Ideas.....

Whenever I talk to someone about writing they always ask me where I get my ideas. The answer sadly is usually very mundane. I see something I find interesting and slowly work it into something that can on a good day be read. Be it a news story or a name ideas come from all over the place. And most of all from daily life. But that being said they can take on a life of their own.
Case in point, I had heard a lecture about two years ago on a favourite author of mine. And during the interview I heard something mentioned about them I had never known. I liked the sound of it so much I wrote it down on a receipt in my pocket. When I returned home I placed it in my nightstand and quickly forgot about it.

Then a year ago I was watching a program about another subject and wanted to jot something down all I could find was that piece of forgotten paper. I scribbled yet another thing on and returned it to the nightstand once again.

Now as most of you know we had the big move recently where I was forced to go through my things and discard as much "junk" as I could. Well up popped the note and though it had no value I could not part with it because in it somewhere I felt was a good idea that I may want to use one day. So I faithfully tucked it into a moving box and promptly forgot all about it.

And finally we come to last night when I was mulling over a story idea I had but could not for the life of me make work. I decided to just scribble a few notes and when I checked my nightstand I was bewildered to realize I'd yet to put anything back into it. Though I fleetingly thought of my receipt full of ideas. I trudged off to bed annoyed and cursing myself for not thinking ahead and dropping some scrap paper into the drawer.

But a curious thing happened because as I slept my mind took all those wonderful little pieces I had been gathering on that "junk" paper and blended them into a story. Now of course I woke up this morning with this story complete and ready for the page in my head. So for most of the day this is all I have been able to think about. The next step is to get it all down on paper.

Well now at least when people ask me where I get my ideas I can just say in my dreams.