As I was driving my kids to storytime today, I thought of a great opening for my current story. I'd been trying for several days to get the beginning just right, and suddenly I had it! Cue the problem: I was driving. Not knowing what else to do, I started reciting the sentences over and over, hoping the repetition would help me to remember them. My son thought I was talking to him, though, and trying to explain that Mommy was talking to herself caused me to forget the exact wording of the sentences. Traffic was too heavy for me to stop, so my only hope was to get to a red light, then use the voice notes recorder on my BlackBerry to record everything I could remember. Now, most days, especially when I'm running late, I hit every red light. Today, of course, green lights prevailed, which is the way it always goes, isn't it? When I had almost reached my destination, a red light finally caught me, and I was able to set up the recorder. I placed the phone in my lap and continued driving, reciting what I could still remember. Unfortunately, the wording I recorded wasn't the "perfect" wording that had made me so excited. The good news is that I think I have enough to work with, so maybe I'll be able to re-create the sentences--or even make them better.
This was just one of those things, I guess, but I learned my lesson: always have the voice recorder ready so that if I can't write something down, I won't lose it.
Has anything like this ever happened to you?
YESTERDAY! If I'd read this Wednesday evening, I would've said, nope. No idea what that's like! But just yesterday, I wanted a quiet moment--the kind multiple red lights provide me, without fail, every day--to record some thoughts and found myself utterly denied. I can't even remember now what seemed so important then, but I definitely remember my aggravation.
ReplyDeleteSomething I have quite a bit of experience with is thinking up a fabulous story idea at night, thinking there's no need to jot it down and then waking up in the morning and going, "Now what the heck was that idea I had . . . ?" Ugh! next time that happens, it's going down without delay!
I do that too -- think of really great ideas at night and feel certain that I'll NEVER forget them. I do every time. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteHappens to me in the shower - that's where most of my good ideas pop into my head. Crazy, huh? But I never thought about using a cool recording device, I just have paper and pen. I'd probably forget what I wanted to say just figuring out how to get the recorder to work!
ReplyDeleteBelieve me, trying to figure out the voice notes recorder on my phone took me long enough that I did end up forgetting part of what I wanted to say. I'm with you--I prefer paper and pen--but I've either got to stop driving for fear of getting a good idea I can't write down, or always set up the darn voice notes before I ever get in the car. Ugh.
ReplyDelete