Pebblepup's Writing Den

I have a notebook where I write down any stray story ideas that come to me. I call it my story idea notebook. I know, original. I don’t think I’m alone in having one either. You probably have one. It’s a good tool for your writer’s toolbox. It’s a place to hold all the ideas that can clutter your mind and keep you from advancing through your process. At least that’s what mine does. It also keeps me from forgetting them.

My notebook is not fancy. Just a simple notebook. I jot down ideas as they come to me. I get a germ of an idea and write it down. It helps me to remember them. My notebook is a virtual one I access primarily from my phone. You could use a paper one. I use a virtual one because I’m rarely without my phone. Jotting down ideas as they occur to me means they are there when I need them. I can also search them should I need to.

When I’m thinking of something to write about, I look at the story ideas. Sometimes there’s something there I can develop into a story treatment. I’ll be doing more on that topic soon.

The story idea notebook has no forms in it. Nothing at all, except ideas in paragraph form with a working title. Sometimes the ideas are the result of a dream I had, sometimes they arise from the what-if game I sometimes play. Sometimes they are from TV shows, movies or books I’ve read. I take the premise of the work and see if I could do something with it. None of that last type of story idea has made it past the idea stage.

I write the story idea in paragraph form because I often don’t have a setting, characters or much of a plot. Putting the idea in paragraph form helps to determine what characters you might need and sometimes even a setting will emerge.

That’s the point of the story idea notebook. You get an idea and write it down. There’s no need to be elaborate with it. Just a few lines is often enough to record the idea.

It’s later when things get better. Do you need an idea to write about? Look in your story idea notebook. Chances are, you’ll find one that sparks your creativity and you can develop it further.

I sometimes write an idea down on a page in the notebook. Then I write an alternative. Then an alternative to the alternative. Ideas can have more than one form. This helps me when I feel the need to write a story, but can’t think of one. I just look at the ideas I’ve already had and see if there is something there I can use now.

The notebook is just a place to put the idea until you are ready to go further with it, or trash it. I rarely trash my ideas though. You never know when you might feel the need to write that particular story. Meanwhile, it sits in your story idea notebook, ready whenever you are.