Never toss anything

Whether you've been at it for a few years or a few decades - you've had tons of ideas already. Big ones, little ones - never toss anything.

Your ideas, your treasure.Seems obvious, right? But you'd be surprised how many writers are an unstructured bunch who leave WAY too much to chance. That final sale or commission won't ever be 100% assured - all the more you need to keep track and control the things we can. One such thing we can control is the stuff our brain spews on a daily basis. Keeping notebooks? I'd hope so! But whether it's your standard Moleskine or just scraps of paper here and there - you should type them out, store them digitally and put them where you can find them when you need them.

We all have drawers filled with ideas. Sometimes those ideas are pure gold, sometimes there closer to tin. Still, whether those ideas stand the test of time or feel dated at some point - never toss anything (did I mention to never toss anything?). The greatest idea you've ever had may end up being a little character quirk in for an entirely different story. And the weakest idea just may fuse with something else and turn into that perfect pitch. I'm writing about this because I see it working again and again. Right now I'm working on a pitch for a TV thriller. I've revisited my treasure chest, rummaged and found. An idea led to another and now I'm well on my way to a very cool piece of work.

We are our worst enemies. The little man/woman inside our head nagging: "That ain't good enough, that ain't original enough, that ain't special enough." Screw that voice. Never hit delete - just put it somewhere, forget about it, move on. I guarantee you, one find day that crappy idea will be exactly what you need to deliver the goods.

Never - toss - anything.