I had an idea... But that was yesterday

Have you ever heard the saying 'use it or lose it'? What about 'strike while the iron is hot'?

I love using phrases like this... I have about a zillion of them! Definitely in my everyday speech. Sometimes in my writing. It's amazing how some old-fashioned sayings are still applicable in our modern world. Some are a little graphic like 'kill two birds with one stone' or 'more than one way to skin a cat', but people get the gist of what you're saying. It's a colorful way of communicating. Like giving a one-line lesson on life. Believe me, there's 'method to my madness' especially when it comes to writing.

Writing is about communicating. A way to express yourself in a way others can understand. Non-fiction should convey its message in a way that satisfies its purpose, whether it be a historical account, news, a biography, or an encyclopedia. Fiction should be somewhat believeable. Even good science-fiction is based on good science. I am a firm believer in using my imagination, but, in order to keep your reader's attention, you need to make them believe your story. Can your character fly? Then they might be more likely to have wings than fins. Make sense? It should to your reader.

Writing is about artistic expression. I like blogging because I write in a more casual manner than in my stories. I think of it as conversational writing. I think of something to say and I write it down. I don't over-think, over-plan. I just write. I liken it to when I belonged to a Toastmasters Club in university. One exercise was when you were handed a slip of paper with a topic on it and given two minutes to speak on it. Speaking about the first thing that popped into my mind was enjoyable for me. It was like an oral blog.

Writing is about sharing. Sharing stories, ideas, maybe even recipes or patterns. Blogs and other social media are the perfect medium for sharing. I use Twitter daily now. It's an amazing platform and a great place to share with people with like interests.

It all starts with an idea. Every book, story, peom, anything you can write down must be thought up first. I think of ideas all the time - for books, for blogs.  I jot them down as soon as I think them up. Otherwise the idea could be lost for good. Not all my ideas pan out, but as long as they keep coming, I'll keep writing them down. You never know when you'll strike gold. Or suffer a missed opportunity. Yesterday's idea could be tomorrow's novel. Keep dreaming. And keep writing those ideas down.