by Candyce Carden-Deal
Writers make connections between unrelated things all the
time. If we stay at it long enough,
writing weaves its way into everything we do. It becomes a natural process. And
if we stay open to these connections they can often affect our writing life. Here’s an example. During yoga class last week, my brain leaped
to writing although I was doing a decent job of focusing on deep-breathing.
As I sat in Easy Pose ignoring the pain in my groin, I
thought about the many writing and marketing ideas that flit through my brain on
any given day. And how many I reject because
they don’t come at convenient times. I usually continue to the next errand or the
next email and hope that I’ll recall the idea when needed. And if I don’t, well, it probably wasn’t such
a hot idea anyway. But what if, I asked
myself, my half-formed unaccepted idea became someone else’s article sale because
they acted on it? I peered at my open
hands and wondered if I could apply this same symbolism of acceptance to the harvesting
of writing ideas.
I could hardly wait to get off the floor. Once at home, and using Easy Pose as a
springboard, I placed an opened blank
journal on my kitchen counter with colored pens nearby. It’s in a
location I pass many times during the day when I'm home. After just a
little while, that opened blank page started calling to me like a magnet,
saying, “Fill me.” And so I do. No
matter how small or hare-brained the thought seems, I capture it in my waiting
journal. What’s more, as I've grown in
the habit of jotting down those ideas, I'm finding that harvesting ideas begets
even more ideas.
I like my journal with its unlined pages. A sketchpad might be my next option. Both seem to scream for colored markers –
another plus for this artist-wanna-be. But a legal pad would work just as well. So would a composition book. If you
keep it small enough so it’s easily portable, you can always have it with you. And have it open.
I begin each workday by reading through my idea journal and
transferring anything that I intend to work on to my daily plan sheet. My open book is a combination of both writing
and marketing ideas. Some of the ideas
don’t fit into plans right away, of course.
In this case, I tear the page out and throw it in a bin or file folder
so it’s there ready for harvesting, sooner or later. It may never come to full fruition, but I
feel good that I at least accepted it and gave it due diligence.
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A former educator and administrator, Candyce
Carden-Deal is now pursuing the writing life full-time, which she blogs about at http://return2writing.com.