I'm not exactly the most organized person in the world- I realize this now. I was just under the bed looking for an empty notebook because I finished all the word games I like and remembered that I had fun last summer writing my own. (Now how do you get that job?) Anyway, every notebook I have has anywhere from 4 to 90 pages filled up with unfinished stories. (Good God, it's a wonder I have one novel finished- I never finish anything!) Of course, every time I find a notebook I have to start reading it. And then when I get to the end I'm all like, "That's it?" and I get mad at myself. Not to toot my own horn, but I think I'm pretty good and there is a lot of killer stuff rotting under my bed in various stages of completion. That's not the frustrating part, though.
Inevitably I decide I should finish one of these future masterpieces. So I try to refresh my memory of what I was going for whenever the hell it was I started writing whatever it was I just read. Still with me? I usually can do this to a certain degree. (Thank you awesome long term memory and stellar imagination!) No, that's not the frustrating part either.
The frustrating part is my note-taking process. I tend to keep a mental log of things that happen or things I hear about. (I tried keeping a notepad with me at all times, but that was impractical and uncomfortable). So these things get filed away in the brain- but sometimes when I'm writing, I know I'm going to forget something so I write all over the margins- things to make sure and put into the story. Now HERE'S the frustrating part.
I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT MORE THAN HALF THE TIME.
I was just enjoying the heck out of a short story I started a couple of years ago and I see across the top, a very neat set of notes. "Don't forget:", complete with bullets.
Don't Forget:
- the Linda story
- CJ (cunnilingus)
Now what am I supposed to do with that? Two or three or four years later, I have no friggin' clue who Linda is and I definitely have no clue who or what CJ is and what on Earth it would have to do with cunnilungus.
THE LESSON: Take better notes, you fool!
2 comments:
i hope you can remember the story you started and sent the first 2 chapters to kathi brown.....she always said its even better than ...in hiding...and can't wait for you to finish it
Maybe you should invest in one of those hand held recorders so you can carry that with you at all times. It's not that uncomfortable, just make sure to have lots of batteries and label the tapes. Who cares if you hate the sound of your own voice, just type anything you say and then organize the story afterwards. It's better than having notes in a margin that you have forgotten what they mean years later no?
Hugs and love, Lisa
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