Last month I struggled to write a short story. It was longer than any of the short stories I’d ever written and came with a set of parameters that (for some reason) kept throwing me off balance. Too, just when a picture of where I wanted the story to go would begin to come into focus, that image would flicker and fade.
Except when I was in the car.
There I would sit, buckled in tight and cruising along, when my muse would mention – in passing – a secret to pulling the story together and making it work. With both hands on the wheel, my eyes would slice to the right to gauge the proximity of my purse and weigh the hazards in rifling through it for a pen and paper. I’d break out into a cold sweat, knowing that the idea might dissolve or fall apart with one false move – and fast – and I’d spend the next few hours or days chasing down the memory of it, like I do the name of my mother’s favorite perfume when struck with the faint, but familiar scent. It’s there, in my mind, if I could only draw it out.
What to do, what to do? I thought.
At times, I’ve fished out what I needed, though scribbling with two hands while driving with your knee is as dangerous as texting. Other times, I’ve let the ideas fall into that writer’s abyss, thinking, Maybe. With any luck. If it’s meant to be. I’ll remember.
Then, on a particularly long drive to a retreat, when I knew I’d be alone and might be fertile for a visit from my muse, I considered my options: driving while writing, or writing while driving.
There’s a difference. And, it has to do with how you record your thoughts.
I discovered on my iPhone, by chance almost, a picture of a microphone. The voice recorder. The memo-taker. The not-just-for-grocery-lists detail-maker.
Of course!
I plugged in my ear buds, so I could do a test run hands-free.
“So…this is just to see how this whole recorder business works…Test…Boo…I’m so cool.”
Then, I played it back: the words were there, the sound was good.
It was magic, and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it before. All those drives to work and back, this long road trip to a retreat? I didn’t have to worry. I could still write; I’d just keep my thoughts in digital form.
Those early recordings weren’t anything close to pretty. Many of them started off with a stumble of words and ended with things like, “So, there” and “What d’ya think of that.” Sort of like sass-talking with my muse.
Still, it worked. I visited and re-visited several parts of that short story with my tiny digital excerpts, and I jump-started a few blog posts and articles as well. I’m not particularly fond of listening to myself talk, there’s a nasal quality that worries me. But, I’ve found a new route to writing, on those days when I can’t get pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard, when I don’t want an idea to fall away unexplored.
What about you? Do you write while in transit or record your thoughts in digital format? What’s your secret?
*Photo credit: James Cridland on Flickr.com
I love this post! You reminded me about my iPhone’s memo app. Thank you. And yes, it is so true that we get some of our best ideas while we are in the car!! I also get a lot in the shower. Maybe I should leave my phone in there and talk when the muse strikes?
🙂
Christine,
Surely there is a waterproof skin for the iPhone…at least, there should be. Otherwise, I guess we’d have to steam it up and write on the wall!
Indeed, I have been one to record my ideas during a commute. It used to be easy on the rails of NYC Transit, but now in Miami it’s all about driving. Yet if it has to be done, then it has to be done — let’s keep that little writing-while-driving secret between us, shall we? After all, who can fight the urge when an idea arises?
Great post – I’ll have to invest in a voice recorder. Just need to pry my fingers off the pen and paper… There’s the romantic notion of writing on paper, and then there’s this while driving thing that gets in the way 😉
Cheers!
Johnny,
I won’t tell…. Besides, I totally get that addiction to pen and paper versus the digital route. Sometimes, it’s the physical act of writing that cements the idea for me!
I record with my iPhone, but I use QuickVoice. I found it hard to retrieve my recordings made on Voice Memos.
I hate the sound of my voice too. And for some reason, I can have a sentence fully formed until I open my mouth and then it fades and I hem and haw until it comes back to me.
Linda,
I’ll have to check out Quick Voice. When I was writing this post, I looked into some other iPhone apps, but it seemed they were all temperamental when it came to uploading those digital files elsewhere. Although, I do have Evernote on my phone, which is supposed to be easy enough. I just haven’t ventured there much.
On losing the words as soon as you hit record?…me too. Glad I’m not alone 🙂
I can’t say about uploading the files to my computer for either program because I never did that. I just replayed it and typed it out when I got home. It was just the replaying I kept bungling on Voice Memos.
I have Evernote too, but never learned to use it. Sometimes I wonder how many apps and programs I could use to simplify things, but never do. 😉
Yes, yes, yes! I’ve found my iPhone to be my new best friend and always have it at the ready when the muse begins to whisper.
Interesting conundrum, Christi. I tried recording for my journal. Used the old-fashioned type. As someone mentioned, the sound of my own voice was distracting … what, do I really sound like that? Never tried again. I actually think of scenes while doing my daily routine in the pool and I shutter to think how I’d managed to keep those thoughts. Guess I’m stuck with the method of recall. If I don’t recall it as I begin to recreate that one scene, I write something else. Have fun recording and be careful out there folks 🙂
Florence, Swimming and writing is a whole other ballgame 🙂
I used to do that all the time! I don’t drive as much now as I used to, but that was when inspiration struck. So, I did the same thing. I took out my phone and recorded my ideas.
Isn’t it funny how inspiration strikes at the most inopportune moments? 😉
Emerald,
I’m just glad I drive alone most mornings now. Otherwise, my recordings would be full of back-seat chatter from kids-in-tow 🙂
I used to carry a recorder in the car, I think that’s when my muse bugged out. From what I’ve read, your muse served you Very Well, and your iPhone too, deary.
That darn muse.
Mine did cooperate for many of those October days. And now, she’s rattled off a list of new writing projects, just to tease me. I hope she’s serious about them all, because I am!
Yes, I record my thoughts while driving. Before I had an iPhone, I used to call my work line and leave myself voice mail. 😉
As you know, I’m a big fan of reading my work out loud, and I also listen to those recordings during my commute.
It does all make you feel like you’re getting one up on that capricious Muse, doesn’t it?
Boy, Cathryn. I know reading my work out loud really helps. I haven’t tried listening to myself read a whole story back. Maybe that’ll be my next long road trip “book” on tape 🙂
YES! I always write things BEST in my HEAD while I’m driving. I’ve recently discovered my memo-recorder as well… and need to make much better use of it. Words always flow perfectly for me the first time they flow… which usually happens to be during a not-so-convenient time to write them down. So glad I’m not alone! Thanks for sharing!
Glad you stopped by Marcy!
Now I wish my dad’s cell phone contract will run up so I get his iPhone…
Chihuahua0,
Thanks for stopping by. I just popped over to your blog — I envy you for setting out on the writing journey at a young age. Run with that energy! And, slip your dad some flashy info on the new iPhones, maybe he’ll upgrade sooner. I have the 3G…old school by now, but it works, and I feel so fancy….
Thanks for replying and peeking at my blog! I’m still trying to establish a basic structure, but I’m getting there. NaNoWriMo is also going smoothly for me.
I’m not sure if slipping him some info on iPhones will work, but I’ll see.
This post is great! I find that Evernote is really good for this because it does voice to text. But sometimes the sound of my own voice breaks the train of thought as I’m having it and it’s gone, leaving a jumble of meaningless words on my phone. Any advice for this? Sometimes at a red light I will write furiously to get the thought on paper before it’s gone.
Rachel, I’m the same way in that I can get easily distracted by my own rattling on. But I keep on talking, even when it sounds like all I’m doing is saying, yeah. so then. whatever. Anything to get at least the seed of the idea recorded. And, I’ve been known to scramble with pen and paper through a red light as well!
You’ve just touched up on a very common issue among blogger and writers. I have used my phone in some similar circumstances but ended up losing some of my best recordings along the way. I’ll definitely give this voice recorder a try.