Lifewriters often wonder how they can prevent the loss of ideas that come to them "out of the blue.
" After they commit themselves to writing, lifewriters notice that scenes, conversations, and images from the past come quickly and unexpectedly.
The same writers who wondered if they'd ever have enough memories to write about ask themselves if now they have too many to handle! If memories and ideas come to you unexpectedly-at the grocery store, in your car as you wait for a light to change, in front of the TV at your sister's, try keeping a pocket-size notebook handy to record them.
Your notes can be mere jottings ("Aunt Elsie wore a fur coat made of skins caught by Uncle Fred") or they can be whole stories that pour out on the spur of the moment.
At your writing desk, later, you can incorporate your jottings into a story or use the details in a longer piece.
You can also file the material under an appropriate heading ("clothing," or "aunts/uncles") in your three-ring binder to retrieve later.
Keep a notebook next to your bed to record your dreams, those wonderful out-pourings of the unconscious.
If you pay regular attention to your dreams, they will provide clues to understanding your past.
They will reveal something meaningful about even those events and relationships which may not have made sense to you before.
A notebook will preserve you from the fear of losing good scenes, conversations, or images as you move through your day.
With ideas safely noted, instead of feeling anxious, you'll feel eager to get back to your writing! Here's a tip: buy several small spiral notebooks, one for each spot - the car, the bedroom, the kitchen.
Always write a new thought in the next blank space, and establish the habit of crossing out each entry as soon as it has been transferred to your memory list or file.
Then return the notebook to its place.
Good luck writing your memoirs!