Write It Down

If you have an idea, a great quote, or a specific piece of action you want to happen in your work, write it down.  Carry a notepad with you or go immediately to wherever you keep your notepad and write down that great idea.

I have a small piece of scratch paper on my desk.  On it, I keep all of my blog ideas.  However, I sometimes have a great idea while in line at the grocery store or on a walk with my dog.  I always think, “I’ll be able to remember that.”  Know what?  I almost never do? 

Maybe you have an eidetic memory.  I don’t.  I have a very good memory, better than most(although usually applying to stuff from a long time ago), but I forget in the short term.  And then I flail for what to write.

So don’t do that.  You don’t have to be very specific unless there’s a very specific thing you want, but you need enough that it’ll job your memory.  Otherwise, you’ll lose a lot, and that’s not the way good writers become great writers.