Why does this always happen?

The birds have stopped singing, the kids are wrapped in their fluffy blankets, and the Netflix binge has come to an end. You lay down in bed only to realize that your notebook isn’t near you, or your phone. You’ll be fine, you think to yourself.

But you’re wrong.

The Sandman sprinkles some dust over your eyes, dreams begin to form and this is the moment the muse decides to sing lullabies in your ear.

Ideas come.

Brilliant, half-formed articles and novels flow from your mind like a raging river. Half-asleep you know you should get out of bed to write these ideas down, but it’s too late.

The other room, ten steps away, is too far for your now zombie-like form. But that should be okay. You’ll always remember these groggy ideas in the morning.

Right?

Ideas like Dreams

Writing every day is something that, for now, does not come naturally to me.

Kids make it hard to write sometimes.

Like right now. My son is trying to tell me a story about the time we went to Montana and saw a geyser erupt even though I asked sweetly (the first time, at least) for a couple minutes to write. Time is not on a mother’s side.

Being a writer mom is not always easy, but at least we’re paid in kisses.

While writing every day is not always possible, the ideas still come. So many I almost don’t know what to with them. There are hundreds of ideas in a day but not enough moments in a lifetime to finish or start them all.

And yet, last night the ideas that called to me felt unique. Brilliant. And I couldn’t wait to share them with you.

But I never will.

Because the intro you just read was about me. I didn’t have a notebook, phone, or even a napkin to write on. I was sure I could hold onto those thoughts till morning.

But I couldn’t.

Like the dreams I had last night, the ideas floated away and I can’t seem to catch them and bring them back no matter how much I search my memory.

The ideas are like Bing Bong from Inside Out, gone forever.

Others Do it Too

Maybe you are like me.

I should have known better. I had heard plenty of times before to always carry a notebook with you in case of the random idea that will spring to mind when you least expect it.

And I do this.

There is a beautiful notebook I trudge around in my purse with a perfect writing pen just for this purpose. It works. There are times when I have written down headlines for articles, outlines, and plot ideas for a book that would have otherwise been lost.

But, I don’t keep one by my bed.

And others have done and warned writers about the dangers of not having a notebook near you at all times. Including by your bed.

Karlie Koss

“I have a notebook that is filled to the brim with my dreams and ideas and goals and aspirations.”

Noah Baumbach

“I find a lot of writing happens when you’re not actually at the computer. So I carry a notebook.”

J. K. Rowling

“And the idea of just wandering off to a cafe with a notebook and writing and seeing where that takes me for awhile is just bliss.”

Do Us a Favor

Can you imagine if J.K. Rowling didn’t have a pen, notebook, or napkin to her write her ideas with?

Would Harry Potter have been written at all?

Maybe you'd say that would have been better, given recent news, but can you imagine a world without Hermione Granger or Hogwarts? Without the world that helped us escape our reality?

So, writer, artist, you reading these words, please do us all a favor.

Don't let this happen to you.

Don’t be like me last night.

Don’t let those beautiful words or stories float away like a dream. Keep something by your bed that will help you capture those ideas and hold on to them forever.

You deserve to write them.

And we, my friend, can’t wait to read them.

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