When the Lightbulb Strikes

My imagination is pregnant again... and with one screaming-to-be-written-book toddler and another half-edited ink-and-paper teenager... I don't know how I'm going to handle this.


I got the third idea while I was in the shower, now I'm sitting here, dripping wet, (but decent, you'll be glad to know) having typed up the bones of a possible new novel.


If there's one thing I've learned this week, it's that when you get an idea, write it down immediately. No matter where you are or what you're doing, WRITE IT DOWN. (maybe with the exception of driving)  You may tick off a lot of people, but you'll be glad you did it when you finally get to sit down with it and start planning. Ideas are fragile and become hazy, just like dreams. After even an hour, the quality just isn't the same.


A friend of mine recently gave me the tip of writing ideas on the back of till receipts while at work. I usually go home now with a back pocket full of illegible notes on scraps of till paper.


If I really can't stop to jot something down, (because I'm scaling the wall of a ruined castle, and to falter would meant plummeting to my death, no joke) even speaking it aloud (at the risk of being committed) can help you internalise the finer details.


Now to dry my hair! If anyone else would care to share their ideas on this, I would love to hear from you.