What To Do With All Those Great Writing Ideas

For years I carried around a small notebook to jot down ideas when they came to me. I still do that but now I transfer them to my Idea Box for easy organized access.

If something catches my attention I'll write it down on something (notebook, napkin, index card, my hand) and later tranfer it to an index card for the box. If it's something I overheard, I'll write it down on the card. If it's an article or photo I find, I'll cut it out and tape it to a card.

This morning while putting laundry away I had the country music station on. I almost never listen to country, but for some reason that's what it was set at. You know how country songs always tell a sad sappy story? I heard one that immediately gave me an idea for my current WIP (work in progress). I quickly jotted my idea down in the notebook I'm using for that story. (If the idea wouldn't work for my WIP, I would have written it on an index card and put it in the Idea Box).

Whenever I'm plotting out story or characters I'll go through my Idea Box and see what I come up with. In the box I have full stories, snippets of dialogue and characteristics (refuses to wear shoes even in church-type thing). Since I can't remember everything I have in the box, it's a great way to get fresh ideas when plotting.

Like many writers, I get a lot of my best ideas in the shower. To keep these ideas from escaping by the time I get out, I use my son's Bathtub Crayons to write my ideas on the shower wall. It won't run off with shower water, but still comes off easily when you clean it.

Noelle Nolan, a professional freelance writer says, "I have a file on my computer titled "Article Ideas," and anytime one strikes me I type it in there. Its just a list with a few directions I can go with it. I also jot them down on a piece of paper kept in a filing cabinet or my organizer."

How do you capture your ideas?