While dining with family and friends this weekend, I learned an entertaining game called "Five Fingers." Ever heard of it? I was told it's a drinking game, which explains why it was foreign to me. I'm kinda sorta square.
After playing a hilarious (and very informative) round of Five Fingers, I not only gained fun memories, but I also imagined a new scene for my next novel. I scribbled notes on hotel stationery and slipped them into my file for future use.
Tell me, what is your process for jotting down ideas when they sky-dive into your brain? Notes on business cards, store receipts, or your child's homework? Note pad in your purse? Paper and pencil on your nightstand? I'd love to know your secret.
From Anita Nolan and my sister (Hi Robyn!) I learned that Borders is giving out a free book to kids under 12 who read 10 books this summer. You can check out the details here.
QueryTracker.net's blog lists new and updated agents here.
Grammar Girl helps those of us who are grammar-challenged here.
I wish you all a happy Tuesday!
Tee hee, I definitely need the grammar link. I really do need to jot things down, I thought I had it under control and I know I thought of something good the other day and bam! It's gone. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteLisa, I worried that there were multiple grammar errors in this post!
ReplyDeleteHopefully your "something good" will come back to you when you least expect it!
I don't know this game - explanation please? Thanks for the links!
ReplyDeleteElspeth, join the club! Each player holds out five fingers. Object of the game is to be the last one with a finger out. Players take turns stating something they haven't done. If other players have done it, they drop a finger. It was fun learning what people have and haven't done!
ReplyDeleteI find I am forgetting names and nouns more. I try to think up a mnemonic device (memory aid) to help me remember. A recent colleague's husband's name is Mark,...like my friend's son...
ReplyDeletePaul C, whatever works, right? I'll use any device that helps me remember!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by.
I have all my ideas in my journal. Usually I remember what needs remembering but if not, I can search back and find it. I keep a little notebook in my purse but rarely use it.
ReplyDeleteKaren G, the journal is an excellent idea. I'm impressed that you can usually remember things when you want to!
ReplyDeleteI played the Five Fingers game for the first time in 2008 at a writers' retreat. It was a lot of fun, but I don't think all of us were 100% honest. :)
ReplyDeleteThere's a pad and pencil in every room in my house, one in the kitchen, and one in my bedside table. I'm good at scribbling the notes, but not so good at keeping them organized (in files, for instance) so I can find them when I need them.
If I don't have my laptop (which is rare) I just keep thinking about it until I can write or type it down.
ReplyDeletePatricia, pad and pencil in every room...great idea!
ReplyDeleteTheresa, so nice to have a laptop with you all the time. I've got to get me one of those!
Hi Julie. I saw your comment at Helen Ginger's blog. I've a notebook that I write quotes and information in. Most of my writing ideas arrive in the shower. I don't write them down. I can usually recall what I was thinking.
ReplyDeleteSimon, thanks for stopping by! Yes, the shower is a great petrie dish for ideas.
ReplyDeleteHeehee, I'm following the grammar link right now. :)
ReplyDeleteLindsay, I need the grammar link like I need water!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by!
Great post! I love cheap little spirals for my ideas. I keep them in my purse or lying around my desk for that moment of inspiration. Thanks for dropping by my blog. Wonderful to meet you, Julie.
ReplyDeleteCheap spirals, love 'em! Got one in my purse too. Thanks, Roxy.
ReplyDeleteIf the idea's for my WIP, I just keep it in my brain until the next time I open my laptop up. If it's an idea for another novel, I email the idea to myself.
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you! I'm following now :)
I asked for a voice recorder for Christmas so i can record those moments of inspiration. I didn't use it for awhile...hate the sound of my voice. But the last month or so I use it ALL the time.
ReplyDeleteI keep a journal. I have one in my purse at all times. I can never remember anything. Some of my best ideas come when I trying to get my little guys back to sleep at 2 am. Those ideas usually never get written down. Thanks for the links.
ReplyDeleteI try to keep a small Moleskin journal with me, but I leave my purse behind too often...so thank goodness for the NotePad feature on my phone, although I forget my phone in the car a lot...I've been known to write directly on my hand when all else fails!
ReplyDeleteGreat links, thanks!
I left you an award on my blog today!
I have a note pad by my bed. Sometimes I think I should bring a note pad with me when I run. Or at least a pen. I could always write notes on my body parts. Oh, wait! That wouldn't work. The sweat would destroy them. ;)
ReplyDeleteDictaphone in the car, or cell phone voice recorder work great for me when notes MUST be recorded at inopportune moments. And since my mind is always swarming with ideas, I've had to be inventive with where I make notes....Dunkin Donuts napkins are rather durable, I might add.
ReplyDeleteWendy, Stina, Nicole, Christine, Miss V, and Lydia, great ideas! Sounds like we all have ideas bouncing around, if only we could write and type faster!
ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued by this Five Fingers game. And as for jotting down notes, I usually carry around a notebook in my bag, just in case:)
ReplyDeleteP.S. Thanks for visiting my blog!
Olive, it was a fun game! A quick way to get to know the people sitting around the table, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteHi Julie,
ReplyDeleteI jot down notes on any white surface in my car on my way to work. Gardening mags, margins of newspapers and manuscript pages, palm of my hand. Yes, I'm a mess!
Yvonne, margins and the palm of your hand...whatever works! Thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDelete