Coming up with ideas is a crap shoot. I’ve no clue where they come from or where to look when I need one. Ideas have a mind all their own and follow their own sneaky, backstairs schedule. Sometimes they drop by, but more often they don’t.
You can’t force them, either; I’ve tried. It scares them off. Ideas, I’ve decided, are like birds, very, very skittery. Attempt a sudden grab and, fwip, away it goes. Gah, so frustrating and so typical. The better plan is to ignore 
how desperately you need a spark, a notion, any sign of brain activity whatsoever and go on about your day. Which, for me, means sitting on my keister and obsessing over stuff I can’t control.
Which I was doing when, shazam!, two ideas landed in my brainpan at the very same time. Lucky, lucky me — two bona fide possibilities. Oh, joy, oh, rapture, right? Wrong, I couldn’t decide between them. Each had merits. I dithered and fussed, swinging between options. It would have been easier to draw the winner from a hat.
Eventually, sides were taken and a fight broke out. One side demanded Idea A, the other side insisted on Idea B. Names were called, punches were thrown, and synapses were breached. In the end, I was forced to raise the white flag and surrender the field before my head exploded.
Now I need an aspirin the size of a yo-yo. Sorry for the snafu. Please come back again when order is restored.
copyright © 2017 the whirly girl
the whirly girl 
198 responses to “: the great debate :”
Absolutely true
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Frustrating, isnt it? sigh🤷🏻♀️
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How do you write such interesting posts????🤔🤔
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If you find them interesting, I’m flattered and stumped. Maybe because they’re short? I have sort of a hit and run approach; that helps prevent boredom. Yours and mine 😉
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Very true. Made me chuckle as i sat reading
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Yay! And thank you, I love hearing that :o)
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Love this.. so true! haha Ideas or lack thereof are so frustrating! Thank goodness my phone is always with me so an idea never gets away ;)
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Smart! My big question is : what’s the trick to finding one?
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I agree! It’s always such an irony that when you try to force it nothing comes. But when you least expect it or you surrender and just do something else, the thoughts start flowing. My biggest challenge is not dismissing my own ideas as never good enough. So i try to get myself to write them down no matter what
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That’s an excellent plan. Thanks :o)
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This could be me, over the past few days! Though I am yet still awaiting the moment I become the battleground for two good ideas. The ground is very much barren for me. Your post did make me grin, though, so thank you for improving my otherwise fruitless day. :D
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Well, see? You’re waiting for good ideas. My standards are much, much lower. I’ll take anything and call it an idea. Try it, you might like it, too :o)
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This is like reading my current state of mind! great post
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Thanks! And you have my sympathy, I’m stuck there myself :o|
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Exactly my problem! Thanks for posting this! :)
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The pleasure was mine! Thank you for visiting :o)
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Haha this is so true! Beautifully summarised in a delightful post too. I guess I often experience that war between Ideas A and B (and C, D, E…) in my head, so I come across as indecisive. I like to think of it as open minded! :D
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Ooh, me, too! I love the open-minded part,that’s genius. Thanks for putting a better spin on this very common, very frustrating predicament :o)
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I am regularly tormented by ideas that fluttered by, tempted me, then left without a usable trace. Even though I carry my iPhone and I am determined to stop and jot down a note, if needed, more often than not I am the victim of “in a few minutes I will sit down comfortably to write.” You guessed it, by then no squeezing of the upper appendage, moaning or other invocations can restore that fleeting thought.
Your writing certainly brought all that back to the foreground for me. Great job!
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Thank you! I wonder why there isn’t a telethon to find a cure? We’d all donate. We’d wipe out disappearing ideas in a flash ⚡️
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Reblogged this on ReBirth: The Pursuit of Porsha.
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Loved this post! Also great is when the post ideas come, and then the inner critic tears into them. Good times. Thanks for the chuckle and have a great week!
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Oh, right, the inner critic. That is fun :o)
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ideas abound, time does not. That really is the key, isn’t it? When I have an idea for a post, I am strapped for time, when I have time, I am like what they keck am I gonna write about. I sauntered over from Krista’s post about ideas – glad I did. Like the roller coaster marquee… where all on a wild ride of sorts. Have a wonderful week and great fourth of July.
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Thanks, you, too!
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Hi! The aspirin helped a lot. Admitting defeat and walking away took care of the rest. I admire your system for developing ideas, it’s genius. I’m just lucky to hold back the pandemonium 🤦🏻♀️
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Randomness…I Like it! I have a notebook with ideas scribbled down under each of my page categories, but quite often just sit down and decide what to write then…if I’m stuck I look at which category I’ve not covered the longest and try to fill that gap. (so if I’ve done a few days of recipes, I’ll do a parenting or budgeting one). Great read, thanks for sharing with us (hope the aspirin did the trick?) Anna x
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Wow, that sounds so efficient and smart! No wonder I didn’t think of it :o)
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Great post! Loved the topic! I use a Word Bank. When something hits me – a word, a phrase, a title or feeling, I write it down in my Word Bank for times when noting is coming and I need help. Another way for me is looking at great quotes.
Thanks, Chuck
Come see me???
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This post is beautifully constructed and very creative. Got me laughing… Thumbs up.
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Yahoo, thanks 👌
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This made me laugh. I get it. I’m late to the party comment-wise (story of my life, kid) and late to the party blogging-wise. New to this particular corner of the world but trying to figure it all out.
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You want to talk about being late to the party? I recently bought The Elements of Style, Strunk & White’s famous grammar guide from 1959. So, in comparison, you’re a trend setter :o)
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The idea I start out with when I sit down to write seldom has much to do with what I end up writing. I can’t decide if that’s maddening or the coolest thing ever. Maybe it’s both.
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I try not to look too closely. I call it a win when it’s coherent — my bar is set comfortably low :o)
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On point! The best of ideas pop at times when I can’t write them down and later when I think of them it seems they vaporized as soon as they hit my head! :D
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Vaporized is right! :o)
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I always have good luck just blogging when I have an idea. Sometimes I’ll have part of an idea, and I’ll make a note of it until it develops more. The more I blog, the more ideas I have, and the more I blog. It’s really addicting! :)
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It sure is ✏️
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This is actually spot on. Trying to force an idea almost always leads me to writing pretty terrible posts. The good ones are always the ideas that are fleeting – if I can remember them of course.
Great humorous and relatable post!
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Thanks!
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I love this post! This is pretty much exactly how I feel about writing in general.
So many authors set a word count for each day (which I think is awesome and I’m not saying it’s a bad idea), but that does not work for me, because I cannot force ideas. I have to just wait until they come to me. And sometimes they come at very inconvenient times, like when I’m working on a completely different part of the story! But, I’ve learned that when the inspiration comes, I’ve gotta write it down immediately, because I know it will not come to me when I’m trying to force it. So what happens is I’ll go a couple of days without writing, then all of a sudden the ideas flood into my brain and I’ll write an entire chapter, even if it isn’t chronologically where I left off. I just stick it in later when I get to that part.
Bottom line: writing is messy!
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Well put! I spend most of my time reassembling and rearranging. We should call writing what it really is: an exercise in cutting and pasting :o)
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If we all wrote whatever came to mind in our blogs, it might be interesting, or it would be a disaster. Oftentimes I overthink what I want to write when just a so-so idea would be just dandy, then I would have plenty of blog inspiration.
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Oh, how well I know the anguish of overthinking. I’ve ruined more ideas by nitpicking than by anything else, including bad grammar. Oy, it’s so irritating!
Gosh, can you tell overthinking is my nemesis?
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Reblogged this on Twisting Suburbia and commented:
Aaaaaand this is just one reason that I haven’t written in a month….”poof” skittery birds!
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Once you give up any hope of being sensible and / or interesting, a whole world of nonsense opens up. Really, you should try it :o)
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This blog holds true actually, I myself don’t force ideas I let them come naturally. Thanks for posting this.
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I just go ahead without them. Who needs an idea, right?
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Creativity comes when you are in the zone, that moment you are in perfect harmony with a thought/idea be it in the bathroom, walking or busy.
I always walk with a small notebook and a pen to “arrest” whatever comes to mind – by jotting it down immediately. If not possible to write immediately, I keep my thoughts controlled, and hold back as many random thoughts as possible till I write that particular inspiration down.
I may or never develop the thought in due time, but through drafting it, it’s not lost to the wind; It stands a chance to be expressed by me – one day
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Smart idea! I’m not known for those :o(
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[…] whirly girl shares this blogging frustration in a cheeky, humorous post along with fun original […]
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Wonderfully said….
It also happens with me that just the idea came and flew away….
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Welcome to my world. I’m pretty sure they do it just to mock me :o\
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Love this post! Your blog is beautifully designed. I seem to get ideas at the most inconvenient times – in the shower, in the car, or as I drift off to bed. Then, as I actually have an idea and begin to write a post, I find that it ends up becoming one of many unfinished drafts.
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Why, thank you :o)
I’m with you. After years of chasing vague possibilities that may or may not pan out, I’ve decided ideas are nasty little sadists.
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😂😂😂
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Right back at you :o)
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Definitely can’t force them. I just spent two days writing a post because it was too exhausting to try and do it in a day and I wanted to make sure that I got everything down.
But there are definitely posts that I have started and just abandoned because the emotions were not longer there.
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Now, I’m no expert, but sometimes if you let them sit awhile — days or weeks or months — they often improve with age. Or maybe it’s desperation. I’m good either way 😏
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For sure! Time is a huge factor. When it comes to the book I’m writing, I’ve written and elaborated the same chapter over 50 times now. 🙃 Mainly because there is always more details to add.. But when it comes to my journaling, it’s definitely a one and done thing. I write to get rid of the emotions (stream of consciousness only). No edits necessary or required. Other than spell check, of course! 😉
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I get my best ideas while out walking the dog, which is why my stories usually involve a husky and a poop bag.
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Bwahaha! Well, it’s good to have a theme 🐾
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I observe everyday things and take notes. It usually helps me connect the dots to what I’m reading.
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Good thinking! I either have a pencil, but no paper. Or paper and no pencil. I’m a two-legged disaster.
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You speak the truth sister! My secret trick is what I call the “Hopper” which is the spot on my blog where my drafts begin (and sometimes perish).
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Reminds me of this Colson Whitehead quote I read the other day: “Anything I find interesting goes in the hopper and becomes an influence or inspiration to some degree,” he told an interviewer. “At various times, that’s been comics, film, TV, music. And books—can’t forget books!” Like Chabon, he has professed that it was the beloved pop culture of his childhood that made him want to write: “X-Men and Spider-Man comics, then science fiction, horror, and fantasy novels.”
https://newrepublic.com/article/140954/nostalgic-fiction-booming-eggers-chabon-lethem
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Wow! Thanks for the inspiration 🙃
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Very cool! I’ll have to check them out. Thanks for the comment :)
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You’re so lucky! Most of mine don’t make it that far. They go straight from my head to delete ➰. I don’t waste memory that way, computer or organic.
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Yup, well said.
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Ideas will make U and ideas will destroy U. The world was build on ideas and will always be.
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Nice piece
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Thanks :o)
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Great post. I’ve now started writing exclusively on my phone. It’s a great habit to cultivate. What do you always have with you when the brain farts strike? Correct. Our annoying little friend is never out of reach and you can now Press those moments of genius offline.
Will follow the contents of the brainpan with interest.
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Wow, you’re good. I’ve tried writing posts on my phone and it’s a disaster. It takes forever and nothing ends up where it’s supposed to be. Not that it’s any different when I use the computer, but it’s not as time consuming :o}
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Actually reading an responding to your post just gave me a creative bump. Just posted one on the interesting places I’ve found myself in and the spots I’ve written in. Thanks for the inspiration. 😀
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My pleasure :o)
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I feel like “please come back again when order is restored” should be my life motto. :)
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That’s the best comment of the week! Thanks for sharing 🤡
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I loved this, very good way of describing what happens when a stroke of inspiration hits us. Beautiful worded!
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Thanks!
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One of the most absurd things which often happens with me.
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Aspirin helps. Or a nice chianti :o)
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This is so true. Sometimes they drop by. Sometimes they don’t.
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And sometimes they ring the doorbell and run. I forgot to mention that little trick.
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Sometimes you need a coin or an ionic screenshot.
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We need all the help we can get, don’t we?
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Wow… Such a great thought about ideas
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Thanks 🤡
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Hahaha! Spot on!!!!! And i cant even say my ideas come visit in the shower or car!!! 😩
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Oh, they will. That’s the thing, you’ll never know when an idea will pop in or where or how or why. So be on the lookout … 👀
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Water does it for me! Washing dishes, in the shower….the ideas…flow.
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Me, too. Water is my favorite element. I like it even better than helium.
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Read it twice! Simple and sweet! :)
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Thank you — times 2!
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damn! this is soo freakin creative
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Aw, I was just lucky :o)
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Hysterical and oh so damn true.
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For once, drawing a blank worked in my favor. Who knew? Thanks for stopping by!
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http://wp.me/p8MOMh-4 hello! Please check our blog site and follow us. Thank you so much. We need some suggestions to omprove our site
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:o)
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Ha ha great work…haven’t thought about it yet…but after a beer or two.
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Heh, cheers.
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Cheers to u too🍺🍻
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That post was like an episode of Seinfeld! It was a post about struggling for an idea for this post..very meta…..I think.
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You’re on the nose!
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Thanks?
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Ideas come when I am at the job I hated and need to occupy my mind with something that intrigued and bring spark to my knowledge. Nice!
searchforvibes.com
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Einstein used the same principle! He was working in a Swiss patent office when he came up with his field theory!
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Nice.
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Sweet!
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The link is:https://btlaveyart.wordpress.com/2017/05/24/following-random-ideas-for-successful-creations/
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This is what I was referring to in my own blog. Check it out and see if this does’nt mirror the thought. Great way of putting it, by the way. Looking forward to more.
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[…] Source: : the great debate : […]
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:o)
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[…] via : the great debate : — the whirly girl […]
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🤗
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Nice touch to the copyright text on the bottom of your post :)
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You noticed, woohoo!
I probably shouldn’t admit this, so keep this under your hat: the images are my favorite part. They’re a blast :o)
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And yesterday it so happened that my girlfriend asked me to write about something social and all i could think about was Manchester and terrorism.. Finally got a nice idea!!
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The tragic events in the UK lie heavy on all of us. Discussion is a good way to start the healing process. Best wishes 🌷
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Writing about this was a great idea! Beautifully written.
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Wow, thank you!
The funny thing is, it was an act of desperation. I had nothing else to write about. How weird is that?
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Glad to see I’m not alone. My spark is around 3:00am — pitch black dark — I put a pad and pencil on my nightstand – what happened to it???? On the floor, with my glasses… Maybe tomorrow LOL
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I’ve woken myself laughing in the middle of the night, certain I have the funniest, cleverest idea ever. When I remember it in the morning, though, it makes absolutely no sense. It’s flat out stoopid in daylight, but hilarious at 4 am. Go figure.
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This was beautifully written. This happens in my mind more often than not. It’s so frustrating when I can’t just sit and generate ideas.
I love your sense of humour
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Thank you, that’s nice to hear! Maybe the sitting part is what’s tripping us up. Let’s try standing on our heads and see if that helps 🤷♀️
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I’ll give it a try
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That’s the spirit :o)
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Ok! Ad / HD frustrating to always have ten posts in the head but not get down one, haaaaaa but check this out. It’s big to be me so keep up with this blog please, hm .. Did I write this?
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You sure did and thank you!
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Most of the time when I’m in the middle of a serious lesson at school then BAMM!!
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That’ll do it. Whenever it’s inappropriate or awkward, bink, the best idea ever shows up to mock you and then disappear forever. I know that feeling well.
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Every time !!! Every day !!!….. but the day i get that one idea and everything just flows out , that is worth the wait 😊 #similar thoughts # unique writing though
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I promise to get back to you if that ever happens.
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Ill wait :)
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Peace
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Right back at you :o)
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this is cool!
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Yay!
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Reblogged this on SOAR and commented:
It goes this way sometimes! Nice to muse over the idea with this article.
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Thanks!
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So true! Has just happened to me today, agaiinn!
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You have my deepest sympathy!
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I like your blog though, so original and natural. Keep up!
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Aw, thanks. I will :o)
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Mmmm
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Follow my blog back bowalexo.wordpress.com
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So funny
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Thanks :o)
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Same
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Double thanks!
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Wow
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Thanks!
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Exactly!!
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🤦🏼♀️
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Frustrating, isn’t it?
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Very much it is
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:o)
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Well written. I thoroughly enjoyed this!
This is the whole issue around writer’s block. You can’t sit at the computer looking at a screen to generate ideas. Ideas are swift-footed, elusive creatures spotted when you’re on the verge of falling asleep (you’d better snap to alert and write them down!), waking you at 3:00 in the morning, torturing you in the shower (which you cut short, stumbling half wet in your towel to paper or computer), itching the back of your brain when your hands are occupied with the steering wheel, and blinding you with full brilliance when you’re running late on an adrenaline-charged workday morning.
“brainpan” — awesome word.
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That last one, the great idea when you haven’t time to sit down and work on it, is a heartbreaker. I hate when that happens.
Cheers and thanks for the terrific comment!
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Good read, happens to the best of US
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Why, thank you and good luck in your own struggle.
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Reblogged this on O LADO ESCURO DA LUA.
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:o)
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Haha…this is just so awesome and so relatable!!
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Thank you!
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This is so true😂😂
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Oh how well I know. I recommend Advil.
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nice:)
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Thanks 🙃
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This is absolutely true! :)
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And don’t we wish it wasn’t :o/
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Yeah all the time! We would actually have tons of blog posts if it weren’t for this problem! 😶
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Aw, who needs an idea? I just go ahead without one ;o)
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Huh!! Yeeaahh.. that’s the best!!
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Sure
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:o)
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So true! Some times they drop by sometimes they don’t!!!
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And sometimes they’re wearing a disguise, masquerading as an idea when they aren’t. You have to be careful, don’t you?
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Absolutely!
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:o)
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I usually get a spark of creativity when I’m driving. can’t write it down, can’t write, won’t remember. ❤
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It’s the shower for me. There, too, I rarely have a pencil. Frustrating, isn’t it?
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yes, in the shower .. always!!!
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I’m convinced the shower is a launching pad. It’s all those negative ions, bless their little hearts :o)
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Me too…and can’t remember it afterwards!
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They’re such slippery little devils …
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The best $7.72 you will ever spend. :)
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Huh! Exactly!
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Spark is driving
Its nice
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Exactly
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[…] via : the great debate : — the whirly girl […]
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And when those ideas come to make sure that they are written down!
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I just don’t remember to write them down or even why I should. I tell myself it’s good to forget and move on, no regrets :o)
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Great advice except the best ideas come to mind when I CANT’T write them down. That’s what makes me pissed off even more
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That’s their plan, you know; hide until it’s impossible to capture them in writing. I swear, ideas only exist to torment us 😑
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