There I was, in the midst of writer’s group, when Doug makes a comment that reminded me of a blog post I wanted to write. I thought to myself, “Make a note of it. You have a pen in your hand and pad in your lap, write it down…. Naw, I’ll remember…”

And of course, I don’t. And still don’t. Which leads to this double-pronged blog post.

First, if you get an idea, write it down. No paper or pen? Use your phone’s memo app or audio recording app.

I admit I’m not a big believer in the notepad by the bed for jotting notes about dreams. There is a pad by my bed, but the one time I tried to write a note before drifting back to sleep, it didn’t make any sense. My longhand is really bad (book signings are embarrassing), but even the words didn’t make sense. For me, bed is for sleeping. Once I nod off, I’m gone except for half-awake trips to the bathroom, playing bumper cars with the dressers and trying to figure out a pocket door. It isn’t pretty, is often noisy, and also often forgotten until my wife asks if I bruised myself slamming around last night.

Just take the cue from the thought, “No, I’ll remember” as a prompt to actually write it down.

The second prong of this post is about joining a writer’s group. A critique group is also a good idea, but our writer’s group, the Writer’s Block (because we all used to live on the same block until SOMEBODY moved away…) is an encouragement group. No judgments, no guilt-tripping unless Darin is present, just a time to discuss an aspect of writing and our own progress toward our goals.

SHOUTOUT!:  Bonnie Anderson is a winner of the NOMORIMO – National Novel Writing Month – by completing 50,000 words in November! Despite Thanksgiving (why do they do it in November???). We’re very proud of her and hope to read her work soon.

Writing can be a lonely profession, and a like on Facebook is nowhere near as good as real applause from real people. You need a group where you can share your triumphs and pitfalls. It is just too easy to listen to that crabby voice in your head; listen to encourager’s voices!

Join a group. If there aren’t any, start a group. Pick a spiffy name, create a closed Facebook group, and make a difference in an artist’s life. And when a guy named Doug spurs a thought, write it down!