[Tipster] How to Collect Your Book Ideas

Tuesday afternoon I met with a literary agent to discuss a book idea that’s been swirling inside me for a few years.

The idea relates to my expertise in collecting and styling vintage.

On Instagram, under my username Megillicutti, I’ve coined and popularized the phrase, “The quest is the best!”—a pithy saying that sums up what drives vintage enthusiasts to collect.

I write regularly on the topic and have for a few years envisioned writing a coffee table book entitled “The Quest.”

The agent and I spoke for about an hour. She was intrigued, even as I fumbled my way through my inchoate pitch. She gave me some homework, before we meet again.

She didn’t say no. She didn’t say yes.

But she did open the door—even if only a crack—for me to give shape to my ideas.

And when that door is open, it seems that everything that walks through it—articles you read, movies you watch, conversations you have—somehow relates to the idea you’re welcoming.

Opening the Door to an Idea

Wednesday night, I headed to the shop where I sell my vintage wares. A customer was considering a mid-century buffet I have for sale.

With his right arm wrapped around his left side, and the tip of his left finger tapping his lower lip, he said, “I imagine displaying my collection of glove box covers from antique cars in this.”

“Glove box covers? Why do you collect those?” I asked. (People collect the strangest, most wonderful things!)

“Because when I was little, my dad took me to car auctions. He was a mechanic. I wasn’t into cars. But I wanted to be with my dad. Collecting those glove box covers was a way to connect with him.”

Bam! An idea for my book: we collect because it connects us to the people we love.

I’m glad I’m writing down the story here, otherwise I would have lost that nugget.

Saving Strings and Index Cards

Collecting stories like this is what Roy Peter Clark, author of Writing Tools, calls “saving strings.” 

Each idea, observation, story, or quote is a bit of twine that gets rolled up with the next bit of twine until it creates one big ball of thinking.

Eventually, you have to unwind it, order it, and toss some of it. But when you find a string, grab it. Write it down and store it, so you don’t lose it. 

Author Anne Lamott has another strategy. In Bird by Bird, Lamott talks about how she never leaves the house without a notecard folded lengthwise and stuffed in her pocket, “knowing that if [she] ha[s] an idea, or sees something lovely or strange or for any reason worth remembering, [she] will be able to jot down a couple of words to remind [her] of it."

Lamott goes on to say that she tosses many of the cards. Not everything strikes her as profound or snappy or humorous as it did the first time she observes or hears it.

She says some people have spongy brains that absorb the details. They don’t need to write them down.

When You’re a Sieve—the Ideas Slip Through

I’m not a sponge. I’m a sieve. I need to write down the details.

You actually don’t even need a notecard, or a Word doc. Use your phone.

Snap a pic of that tree that looked like an elephant. Or that woman’s feet, one foot shod in a sneaker, the other in a heel. Or that billboard with that catchy slogan.

Pics can jog your memory.

Some writers create audio recordings—because, as we know, the best ideas come when you’re walking and don’t have a pen.

Notes on an iPhone or Google Keep are popular writing apps that allow writers to quickly capture their idea.

For writers who want a bit more structure, Evernote is an app that allows you to centralize all your assets: notes, recordings, and pics, and label them.  Everything is organized and easy to find!

It’s a discipline. And, I’m not all that disciplined. But I’m going to try my best to save my strings.

And I hope you do, too!

Now buckle up, save your strings, and write.

Melissa Parks