Strike on Your Ideas While They’re Hot

Explore how to make time for your writing

I was at a holiday party and stuck. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy the food, the chocolate fondue, the smiles and cheers — it was that I’d switched off in the middle of a conversation, and a dozen pairs of eyes stared blankly at me.

You see, a story idea came to me while I conversed with a group of friends and colleagues. Now, in the middle of our conversation, one of them asked me a question. I couldn’t answer, because I stopped paying attention for a few moments. It’s not that I wasn’t interested, but the conversation triggered an idea for a story that I wanted to do. I worked for a women’s magazine at the time, and my job was to come up with articles on health, wellness, and spirituality. At times, an editor would assign me a cover story like interviewing a well-known news anchor — one time we almost got Jordin Sparks, but then she couldn’t make it. Anyhow, I was looking for ideas at the time, and one had just popped into my head.

A dozen pair of eyes watched me, and I remained silent. I wanted to run, grab a pen, shuffle through my purse to find my phone, and note down the idea, but alas, the writer in me was lost.

It’s like a sneeze tickling your nose, but before you can let it out, someone’s distracted you. Except this was worse.

My idea faded into oblivion, as my friend snapped me back into the present.

“Answer the question!”

“Oh yes,” I cleared my throat and delivered a vague reply.

Unfortunately, I didn’t recall the idea later, and that was the end of that!

Since then, I’ve come up with a decent plan to avoid losing my goldmine of thoughts. It’s common for writers to think of story ideas at odd times and places, but how do you retain the matter while it’s hot?

Writers discover goldmines of ideas all the time. However, one’s mood and timing can act like temperamental toddlers glaring at each other from opposite ends of a room. What must one do then?

“Write while the heat is in you. … The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with.”

This quote comes from one of the most famous writers of the 18th century — Henry David Thoreau. The point is that it’s best to write when the idea is fresh and brewing. The question is how?

Match Your Mood to Time

Dancers match their steps to the rhythm. Similarly, writers need to match up their writing urge with a time that suits them. Here are a few tips to make time:

Firstly, find a polite excuse if you’re in a social setting. This shouldn’t be done as an escape, but honestly, for the sake of writing. As mentioned, if you know you will lose an idea, and if it’s important to you, find a way to write it down. You can always come back to the gathering a little later.

We all know polite words begin with, “Excuse me,” and then either let people know you’ll be back in a minute or that something important came up. You could even say that you’ve just remembered a work deadline and will try to get back soon. I’m sure you get the idea here.

Next, make sure you always keep a notebook or your phone handy, because when an idea comes, you know you can quickly record it. You don’t want to be writing on napkins and toilet paper — although I’m sure that’s been done before — artists!

Not being prepared means running around trying to find a means to save your ideas while your thoughts make an exit.

Lastly, if you’re in the mood to write, go ahead and write. Now, if you’re at home with kids and responsibilities, it’s definitely tough but not impossible.

Such writers don’t always have the luxury of making excuses to capture their ideas as they come, however, if they keep a phone handy, they could quickly jot down a few points or a one-line reminder, and get back to it later. Some people wake up before the kids or work on their writing after their kids go to bed, and some put on limited entertainment for their children so they can complete a critical piece. Not all ways suit everyone but don’t give up. There’s always a way even if it’s slow. In such cases, don’t sweat it, which happens if your expectations as a writer run higher than what is practical.

Writing time doesn’t mean stretches of time at a go, but even little bits and pieces will suffice. After all, you’re not as time-bound as a baker unless, of course, you’re a reporter. If you’re in the mood, go ahead and write — right away if you can.

Know When Time’s up

While it’s great to make the time, you don’t need to be slogging on for eight hours straight. Keeping a falcon-eye focus while you’re at it is good enough. This could mean for half an hour, an hour or more.

Glen Gers, known for Mad Money and Fracture, is most productive in short bursts — when the inspiration comes, he writes. He shares his writing process:

“After the burst was running down, I would grind — not only would that be unproductive and…disheartening, but I would start to undo my good work.”

You don’t want to write when you’re not feeling the motivation — some people do, but it’s not easy. If you find that you’ve worked on your piece for even under an hour, and you can’t go further, it’s better you stop. Take a break, distract yourself, go for a walk, water the plants, call a friend — a change of scene can bring back your writing spirit.

Once you’re back in the mood, you’ll be much more productive in a shorter amount of time than you would be sitting at the computer for hours trying to force yourself.

With this method, you’ll find that completing your story is an achievable feat. Writing in the heat of the moment is like eating chocolate — you feel your taste buds come alive. You feel good.

The 1982 Nobel-prize-winning author, Gabriel García Márquez, said,

“You write better if you’ve had a good meal and you’ve got an electric typewriter.”

As long as you’re in your zone, in your mood, keep going. Once the flavor dies down, once you’ve let it out and can’t go further, don’t force it. Simply stop. You’re not running a marathon that you must complete. It’s more like a relay race. Take it as it comes.

When I look back at the event I attended, I do regret having lost a good idea, however, fretting over it doesn’t help. The world is full of ideas — writers just need to do a little digging around to find the gold. You never know where you’ll be when you stumble on a story that inspires you.

The holidays bring glittering goods to your doors and delicious treats to your palette, but the golden treasure of writing will stick around even as the old year fades into the new. Treasure each moment of inspiration, and above all find time to engage with it while it’s fresh and hot.

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