As a writer, I’ve come to realize the value—and the elusiveness—of writing ideas. They come and go like beautiful blossoms in spring. And just like flowers, if we don’t pick them and save them, we lose them. So today I’d like to share some tips for catching and storing writing ideas.
Every writer should have a system of keep track of #writing ideas - @EdieMelson Click To TweetEvery single writer should have a system of keeping track of ideas. I have several. I also save the same ideas in multiple places to make them easier to find. Here is a peek at my storage system:
Computer Files: I have multiple files on my computer for ideas. Here are just a few:
Blog posts
Devotions
Quotes
Book Ideas (divided into fiction and non-fiction)
Article Ideas
Links
As I said, I may store the same idea in multiple places. For instance, an idea for a blog post, might also work well for an article. Or I might expand it into a book idea. The reverse is also true. I may take a book idea and pull it apart and put multiple things from it into blog posts and articles.
I keep several different quotes files, including writing quotes, inspirational quotes, and Bible verses. These will often grow into ideas for articles, blog posts and devotions.
I also keep a list of links. If I come across a cool idea on the web, I paste the URL and a quick description of what I think I could write about.
I have a place on my iPad and iPhone where I can write ideas.
I’m also a big believer in making audio recordings. Especially when I’m driving or if I have a long idea, I can just record it on my iPhone’s voice memo and transcribe it later.
I’ve also begun to do some sketching. Trust me, it’s nothing I want to share yet, but it seems to jump start my creativity. So I keep some colored pens and pencils—with a small sketch pad—in my computer bag.
I’ve discovered that taking pictures is also a good way to record inspiring ideas. I take pictures of interesting people, places, even geometric shapes in buildings and clouds.
Capture #writing ideas visually with your camera - via @EdieMelson Click To TweetFinally, in case electronics fail me. I always carry a small notebook in my purse. The trick here is to remember to transfer those ideas to my other files so I don’t lose them!
These are my tips. What ways have you found to keep track of your writing ideas?
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Great tips, Edie. Especially snapping pics. In addition to files on my laptop, also have files in Google Docs so I can access them from all my devices.
Susan, I use Google Drive some, but my favorite is DropBox. Thanks for sharing your insight!
Thanks, Edie! I’ve found Evernote, (evernote.com), to be a great, flexible, and free tool. It has an intuitive feel and stays synchronized across multiple devices, (including phone).
Joel, you’re so right! I forgot about Evernote. I use it mainly on my iPad and iPhone. Thanks for the reminder.
Edie, remind your readers the value of copyright infringe laws. What we “capture” must be ours, something (like a photo) or attributed appropriately. Some things are shares and shares on Facebook and email that they lose the original owners tag. If use, even, innocently then it can cost heavy. I lost my original website (4 years work) and over $1,200 in legal fees and damages. Please don’t let this happen to someone else. The watching world is watching.
Christine that is such an important part of being a responsible writer. I have multiple posts about the specifics of copyright on my site and always talk about that issue whenever I teach social media and/or blogging. What I’m referring to here is for private use to help us capture ideas. But sometimes, unknowing writers will use those “idea starters” in places where they shouldn’t. Thanks for chiming in!
It took me a while to get to digest this article. The wait was well worth it.
I’ve got many notes about how to improve my Idea Storage System.
Thank you, Edie Melson. You’re the Queen of Letters.
Edie, Great tips. I just wrote an article for A3 that will be posted today Magazine Article Ideas from Charlie Brown. I am going to link this page. You are one of the amazing writers I talk about in my article. thank you for all you do for us.
Thanks Edie! These are great ideas I’m going to use. I’m currently very disorganized and all my ideas get dumped into one file that I never seem to return to. You’ve really helped.