A writer’s mind never rests. Snippets of story arcs and dialogue hound us wherever we go, even in situations where we’re supposed to be having a rest.

On holiday? Here’s an idea you’ll forget if you don’t record it somewhere NOW. In hospital? Here, have a scene for a story somewhere in your ‘projects to get to’ files that’s absolutely essential to remember.

Wherever we are, it has become common advice to always have a notebook and pen with you to write down these ideas. At work, while shopping, everywhere. But what if you’re away from home for an extended period or unexpectedly?

Do you take your laptop with you on a family holiday away? I have a friend who was devastated when his was stolen, along with all the work he had done on a work in progress. Lesson learned: if you’re going to travel with a laptop, make sure important files are backed up on another computer at home!

I’ve personally had the experience of being unexpectedly yoinked into hospital not once, but twice. The first time was for an ankle I didn’t realise was broken. I went to A&E to find out why the ‘sprain’ wasn’t getting better and was taken out of every aspect of my life for five days.

The second time was more serious. I went in for a test and was pulled in for twenty-eight days! At least I had a smart phone this time and could send myself snippets of writing through email. I had a short story in progress with a deadline and though what I sent could only be first draft segments to patch together later, at least I got the ideas recorded and was able to edit in time for the deadline.

Leaving home doesn’t mean our creativity is going to take a break. If anything, new sights and experiences are likely to stimulate new ideas. Taking a trip somewhere you’ve never been? Excellent, you have a new setting. What sort of story might happen there? Best take some notes as you discover the local flavour and customs your next protagonist will experience.

Some people carry a pocket voice recorder or have the facility on their phones these days and prefer to dictate these stray ideas that impose themselves in odd moments. That never worked for me but others swear by it. I had a job many years ago that allowed my mind to wander freely while I did a repetitive job and quickly learned to keep some form of writing materials handy.

It might be just a title, a concept, or a couple of lines of dialogue, but when these snippets occur, it’s essential to make some sort of notes to yourself or they will surely be lost. It also pays to add them to an existing file for the appropriate project as soon as possible. I still have notebooks from the last century with random notations through them that have never been sorted. Some of the projects they should have applied to may well have been long since published.

Whatever method works for you, it’s worth having a facility to send these flashes of inspiration to yourself at all times. The technology we have these days make sending emails to ourselves an easy matter. Once upon an office job, I used to keep a tab open to send myself a few paragraphs here and there, setting the font so that someone passing behind me wouldn’t be able to easily see what I was writing. We do what we have to do.

Some of my best ideas have come to me on the fly. What about you? Do you always have a facility available to send yourself notes or to write them down? Let’s share ideas!