Ben Tousey
I always have ideas going on in my head... constantly. I have really awesome dreams that come in the form of stories.
I keep a dream journal, where I write out all of my dreams as scripts and I keep another journal where I write out all of my ideas and categorize them by type. I have ideas for plays, ideas for sketches, ideas for short stories, ideas for books, ideas for essays... ideas ideas ideas. I write them all down when I have them. If I'm in the car, I have a little digital recorder that I talk into.
The Muse is a fickle thing. She's there for you, but she's got a crazy sense of timing. Whatever idea she gives me, if it moves me, I write it down. I'm not compelled to act on it that moment, but it's there, a reminder.
We tend to think of inspiration as a blast from some unseen force that moves us so that our bodies are doing the work, but our 'soul' is someplace else. That does happen from time to time, but it's more often than not that I simply need to sit down and write. Occasionally I don't know what's going to happen, so I keep writing.
Most of my best work comes out of my third draft. By that point, I understand quite well what my muse was saying to me all along.
I keep a dream journal, where I write out all of my dreams as scripts and I keep another journal where I write out all of my ideas and categorize them by type. I have ideas for plays, ideas for sketches, ideas for short stories, ideas for books, ideas for essays... ideas ideas ideas. I write them all down when I have them. If I'm in the car, I have a little digital recorder that I talk into.
The Muse is a fickle thing. She's there for you, but she's got a crazy sense of timing. Whatever idea she gives me, if it moves me, I write it down. I'm not compelled to act on it that moment, but it's there, a reminder.
We tend to think of inspiration as a blast from some unseen force that moves us so that our bodies are doing the work, but our 'soul' is someplace else. That does happen from time to time, but it's more often than not that I simply need to sit down and write. Occasionally I don't know what's going to happen, so I keep writing.
Most of my best work comes out of my third draft. By that point, I understand quite well what my muse was saying to me all along.
More Answered Questions
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more