A Fish Full of Ideas

Many years ago I bought a metal fish used to hold papers, letters, whatever, at a yard sale. It was so handsome I couldn’t part with him move after move. I found him this week as I looked through boxes sorting trash from treasure.

I’ve talked about ideas before and I often liken ideas to little fish swimming around, by, and many times past a person on any given day. Random stuff, funny stuff, deep stuff, or anything in between. The problem is I keep misplacing my ideas in any notebook I have, my daughters coloring books, sticky notes, index cards, and if in dire straits napkins. Don’t be like me, get an idea fish to keep your thoughts within easy reach.

I now keep my snippets of ideas (most of them, i have a lot) in my desk fish and when I sit down to write I pluck an idea that strikes me from the pile and get typing.

Please remember to bring your idea net with you in the form of pen and paper everywhere you go.  If you’re running short on ideas, get a net, use a fish, and start fishing. You never know when inspiration will strike.

A word of caution. Don’t just jot down a tiny fragment of your thoughts thinking you will remember, you won’t. Speaking from experience here, I still have a sticky note that haunts me, it reads: Think like moss. That’s it! [unintelligible screaming].

So get a system that works for you. Write as much of your thoughts as you possibly can in the moment, and don’t loose track of those notes.

Happy Questing!

If you enjoyed this post or learned something feel free to buy me a coffee.