Hi y'all,My brain is mush at the moment. Can't even think of the correct words for common, everyday things! I know what I want to say, but all that comes out is stuff like this:
"We have to get that thing done."
"What are you talking about, Mom?"
"You know what I mean. That thing you do when you've taken photos on a camera that isn't digital."
"You mean develop the photos?"
"Yeah. That's what I mean. Develop the photos."
"What photos?"
"The ones on those thingies I gave you to take on your trip thingy."
"You mean the disposable cameras I took to Japan?"
"Yep. Them's the ones."
Tragic. But I think it's because I've been busy staring at the same manuscript, day in, day out, deleting secondary characters, simplifying the plot, deleting unecessary chit-chat, deleting, deleting, deleting! And I'm just not firing on all cylinders. Two snags short of a barbie, as we'd say here in New Zealand. (Snags being sausages, and barbie being a barbeque, just in case you were wondering.)
I'm almost at the end of it now. I'm down to 78,354 words and my "deleted scenes" file shows a grand total of 20,329 words -- don't bother to do the math and try to figure out what I started with, because I've been forced to add words, too. As you do.
Anyway, it's the mushy brain which has led to this post. Because, earlier on today, I came up with a brilliant idea for a post. A topic that would be interesting and insightful and thought-provoking. A topic I could be quite proud of. Go me!
But.... I didn't jot it down and now, after many hours immersed in delete key hell, I can't even remember what the heck that brilliant topic was.
Can we all sympathise and echo my, "Aaaaaaarrrrgh!!!!"
It's like that scene in Mad Men, when the dorky ad guy (who's jealous of Peggy because she always comes up with the good ideas) is working late, racking his brains for a brilliant ad campaign to impress Don Draper. He's drinking and thinking and drinking some more. And then he goes, "Eureka!" (or something similar) and knows he's come up with THE BEST IDEA EVAH!
And he drifts off in a drunken slumber, secure in the knowledge that he's bested Peggy.
Except, he hasn't written his idea down. And when he wakes up the next morning, he can't remember it. So he goes into the meeting and has to admit to Peggy and Don, that he's screwed up. He's expecting a bollocking, but instead he gets sympathy. From both of them. Because both Peggy and Don admit to having made the same mistake.
BTW: there was no drinking involved in my scenario. Just so's we're clear, LOL.
So the moral of this story is: Write that brilliant idea down and pin it to your noticeboard (or wherever)! Because you never know when your brain is gonna turn to mush.
And the only good thing about this episode, is that at least it was only an idea for a blog post that I couldn't recall, not a high concept for a whole book. Because that, my friends, would have provoked far more than just an "Aaaaaaarrrrgh!!!!"
See ya next week!
:-)
Maree
7 comments:
I always forget to write things down (or write things on a teeny tiny piece of paper), so I finally got a little journal. I think my husband was tired of me running around the house like a psycho when I couldn't remember where a little piece of paper was located.
My DH bought me a Moleskine journal for just the same reason! But... it was in my handbag and I didn't bother to go get it *slaps herself upside the head* Not to mention that I was at my desk, surrounded by paper and pens, when I came up with this idea. Heck, I could have even typed a sentence or two to tweak my memory on Notepad and saved it to my desktop! But alas, I did none of these sensible things. EPIC FAIL! But hey, at least it spurred me to blog about the experience, LOL.
Poor thing! Can't tell you how many brilliant book ideas I've lost in the same way. Try not to kick yourself. It's part and parcel of the creative gene....thingamagiggie.
LOL, Liane. So long as it's the creative gene thingamagiggie and not just getting old and forgetful, I'm happy!
I'm hanging my head in shame over here. I never right the good stuff down, mostly because I'm a) driving b) in the shower or someplace where I can't. The way I see it, if the idea was that good, it'll recycle through my brain eventually.
I buy myself a pretty new journal for each series I write, and carry it around in my purse. I try to jot down things that come to me, but I don't always get to it right away. I blame the kids!
Jennifer, I'm the same when it comes to book ideas. If it's a really good one, it won't let me forget it. It'll even infect my dreams, LOL. So I figure it's best to let the idea do its thing in what passes for my brain, and I just let it percolate until it insists on being written down. If I do forget it, it can't have been that good of an idea. Well, that's my theory and I'm sticking to it ;-)
The trouble is, it's all the other stuff I forget if I don't write it down. Like people's names, and stuff the kids have told me umpteen times, and grocery items we've run out of. And putting in an LPG order so we don't run out of hot water again. Whoops.
Kaylea, Hey, I think I'll blame the kids, too. I reckon even though they're teens, I still have pregnant brain, LOL!
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