When the Muse Strikes

Today I was working on a blog feature for April at My Shelf Confessions. (I'll let you know when it gets posted there.) She asked me to talk about where I write and where I get my best ideas. I've heard lots of authors talk about this subject, and the answers are varied and many. A sampling: while walking, while outside, while in the shower, while on the toilet (eww, by the way), while lying in bed, etc. For the sake of the feature, I wrote about getting my ideas in the car. It's a quiet place where I don't have to worry about the girls running amok. But it's too simple an answer.

I get my ideas anywhere and everywhere. I'm busy with life, with my daughters, being a good wife for my sweet husband, taking care of myself and my writing time, fulfilling my responsibilities at church. You get the picture. And with how much I have going on, I can't afford to be picky where my inspiration comes from.

So I write everything down. My weapon of choice?

 

I love these notebooks. I buy them at Target and these particular ones are by greenroom. I love them because they're cute and cheap and don't fall apart when I look at them.

I try to always have my notebook and a pen with me, because as much as you think you get your best ideas when you're walking the dog, or fixing dinner, or shut in the water closet (what kind of ideas do you get in there? I mean really, it's quite gross), you just never know when the idea will come. And if you're like me, if it doesn't get written down, it gets forgotten as soon as one of my girls asks for a snack, or the phone rings, or my husband needs his shirt washed.

And I don't want to forget any ideas, because you never know which one will be the best one.