Whenever something happens that makes me laugh or if I remember something in the middle of the night that I want to share, I jot the experience down.
If there's something I really like or a chord progression, I write a note in my Blackberry, and maybe a year later, I'll revisit it and ask, 'What did I like about that?' I really don't try to think too much about it. I like to be fresh.
Most of our writers tend to be recorders.
I don't get ideas, I have them. The trick is to remember where I've put them.
A lot of times, somebody will say something and it will give you a good title. So you carry a pencil with you and jot that down. You don't just write a song right quick, though. You fool around and work with it. You have to keep going over and over it and see if you can't write a song that means something.
There's something happening everyday, but I'm too tired and lazy to write it all down.
Usually, I walk around and think about things. When I come across a thought that makes me laugh, I write it down.
The idea is in my head to put it down is nothing.
Ideas are elusive, slippery things. Best to keep a pad of paper and a pencil at your bedside, so you can stab them during the night before they get away.
There is no more difficult art to acquire than the art of observation, and for some men it is quite as difficult to record an observation in brief and plain language.
I carry a small spiral notebook with me at all times and have been doing this for many years. There's a shoe box in my closet filled with these notebooks, each riddled with notes and impressions, ideas, schemes, and soup recipes.
The best leaders are the best notetakers, best askers, and best learners.
I kept a notebook, a surreptitious journal in which I jotted down phrases, technical data, miscellaneous information, names, dates, places, telephone numbers, thoughts, and a collection of other data I thought was necessary or might prove helpful.
When I write notes in my journal, I'm just trying to scribble down as much as possible. Later on, I decide whether to follow some of those first impressions or whether to abandon them.
I carry around a black leather Moleskine journal all the time. And I always write ideas down, especially when I'm on set and working with actors like Jeremy Irons and Viola Davis and learning from them.
When you are in church, it's always good to carry a pen and notepad to jot down the scripture text, reference scriptures, and sermon notes. When you come prepared with notepad and pen, you are able to feed off the scriptures from the sermon throughout the week, while asking God to open up your understanding for a deeper illumination of the word.
