Can we talk?

Organizing My Thoughts

         Every day, as I walk or drive or sweep, I argue in my own head or preach, and I think, "This is what I'll blog about tonight." Then I sit down before the keyboard, and my mind is a total blank. I can't remember what I spent so much time organizing in my brain. It was so clear at that moment.

         The same is true for stories I want to write. I've got the basic premise worked out, the what-if's, the setting, the basic characters. But in my head it's not detailed in order. I work out a scene that comes near the end or in the middle, but haven't gotten the beginning yet. I have finally learned to write things down, so I don't have to go back to basics, but dialog and details go back to the drawing board. That brain just deletes everything, and I have to start the mental document over.

         One of the things I like about WDC is that it gives a place to store your ideas. When you move, you still have your cyber memory or even your PC memory. But back when I had everything on paper, I lost a ton of stuff, poems, a book, stories. I don't have poetry in me any more. That's never coming back. The stories are gone. I might be able to recreate the book because I spent so much time on it. But storing your unpublished works is a big deal. Things have gotten better for writers.

         Meanwhile, I keep pushing myself to be more disciplined on a day to day basis and find a system that works for me.