Wispy Thoughts

The other night, I was thinking as I usually do when trying to fall asleep. I had two thoughts for blog posts...I decided to use one for my shared blog over at Broads of Feather and to save the other one for here. I did not write them down, and sadly only remembered one. It was the one I had decided to use for Broads, you can read it here.

Daisy at the junkyard.

I'm not sure if it's the brain fog from Hashimoto's thyroid, or if it's just my old age catching up to me. Probably both!

So, since I forgot my original idea, I'm writing about how I forgot it! Humorous, yes?

As I detailed in my post linked above, I'm presently doing all my computer work on a tablet instead since my laptop has apparently died (thank you Windows 10...and thank you Windows for the Surface lol) It seemed like, as soon as my laptop died, my brain began working overtime on my novel. To the point where it was keeping me awake one night.

Any more, I dislike writing by hand. It hurts to do it for extended amounts of time. Even for work, I use shorthand whenever possible - I assume people higher up than me are able to figure it out, as I've never been asked about it by them. So, I didn't really want to get up and start handwriting.

I can't begin to imagine how much time I wasted debating whether to grab my phone and make some notes on it. Debating because I once read writing advice stating that you shouldn't write your ideas down right away, because if they're good enough ideas you'll remember them then next day. Talk about note-taking shaming! This was several years ago, but for whatever reason it's a piece of crappy advice that's plagued me ever since.

That may be too harsh. Calling it crappy advice, I mean. I'm sure there are some people that this advice works for. For me, it is a recipe for disaster. If my depression and anxiety are high, I have trouble remembering everyday things. Just the act of writing something down, helps cement something in my memory. There was a time not too long ago, that I had to make a list of things to do before I went to bed... not only so I'd remember to do things I needed (like phone calls), but so it would help ease the anxiety that liked to keep me awake at night. I still keep occasional lists.

So, yes...I ended up grabbing my phone and taking enough notes not only to remember it the next day, but to see if that would turn down the volume of my brain. Thank God it wasn't a work night, because as it was I only ended up getting maybe 2 hours of sleep... and that's being generous. Awesome ideas aside, it was a rough night.

It just goes to show, that all advice is not equal. What works for one, may not work for another. Whether for writing or not. If something works for you, we shouldn't feel shame for it! Something I need to remember myself, I know. There is no harm in experimenting and trying new things, but let's always remember that we don't need to keep doing them if they're not working for us.

So, fellow writers... are you a nighttime note -taker too?