Experimenting

[dampscribbler]

I realized yesterday that May has been a month of experimenting. The first week, I experimented with writing 1,500 words a day. (That was supposed to go the whole month, but it didn't.) This week, I experimented with having no expectations of myself. It was intended to be a "vacation" week. Worked out okay, although a few more expectations would actually have helped. (I didn't have an experiment for the second week of May, it's just happened serendipitously and I only noticed it yesterday, when I was planning an experiment for next week.) Next week, I intend to write down every idea I get. This will necessitate getting several small notebooks so there is always one nearby, and making sure a pen is paired with each one. I get so many ideas every day, but I never do anything with them. I'd like to see what happens when I intentionally record each one.

Comments

[lucyshoe.livejournal.com]

I always think I should write down my crazy ideas (especially my crazy invention ideas! But I rarely do. As soon as I tell someone verbally, it's off my mind and I let it go. If I do write them down, they end up in various scattered notebooks so that I'd never be able to relocate them, even if I could remember there was something to find!

My two invention ideas of last weekend - might as well write them here since I haven't anywhere else are "knuckle dusters" - an idea I got while digging weeds when I noticed that even with my gardening gloves on, I usually end up with bruised and bloody knuckles. So they're little knuckle gloves that fit either over or under other gloves.

My other idea was the "stop-gap" which came about because so many of my front button shirts have terrible boob gaps between the buttons. it's really unseemly. Anyways, I had an idea for this little portable magnetic clasp to cinch the material together where needed, but while I was demonstrating this to Eric he pointed out that my blouse was actually mis-buttoned so that when I undid everything and buttoned it back up correctly it wasn't as gaping an issue. It was still gaping, of course, but I could live with it until someone invents something.

Aren't you glad I use YOUR journal as my verbal dumping ground?

[dampscribbler.livejournal.com]

Your crazy inventions are welcome here anytime! I love the knuckle duster idea. As a founding member of the itty bitty titty committee, the "stop-gap" doesn't apply to me so much. :)

I just bought my notebooks at the bookstore this morning. I splurged on Moleskine ones -- three for $7. (I bought 6! The big bucks!) I'm a little concerned they'll disappear, but the fact that I've limited the duration of the plan helps me get started at all. My excuse for not doing it is usually something like what you just said -- I'll write it down, lose it, and never find it again, so why bother?

I loved your update this morning, BTW. I've been missing you this week.

[lkmadigan.livejournal.com]

I love the idea of writing down every idea!

[dampscribbler.livejournal.com]

I'm very interested to see what comes of it. Some days it seems like I'm inundated with ideas. Will writing them down encourage them, or kill them? Or will it encourage *me* to act on some of them?