Your Ideas for Writing a Book Deserve Your Respect

Posted by in Publishing, Writing

Do ideas for your writing project come to you at odd or unexpected times? Like in the shower, or while driving? On a hike, or just before you fall asleep? Do you intend to write them down when you can, but then find you forgot to, and now don’t remember what the great idea was?

Successful writers treat these ideas with respect. They recognize them for what they are: creative gold. When they just come to you, your writing can become effortless—if you create a place to put them. This is what I mean by treating your ideas with respect.

The first step to successfully respecting your writing is to have something you can jot these ideas down in immediately, or very close to it. It could mean being sure to carry a small notebook and pencil with you at all times—in your car or in your purse. It could mean having pen and paper in your bathroom, or, with a small flashlight, by your bed so you can write ideas down if they come in the night. It could mean speaking the idea into your smart phone. Decide on a method that’s easiest for you and take the steps necessary to prepare for the ideas that will come to you.

The second step is to create a permanent home for these ideas. You may want to create a file folder labeled “ideas” and put the pieces of paper into it when you are home again. It may mean creating a file folder on the computer, and entering the ideas into it as soon as you are at the computer again. Be careful in the way you name your file, so you will be able to find your ideas again. (I usually recommend making one folder called “writing,” and inside that, one for each specific project, and one for general ideas—whether that’s in hard copy form, on the computer, or both.) This is what treating your writing with respect looks like. It’s not taking a crumpled piece of paper out of your jeans after they’ve been through the wash; it’s taking that piece of paper out the moment you get home and putting it in the proper file, labeled correctly. It feels good, I promise.

The third step is the fun part: go to that file when you are prepared to write, and begin with your creative idea. Use it to tell the story you have to tell. This is how you turn ideas into gold.

Don’t be haphazard. This is your creative work, and you want it to become a book, right? Successful creative people have made a habit of taking ideas and using them to generate actual work (a painting, a poem, a book). Your ideas are gold. Trust that. Respect them.