Sometimes I have too many ideas to capture on my hard drive before I forget them. At those rare times, I wish I had a mental butterfly net to catch them all and a butterfly garden to keep them in: ideas as butterflies. Instead, I use a notebook and hand-written notes. Paper and pen are much better than any electronic device for grabbing fleeting midnight thoughts. And fluttering midday thoughts too, for that matter.Sometimes I know exactly the shape of the chapters I need to write but I just can’t wrangle them on to the hard drive. So I made a big new outline grid so I can see the ups and downs of the plot and who’s in what scene when and that has been quite a revelation.
Sometimes I have no ideas at all. All the stuff on my computer screen looks like crap no matter how much I tweak and outline it and, in that case, what can shake some inspiration loose is: • a walk
• a page or ten of a good book.
• a thoughtful/funny film (action movies don’t inspire me)
• a fine museum
• a stroll down a busy street (New York or Paris preferably)
• a conversation with a friend (an enemy works too).
• a short plane trip––I go a bit nuts at take-off.
• a chocolate
• a good stare out the window.
Too bad booze doesn’t stimulate my writing as liquor would be quicker. Booze just makes me dance, talk a lot, then fall sleep.
Hemingway, Joyce, Chandler, Parker and Bukowski would be so ashamed of me.
* *WRACKED or RACKED? I like “wracked” myself.
