Always On

I saw something interesting while scrolling through my Google Plus feed today.  It was a quote that I'll have to paraphrase for you since my mind has since purged not only the full quote but also who it was attributed to.  Sorry about that.  Anyway, the quote went something like, "If you're a writer, you never have a day off."  After considering it and all the things I think about during the course of a day now that I've been writing regularly, I had to agree.

If you're a writer of fiction, you undoubtedly know what I mean.  The search for ideas or inspiration is a never ending quest.  I can't tell you how many times at work I've come up with new ideas, scribbled them down on a piece of paper, stuffed it in a pocket and typed  it in a Word document once getting home.  The first rule of getting new ideas is to write them down as fast as you can.  You've got to.  If you don't, they'll slip away so fast it's like they were never there.

Everything is research for a writer.  Even conversation takes on a new purpose.  It's great to be in a room full of people and listen to them talk.  Just sitting there listening is research in a sense.  How are you going to make you're dialog realistic without taking some mental notes of how people talk and react to each other.  Try to listen to whatever age group you're writing too.  If you're writing kids, listen to kids interact with each other.  Just don't be creepy about it.

So go out there and do some research.  It won't feel like research most of the time, but that's what it is.  Live your life and put it into your writing.  I believe that your writing will be better for it.  Everyone says to write what you know, right?  I figure the more we pay attention, the more we know and the better we'll be able to convey what we know to our readers.  Good luck and keep writing.