[stylist] What's on your mind?

[Lynda Lambert]

For everyone,

For those of you on FaceBook, you know that the message bar greets you every day.  Mine looks like this:

" Lynda McKinney Lambert, 
"What's on your Mind? "  

Today, there are a couple of questions on my mind.  Instead of posting them on my FB page, I will ask them here on the writer's list.

On my mind,  are TWO questions today. 
This is  what I am  thinking about lately.
 I wonder how you manage to do two things.

One: 
my "flashes" of inspiration come all the time when I am doing other things and cannot get them down on paper or on the computer.  Often, if the flash of inspiration is not captured, it is gone.  How do you capture the thoughts you have at those moments when you are maybe on a treadmill or working out at the gym; walking the dogs in the park; riding in a car or traveling; speaking with a friend; etc. 
My memory fails me if I don't grab and idea when I have it. How does this work for you?

Two: 
Where do you store these "flashes" or "titles" for yet unwritten work so you can go back and use them later to begin the writing?

For the second question, here is how I am currently doing it. I am curious if I could be doing it more efficiently - any ideas?

Once a thought captures  my attention for awhile, I put it in a computer file. I list it under the title or in a sentence form.  I have a list of such unwritten titles for pieces, saved individually as word documents.  

For example:  Aubergine; 
May Morning; Moon Girl with Stars; Mitered Shells; the Morning Mail, etc.

In time  I have additional thoughts on a particular title. I will go back into that file many times and put  my research notes, and accumulated  ideas.  It is like putting money in a savings account; it all adds up eventually. In my way of working, it nearly always begins with just one word that stays with me and haunts my thoughts over a long period of time. But, I think if I had not written down that word, initially, it would have left and gone to the next person who is paying attention to it. Words are like that. Fickle!


 
 Lynda Lambert,MFA