Before It Slips Away: Memory Tools for Authors and Organizers

A digital voice recorder on my bed stand ready to capture my brilliant thoughts.

It's inevitable that your best ideas will come when you are nowhere near a computer or your preferred writing tools. You could be barreling down the Interstate when the title for a future book, a new plot twist on a current one, or an entire awesome sentence comes to mind. And if you're like me, it will quickly fade away like the detailed nuances of a morning dream.

The solution is simple: Get a voice recorder. These have to be handiest tools for anyone who wants to capture the muse before she goes on the lam. Sure some smartphones have apps with voice recording capabilities, but in the time that it takes to fire up that app, your brain synapses could misfire and alter your original awesome thoughts. Split-second timing is essential.

I personally use two Olympus voice recorders that I purchased years ago. I keep one in the car, and one on my bed stand. Many of my ideas come while I'm driving, and I am definitely not one to take my eyes off the road with a cell phone. So I have one recorder neatly tucked into the center coin tray of my Hyundai Santa Fe. It takes less than two seconds for me to reach down, press record, and transform my brilliant ideas into ones and zeros. Other ideas come while I'm resting, so one in the house near my bed or within easy reach anywhere inside helps out.

One in my car in the center console. Easy to get to, seconds to record.

The best part about these digital note takers is that they store each recording separately. The counters show you how many notes you have so you can forward through and review them later. Some even allow you to download the recordings to your computer as separate audio files via a USB connection. But I prefer to just review them on the recorder at a later date and delete each one once the task, or idea, has been taken care of. Why make more work?

Here are some of the ways I've used these recorders:

1. Ideas for book titles ("Call the book People Who Need To Die")

2. Ideas for book concepts ("Write a book of easy-to-understand poetry")

3. Catching mistakes in draft manuscripts ("Page 138 her should be here")

4. Promotion ideas ("Post the open-mic videos on Write By The Rails")

5. Events ("Contact the bookstore to see if I can do a book signing around Christmas")

And on and on. Grocery lists, even. Taking notes at a meeting, etc. Recording your subject for an interview (with approval, of course).

I've also found these recorders handy to just record what I'm thinking. For instance, for my book In Search of Good Times, I recorded a few minutes of me talking through the plot points of the book and what the main character Joe might go through on his journey across the country. Sort of thinking out loud while recording it at the same time. Listening to it play back helped me keep the focus of the book to my original passionate idea. It was like digital therapy. And free.

And the best thing about these little buddies, no wasted paper. Batteries last for months, too. Typically they take two AAA. Here is one of the least expensive Olympus voice recorders now on Amazon with great reviews. Well worth the purchase! Vic

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