Inconvenient brilliance
How come I get all my best ideas when I’m jogging? Any experience with this phenomenon?
– Ben
Los Angeles
It’s because your brain hates you.
Well, maybe not hates. After all, it is giving you what you want — a good idea. It’s just that its timing is atrocious. It’s like having a girlfriend who is only in the mood for love during the last 20 minutes of Lost. You have to choose between sex and seeing the underwater station for the first time.
Here’s my advice: always choose sex. Because if you don’t, eventually, you’ll stop being offered it.
Those great ideas that come while you’re jogging? Write ‘em down or you’ll lose them — and worse, you may dry up the well of ideas. If your brain notices you’re not paying attention to the good ideas it generates, it may decide to stop bothering. And then you’re screwed.
So always carry a pen. Pick up a piece of paper trash. Write on your hand if you have to. It’s often just one or two words which will let you remember what the idea was.
For me, the majority of these inconvenient ideas come at 11:30 at night, as I’m trying to fall asleep. There’s a weighing process as I decide whether it’s worthy of hauling my ass to the bathroom, where I keep a notebook handy to scribble down these ideas. Probably 70% of the time, I do get out of bed. At least half of the “big ideas” in The Nines were first scribbled down in this book, along with the plots of enough unwritten movies to keep me busy for a decade.
This is part of what sucks about being a writer. I have a hunch that accountants don’t have this problem.
May 17th, 2007 at 11:13 am
its because your working the non creative side of the brain while jogging leaving the other half…i thik your right…free to wonder around in its endless bounds of creative imagination…or your brain hates you.
May 17th, 2007 at 11:24 am
I tried carrying a pen and paper for a few days, I was okay with the paper but the pen kept digging into my leg or my butt, depending on which pocket I was keeping it in, and because of the nature of my job, I can’t carry anything on my shirt pocket. So now everytime I have an idea or something I need to remember, I type it into my cell phone and I save it. It’s a bit difficult when you begin, but once you get used to it you can write stuff in no time.
May 17th, 2007 at 11:47 am
The Gel Mini pen is nice. It’s really small and still a nice pen. I get them from Staples.
May 17th, 2007 at 11:56 am
Outlook’s notes section works well for me. From the train station to my office, about a mile, an opening sequence for a movie came to me. In the office, onto Outlook, and here it is:
Wrote the full thing at lunch. It made more sense then. There’s currently 94 similarly cryptic notes on there.
May 17th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
Not that it really matters, but I’m wondering why you said “girlfriend” in your example. Are you assuming Ben is straight? Just force of habit? Or do guys know that Lost is more important than sex [it really is], and therefore it wouldn’t have been realistic to say “boyfriend” or even “boy/girlfriend?”
In other news, the worst part about having a notepad to write down ideas is that if you lose the notepad, you just might want to kill yourself. I filled up a pad once, with hopefully great ideas, and now it’s lost to the ages. I even wrote my contact info in the front, in case this very situation arose. Maybe whoever found it read some of my ideas and thought I’d be better off without them…
May 17th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
For my part, I think this “coming up with best ideas while engaged in a routine activity” thing happens because our minds are then too occupied to be self-critical; fewer ideas get blocked when we’re occupied with a task that requires just enough brainpower to disable our inner critic. I don’t think we have more usable ideas when in this mindset, but I think when we’re sitting at a keyboard trying to be a genius a greater number of usable ideas get discarded with the bad ones. What I do to bring the “jogging mindset” to the keyboard is write whenever the mood seizes me and do my best to “seize the mood” when I’m writing.
May 17th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
What about advice for us “dreamers” whose ideas come to us in deep sleep. But when we arise, we’ve forgotten every morsel. Do they make a pen for that?
I’m a big fan of voice mail, by the way. If you’re jogging or otherwise disposed where pen and paper aren’t handy, give yourself a jingle.
May 17th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
For those nocturnal ideas, keep a notebook on the nightstand. A voice recorder might work even better.
For me (and many others), a lot of ideas come in the shower. I’ve considered keeping a pen and paper inside a large, clear plastic bag, for waterproof notetaking.
May 17th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
Call your own cell phone number and leave a message…Write it down later when it’s more convenient. And there’s nothing like hearing your own manic voice all out of breath from running…
May 17th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
What the.. blasphemy! Nothing comes before learning more about the underwater hatch, hehe.
Most of these ideas come to me late at night or when I’m brushing my teeth. It is a really interesting phenomenon, but I tend to agree with Dan. When I’m not consciously trying to come up with a great idea, a lot of different ideas go through my head and I start to build upon and develop the good ones. Suddenly a synopsis or a cool scene has taken shape.
May 17th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
Voice memo on cell phone works.
May 17th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
Most of my ideas come during jogging also. As a result I’ve got seven completed spec features about jogging.
May 17th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
John avoided the actual question but your best ideas come while your running (or excersizing generally) is because the amount of chemicals your brain is releasing during your hard work. It stimulates the senses. I would say your brain is actually not hating you at all. It’s blessing you. Ever hear of runners high? Though unscientific, this semi-euphoric state leads to exterme clarity and mental vision. Long, long walks seem to be the best for me. I can still carry my moleskin in my pocket.
May 17th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
I am among the gets-an-idea-while running, walking, and boxing. I keep a pen and notebook in my gymbag!
May 17th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
I seem to come up with my best ideas while driving my car, where grabbing a pencil and paper to jot it down means certain death on the 101.
May 17th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
Two suggestions:
1) Call yourself and leave a message. Yes, this was already suggested, but I have something to add. When leaving the message, be official about it. “Hi John. This is John. Just wanted to remind you about that sweet idea you had while running. You know, the one about elephants being trampled by large space mice? Anyway, hope you’re having a great day. Have I told you lately that I love you? You really are one of the nicest, most lovable, and humble people I know. Take care. Bye.”
2) Get a voice recorder WRISTWATCH! I actually did this and the results have been astounding. I no longer get any good ideas. Ever.
ps- Actual quote from the wristwatch instructions:
“During using the player, if have the machine dead or abnormality phenomenom, causing can’t normal usage, please connect with computer or charging power, and the player reset automatically.”
Two pages of similar instructions are worth the price of the watch itself (my wife and I sit around reading them to each other for amusement) but they make using the device an exercise in trial and error.
May 17th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
Jogging, showering, washing up.
I find a warm hat helps (although I am a little paranoid it’s like Grady Tripp’s pink bathrobe).
I have so many ideas when I run that it’s something I always do when I’m stuck. The trick, I guess, is to not let any of these things become a habit. You don’t want to trick yourself into thinking that if you don’t jog, shower or do the washing up your muse will be silent. But of course, these things kinda have to happen everyday, which is why your muses come then;)
They always show writers in movies writing, but I spend most of my time thinking.
May 17th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
It’s because you aren’t trying to be a “writer.” That’s my theory- that I’ve become better at writing now that I’ve stopped trying to be WRITER, and the same is true of directing. Oddly, letting go seems to help me do better at what I want to do rather than fixating on it.
May 17th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
It’s because when you’re jogging you’re essentially stoned (endorphins,etc.), and all ideas sound great when you’re stoned.
May 17th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
I actually went through pains to find a notebook that fit in the back pocket of my jeans. Uncomfortable at first, but I got used to it.
I always carry a pen (often two) in another pocket as well, locked in place by my wallet, which prevents it from digging into my leg like Pedro said.
Once I got used to it, I always had a place to write my ideas down. Here’s a tip though: Write down only the idea, and mull it over later. I was walking in the park when an idea hit me, and I sat down and wrote several scene outlines, which took up 45 minutes of my time, which I didn’t really have as I was on a lunch break :).
May 17th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
I always get my ideas when I’m hiking. I actually set aside 1 hour during the day just for that because I know it’ll help with figuring “stuff” out. If you got your iPod on you (which is pretty likely when you’re jogging or walking), you can buy the Belkins TuneTalk accessory. Allows you to record audio on the iPod, good for keeping track of ideas. And you don’t have to carry an extra notepad and pen.
http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=277661
May 17th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
I’d get a treadmill.
May 17th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
I recommend a Moleskines pocket or reporter notebook. I have a few of them laying around the house. Small & nice looking. Moleskines.com has many varieties. Check them out.
Or if you are more technologically savvy, there are many pens out there with internal memory. Now you can write the idea down where ever you are, on what ever you want & when you get home, plug the pen in your computer & it will show you what you have written.
May 17th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
Index cards and pen with LED illumination on nightstand (get most of my ideas while trying to get to sleep). Treo phone so I can write up a memo (and sync with my MacBook). Voice recrder in car so I can make notes while waiting in traffic. And always have a piece of paper in my back pocket. I can use the Treo pen stylus if I don’t have a full pen on me.
May 17th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
Brain cells utilized for memory storage until I get to my computer.
May 18th, 2007 at 12:15 am
Not unlike John, I tend to have the brightest ideas when I’m trying to fall asleep. I keep a notebook on my nightstand to scribble them down. Problem: I’m incapable of concise thinking and scribbling when I’m in bed. So one morning on this very notebook I find the words “Ben Affleck in cave”. I have no idea what it means, but it was probably the best idea I’ve ever had.
On the other side, maybe it was just a wet dream.
May 18th, 2007 at 1:35 am
I’ve used a pocket memo recorder for years. And there’s this particular woodland where I walk my dog — I’ve noticed that if I’ve got a story problem or a bunch of ideas that I need to pull into something coherent, that’s the place where if I start to talk it through, stuff happens.
Must be the little green people, or something. If they ever close those woods, I’m shafted.
May 18th, 2007 at 3:31 am
That was funny.
But it also happens to me just as I’m about to fall asleep. I think it’s when your mind starts to clear that it’s able to see the diamonds in the sand.
May 18th, 2007 at 5:15 am
John, why not just keep a notebook on the nightstand?
May 18th, 2007 at 5:46 am
There’s a funny Mitch Hedberg joke about how when he’s lying down, falling asleep and thinks of a joke he has to get up and go to the other side of the room to get a pen and paper, or convince himself that the joke he just thought of wasn’t funny.
May 18th, 2007 at 7:55 am
I used to have a notepad and a pen with me all the time and filled it with notes and ideas constantly. I’m over that.
Akiva Goldsman said in “The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters” that if you get an idea and forget about it later it probably wasn’t that of a great idea in the first place.
I believe that. And usually if I have a great idea, I work on that a little immediatly if possible, so it stays with me anyway. It’s also a good mental training.
Later when you have time, write it down and flesh it out.
Anyway, when I am at work, I always have my script I am currently working on with me. So later that day after work I go to my favorite pub and have a big beer and take my script and write down all the ideas, notes and corrections on the script. When I come home I type those notes, ideas and corrections into my script, so the next time I am in the pub, I have a clean script to write on again.
May 18th, 2007 at 9:02 am
I have a pen on me wherever I go. I used to try being tied down to one notebook (Moleskines’re chic) but I’m just not a monogamous guy.
So I use whatever junk scraps of paper (crosswords, receipts, etc) accumulate in my ass pocket. Their lifespans vary, but having to change from jeans to slacks for the corporate dayjob keeps me checking my pockets regularly.
Hassle-free and hasn’t failed me yet. But then, I’m an “organized slob” in every aspect of my life, so whatever works for you.
May 18th, 2007 at 10:02 am
I guess I’m just lucky in how my brain works. I think up ideas a lot while I’m going to sleep but I always remember them when I wake up, probably because I try to flesh them out as much as I can. In fact, I do most of my plotting while I’m trying to sleep because that’s when my brain is the most open to ideas.
I’m also really good at remembering where stuff is. Girls in my dorm used to call me to their rooms and make me look for their missing earrings.
May 18th, 2007 at 10:13 am
Every coat I own has a notepad and pen in one of the pockets. My mp3 player has a voice recording function as does my cellphone. My pockets are also usually stuffed with napkins, coasters and envelopes with assorted notes and sketches on them. The creative brain is a cruel beast.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:06 am
This happens to me all the time (just falling asleep, in the shower, on the bus, on the freeway) when I’m working on a script idea, or trying to solve a problem in editing. Another thing I’ve done a lot is send myself a text message with the idea, in case I don’t have a pen handy.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:34 am
Another note. What I often do is to write my ideas on napkins or paper in bars and clubs or restaurants. Yeah, you get the picture, I often get my ideas during a certain routine with beer. And yes, they are good and constructive ideas.
May 18th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
The reason my Moleskine is full of photos, articles, illogical sentences, random words, synopsises, premises, quotes, aforisms, poems, portraits, memories and diary notes is this: it helps me come to grips with ideas. I rarely actually read or go through what I’ve put there.
If you’ve studied any psychology, you know that something special needs to happen for information to move from short-term memory to long-term: repetition, rehearsing and/or preferrably a link to something in the long-term memory. So great ideas don’t automatically stay in your memory; they can be easily forgotten.
Example (not saying the idea in this example is of any value):
You get hit by a car, later find out it was your ex, whom you still love, trying to kill you and while lying in the hospital paralized, she comes to apologize and says she now loves you more than ever before. You’re wondering if you can ever forgive and love her again. Then it hits you: you’ve got something here. You won’t have to use your notebook. A year later, when you’ve gotten out of bed and learned to write without hands, you will remember.
Alternatively, you read an article about a guy who got hit by a car, found out it was his ex, whom he still loves, trying to kill him and then while laying paralized in the hospital, she came to apologize and said she now loves him more than ever before. The guy is wondering if he can ever forgive and love her again. And now you’ve read it and you move on to the next article… wait! If this stroke any chords with you, you might want to take the article between your notebook. At least for a while.
The ideas I usually end up writing to scripts are the ones that I’ve kept thinking about for a very long time.
May 18th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
Cutting the grass. I have a large yard and it’s my best thinking time. There’s been several times where I’ve had to run back to the garage to jot something down.
May 18th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
I get mine driving and as I fall asleep all the time. Always have a notebook handy, notes sized with a pen ticked in there somewhere.
I get the fewest number of ideas when I’m sitting at the computer writing a treatment.
May 18th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Me too, re: while running. I now use my phone as an MP3 player. It’s got a memo record which is fewer clicks and less time than leaving yourself a voicemail.
May 19th, 2007 at 6:15 am
Ditto the Driving. And when I scribble them on the back of a McDonald’s receipt I usually can’t read my writing when I get home.
May 19th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Lots of great ideas above and I have a three point response:
I wish I can remember where I read it, but I recall learning about a phenomenon that is TRIGGERED by the literal change of scenery in one’s field of vision which spurns creative thought. Spielberg was even cited for having regular “breakthroughs” while driving. Jogging, cycling, heck, even commuting on public transit would do likewise. Again…wish I could give a footnote here worthy of further reading.
David Allen in his über popular “Getting Things Done,” talks about ALWAYS putting your ideas into a TRUSTED SYSTEM. And the first part of that system is a UBIQUITOUS capture device — something that’s ALWAYS with you. I’ll spare suggestions beyond those already mentioned above, but I have found ONE that is pretty interesting:
Jott.com….it’s a web-app that lets you dial a free number, leave a message, and that text will be transcribed by their voice-recognition software and EMAILED to your address, with a link to the original audio. And the accuracy of the transcription is REMARKABLE.
Hope that’s helpful!
May 20th, 2007 at 9:23 am
When I get an idea at a time a can’t write it down (like before I fall asleep or when fighting LA traffic) I just run it over in my head a few times until I’ve really got it memorized then recall it when I have the time to write it down. Good thing about that is if you ever loose what you write it on you may still have it in your head.
May 20th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
..but if I stop watching Lost they won’t screen it anymore … we don’t have Tivo in New Zealand. We do have hot water, pleny of sheep and Peter Jackson though.
May 20th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
At least writers CAN write it down. Pity the poor director who wakes up in the middle of the night, with the perfect idea on how to fix his scene, after the set had been struck. DOH!
May 21st, 2007 at 1:30 am
It’s all about brain waves =) The “Alpha state” is where the brain is using Alpha waves. They’re slower than the waves our brain uses at it’s most awake (Beta waves) but not slow enough for us to be too relaxed. If you’re doing sport, or something like washing up, you’re mentally relaxed but still wide awake — y’know that trance you can almost get in when you’re doing something physical, yet without the need for thought? Well that’s the Alpha state. Our brain is at it’s most creative and ideas seem to come from nowhere. When you’re winding down to go to sleep at night, your brain phases through Beta waves to Alpha, then Theta — the drowsy waves and finally delta, the deepest sleep. So it’s likely that as you’re falling to sleep you’ll have a sudden idea. Also, to answer someone else’s question: People who remember their dreams more often seem to be able to phase back through these states when waking - where as if you skip Alpha and Theta, you tend to go from deep sleep to highly awake and the dream is lost. Alarm clocks often murder dreams! I’m a huge dreamer and I found all of this info when I was researching dream states some years ago. I was trying to figure out a way to remember all of my dreams instead of just some… It’s pretty amazing stuff — They teach athletes how to access the Alpha state because scientists have proven that top athletes seem to go into this state just before they score a goal etc. If you want more ideas, the Alpha state is where it’s at =D
May 21st, 2007 at 10:14 am
Thanks for all the comments. I wish John August would notify you when he posts your question…I don’t check this site regularly.
Ben from LA (and I’m straight, just FYI)
May 25th, 2007 at 6:20 am
fabulous advice. choose sex. ha.
as a writing and rhetoric professor, i often give the same advice (although working in a Utah U, i put it in fairly diff terms).
June 3rd, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Physical activity. I think there’ve been studies about how physical activity helps you think/learn. They’ve done tests with people on treadmills or something. Some people can concentrate better when they’re chewing gum.
December 13th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
One would beg the question- Why don’t you move your book next to your bed? I suppose the inability to leave the bathroom trumps the unwillingness to get out of bed… Which, I would speculate, is the case throughout history. I get the ideas at night too…