by Heather Kreke @Hkreke

A writer is always working, whether you are sitting at a computer or not. If you’re anything like me, you usually get your best ideas at night. When you’re lying in bed. About five minutes before you fall asleep. Then you repeat the idea to yourself over and over, swearing you’ll remember it as you drift off. When morning arrives, the only thing you can remember is that you had a great idea, but don’t have clue what it was. If this is you don’t worry, there are ways to not forget.

Your Phone:

Most of us keep our smartphone on or nearby us all the time. Get a good notes app and use it. Create folders: blog ideas, plot ideas, character ideas, research, or whatever it may be. Type your ideas in the app, it won’t take that long and trust me your phone has a much better memory than you do, especially right before bed. If you’re driving or don’t like to type use the text to speech feature. Record your ideas by speaking them out loud and your phone will translate them into text. Some apps can even be synced to your computer so that when you’re ready to work, all of your notes are right there.

Pen and paper:

If you don’t have a smartphone or just like the feeling of a pen in your hand, keep a notebook with you. It doesn’t have to be big or flashy, just something that when an idea hits, you can write it down. Write one idea per every two pages, that way you can add to it later.

Depending on how organized you are, you can keep one or multiple notebooks. Keep one in your car (pull over before writing something down), next to your bed, at your desk, in your pocket, or keep one for research and one for ideas. Just make sure when you sit down to write you have them all with you.

Whiteboard:

Those of you who get their best ideas in the shower are thinking but what about me. A notebook will get soggy and my phone and water don’t mix. Fear not! There are waterproof white boards, and even waterproof notebooks and pens out there. Get a holder and attach it to the wall in the shower, that way you can jot down notes as the ideas come to you

Tape Recorder:

Believe it or not tape recorders are still a thing, and Amazon has twenty pages of them. If you like to talk out your ideas but don’t have a smartphone, this could work for you. They are small and easy to carry, so you could take it anywhere. These would also be good for any interviews you are doing where you need to record for a long period of time.

There are a bunch of different ways to get your ideas into a form that will help you remember them. The important thing is finding something that works for you. You will probably end up using a combination of these things or trying something and not liking it. Keep trying things until you figure out what works.

How do you capture your ideas, wherever they come to you?

Heather is a novelist who is passionate about showing teens and young adults that they can trust God’s plan for their lives – even through the darkest times. She is published on numerous blogs and in the Christian Writers Market Guide. She also teaches a writing class at her church and completed coursework through the former Christian Writers Guild.

Heather is a mother of 3 redheaded girls and has been married to a redheaded husband since 2004.