message.

What I did eventually find was that I became able to remember all the ideas and could recall them easily, hours afterward. It's just a case of training yourself. But until you've learned to do this, yes, a little memo box would be fine. They're cheap.

rxxysh · Post by **rxxysh** » 08 Apr 2014, 02:55

This happened to me too and always when i least expected it.Of course,by the time i got a chance to write it down the idea was already wiped from my mind in some small measure and it was frustrating.Now,i simply keep a small notepad in my purse and if i cant get to it,i use my phone

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 08 Apr 2014, 08:58

Regarding ideas that come in your dreams, there's an old joke that Robert Benchley used to tell:

A philosopher was sound asleep and he dreamed that he'd discovered the deep secret to human relationships, especially married ones. He awoke suddenly, stumbled over to his desk and scribbled the answer, then he dumped himself back into bed. The next morning, he got up and excited at his discovery, went to his desk to see what he'd written. It read: "Higamous hogamous, women are monogamous. Hogamouse higamous, men polygamous."

jlsharp · Post by **jlsharp** » 08 Apr 2014, 17:39

I use my iPhone for this problem but I have a hard time remember to go back and look at it to write it down somewhere.

jennyontheblock · Post by **jennyontheblock** » 09 Apr 2014, 06:51

It usually happen to me in the in the middle of the night. There is no need to grab a pen and paper for me, I just hold the idea in my subconscious mind until I awake in the morning, and it remains there...that's the time I write and it flows continuously, I don't know why.

GBPhoenix17 · Post by **GBPhoenix17** » 09 Apr 2014, 11:06

This has happened to me many times! I usually bring out my phone and start typing on that, usually just outlines but sometimes I'll just go right into the story if time allows for it.

ConorEngelb · Post by **ConorEngelb** » 09 Apr 2014, 12:20

I've recently started jotting down a sentence or two of the core idea, like "what if XYZ happened?" or "some-person does something", just so I don't forget

Markiemark · Post by **Markiemark** » 09 Apr 2014, 13:33

Mine usually happen when I'm laying in bed and I think to my self. Man I gotta remember this in the morning. Never fails that I don't remember squat lol .

Newdawn · Post by **Newdawn** » 09 Apr 2014, 16:31

I don't know how many times this has happened to me. I get some of the best ideas when I am in bed or even in the Bath! With the amount of notebooks I have scattered around the house you would think that this wouldn't be a problem but never fails when I need it I don't have it.

Dawn

christina_n_m · Post by **christina_n_m** » 10 Apr 2014, 04:56

The ideas I am most enthralled by come to me when I am between waking and dream states. That fuzzy moment when I am past consciousness but lucid and aware enough to be creative is when my best writing comes.

krismags · Post by **krismags** » 10 Apr 2014, 14:44

I usually get good ideas when I'm doing something that allows my brain to clear, like running, biking, or while I'm at work. For a while they get more detailed if I don't write them down, but I so rarely have time to actually write and develop them that they've usually slipped away to that awkward zone of remembered, but no longer detailed enough to be satisfactory in comparison to the original by the time I get to write.