Right Idea, Wrong Time

 

By Karen Wingate

 

At 9:00 p.m. a wonderful writing idea enters your brain, uninvited.

It is such the wrong time.

You might push against the brainstorm with:

·       My brain stops functioning after 7:00 p.m.

·       I’m in the shower.

·       I have to get the kids to bed.

·       I’m on my way to bed.

·       If I follow the muse now, I’ll write past my bedtime, and I have to get up early and be at my best for tomorrow’s events and . . .

I can wait. I’ll remember it later—tomorrow morning—when I’m back at my laptop.

Fast forward to the next day at your regularly scheduled hour of writing power. The flash of brilliance from yesterday has faded as fast as the dreams of the night.

Writing ideas can be as elusive as lightening bugs, so quick to flit from our brains if we don’t collect them in a safe place. Relax. You don’t have to make the choice between dropping what you’re doing or letting go of the idea. You can store those fly-by bits of inspiration until you have the chance to develop them later when it’s convenient.

Here’s some of my methods:

·       A white board hanging in my office

·       Notepads everywhere: my purse, the kitchen, or with my Bible. I mark the top of the note with the date, a topic heading, and a possible market or work in progress so I remember where I intend the idea to go. Once a week, I collect my notes and dictate them into my computer.

·       Voice memo app on my phone.

·       Dictate the idea straight into my word processor.

What do you do if your brain keeps developing the idea?

Look at why you think you can’t write now. Can you work around those obstacles for fifteen minutes? Do your reasons contain half-truths that keep you from writing?

In my early years, I told myself I was a morning person—I could not write in the evening. I can’t write a decent rough draft if my brain has left the premises, I reasoned. Yet when my children were toddlers, evenings were the only quiet time to write. And over the years, I’ve learned that no rough draft is polished—that’s why they call it a rough draft. It doesn’t have to be perfected now—revisions and editing will come later.

So, what’s your response to the voices that tell you now is not a good time to write?

·       Ask your partner to put the kids to bed. Your family will understand. Really.

·       Set a timer for a reasonable amount of time. You’ll be surprised how much you can accomplish in a few moments. (Truth: A handyman was due to arrive in twenty minutes when the idea for this post came to mind. I got the bare bones of the article mostly written before he arrived.)

·       If you are in a place where you can’t record the idea, like driving, ask a passenger to take notes. (I’ve played scribe for my pastor husband with his sermon ideas.)

·       Pray. Ask God to give you the mental energy to write if the moment is outside the parameters of your biorhythms. If you really can’t write it down at that moment, ask Him to preserve the idea for you until you can get to your desk.

Your writing doesn’t have to disrupt your life schedule. Nor does your life schedule need to prohibit your writing. If God has called you to write, He will also help you find those bits of time to write and keep writing. He is the ultimate source of creativity. Use the same skills of creative thought that help you write to come up with resourceful time management. You can do this!

 

Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com and Jon Tyson.

After writing three traditionally published devotional books, Karen Wingate knows what it’s like to have ideas pop into her brain at any time—day or night. Karen, also a speaker and Bible study leader, lives in southern Arizona with her husband Jack. You can find Karen’s books and sign up for her weekly newsletter on her website at www.karenwingate.com.