I’d like to be able to say I get my ideas from quiet moments of reflection, enjoying the unspoiled beauty of nature and letting the cares of the world fall away. However, that would be a lie.
The truth is I am more often than not an innocent bystander to a happy idea accident, rather than a conscious participant. It rarely does me any good to try to force creativity. “I need a good idea NOW.” Ha! Much like a clean restroom on a road trip, there’s never one around when you need it.
My best ideas come out of nowhere, often when I’m in the shower or driving to or from work. Sometimes they come to me at 3:00 AM. (A little advice for others with the 3:00 AM idea generator. Always write it down. You are NOT going to remember it, even though your sleep-addled brain tells you it’s such a great idea there’s NO WAY you could forget it. The sleepy brain is a lying brain.)
There’s obviously some little part of my mind that is “cooking” in the background, trying a little of this and a little of that until it’s ready. Sometimes it comes out like my occasional home-cooked dinners; interesting, but not an experience I’d like to repeat. Other times the result is something I’m quite proud of, but have no idea how to re-create.
Which reminds me. My stepson wants meatloaf tonight and I have no idea what I did to it last time, but man, it was good. Maybe something will come to me…
For more ideas about where ideas come from, click the link below.
Diary of Ann Franks 