How to Use “Creative Memory Loss” to Your Advantage

The longer you work as a writer, the more you realize that every idea you think of will not see the final draft stage. Sometimes the idea doesn’t make it past “the journal” that holds thousands of other unused ideas. Eventually, you forget about the “really cool idea about long-lost sisters” and continue down a different story about robots without so much as a tear in your eye. I call this phenomenon Creative Memory Loss. 

This isn’t something I’ve made up, but is a necessary skill that all creatives adapt sooner or later if not consciously, subconsciously. Not everything we do is going to shine, and that’s okay. You can’t become attached to every fart from your imagination. But you know what's not okay? When that "creative memory loss" starts to seep into a long-term project. You begin to forget the name of the city your character lives in, or worse, the character's freaking name OR WORSE, you swap the main character and their love interests' names when you’re writing a scene AND DON’T CATCH IT! (oh, the shame I suffer from often when writing first drafts). 

To save you from these haphazard scenarios, I have devised some useful tips that have made my Creative Memory Loss more like Creative Amnesia. 

Definitions

• Creative Memory Loss: When you detach yourself from an idea and completely forget that you even had that idea.

• Creative Amnesia: When you attach yourself to an idea because you know it’ll be good for later, so you put it somewhere that you’ll remember (hopefully) and go about your life until that fated time comes when you return to it.

Let’s Get Digitally Organized

OH, if you thought this wasn’t the route we were headed, I’m sorry to disappoint you. As a writer, it is your job to make sure that you are as clean in real life as you are in the digital one. And if you are not a clean person in the real world….well….more on that later. Let’s dive into some of the most important things to focus on when organizing your digital world.

Tip #1: Label EVERY Idea

When I tell you nothing is more frustrating than sifting through your digital files for that one random note that you typed somewhere and it being labeled “Untitled document 45”. If the idea is about pole-dancing spies, then label it something exactly like that. Do not underestimate the subconscious mind. If you label it something familiar, you will find it easier when you need it. The same goes for the notes we write in our journals. Label em!

Tip #2 Put Things In Accessible Places

Some people like digital folders. Others like a desktop full of stuff. I personally like a desktop of folders that lead to a galaxy’s worth of subfolders. Organization is what you make of it. There are enough articles about making digital folders, aesthetically pleasing wallpapers, and the direction of the menu bar. What I want you to focus on, specifically, is making a way for you to distinguish the “Important Draft of 45 Chapter Novel” apart from “idea i wrote in shoer bout guy”.

Tip #3 Clump Like Things Together

This might just be a me thing, but I work better when things are in their place. Like the bracelets are with the bracelets. The books are on the bookshelf. It just makes sense for them to be there. That’s how I like to organize my work in the digital world. If I’m working on a very large project, I whip out my digital corkboard (shout out to Miro) and start weaving my project together. If I’m downloading things for a project but want to put them in one spot, I make a folder and just stuff everything in there. If life was as slow as it was when I was a 6th grader, I would go in there and organize it but sub-clumps because writing can require an assortment of assets. The better the system works for you, the easier your work will be in the long run.

Tip #4 Use Technology

Okay, hear me out, because this is about to sound like a sales pitch, but I promise I’m not getting paid to say this (although Google…Canva…hit ya girl up. Ya feel me?).

When I tell you that Google Docs and Canva Pro have saved me from losing out on work more times than I can remember, I'm not exaggerating. I know scriptwriters can’t write in Final Draft format in Google Docs but again, hear me out. Download the Google Docs app on to your phone and start using it for note-taking. How many times have you written down an idea in your journal or a note only to have to retype it later? If you write out the note on Google Docs, you can just open it up later on your computer and expand on it while you fix all the typos. Goodbye are the days that I struggle to jot down a note in the dark. I just whip open the app (dark mode of course) and get to typing. Also, Google Docs partners with Grammarly, yet another fantastic tool to have running in the background as you write.

As far as Canva, why, they are changing more and more each day. Their features continue to expand beyond what I ever imagined when I first signed up in 2018. It's exciting because I can do all my idea-making in Canva on the go the way I can with Google Docs. Both give me the flexibility to do my work from anywhere and the confidence that my work will be there tomorrow when I close out the tab. 

Note: Canva has a free version and Google Docs is free (for now), so all you need to do is sign up and get started. Canva Pro is running at about $30/mo starting December 2024.

Tip #5 Consider investing in a backup hard drive for important work

Now that I’ve gushed about my two favorite resources, let's face it, this is the real world. Companies change hands, go out of business, and vanish from existence quicker than we process. If Canva or Google were to shut everything down tomorrow without warning, I might have a small heart attack and die because most of my work, if not all of it at this point, is saved on there. Right? Wrong.

I download everything (sometimes a little too compulsively) because I’ve lost work before. Pages. Complete chapters. An entire birthday party worth of irreplaceable photos. It’s like being punched in the gut and the feel is tangible in your heart. I’ve cried over lost work. To prevent this heartache, get yaself a backup hard drive. Is this the most foolproof method? No. You can have all of your past work on there only for the fucking thing to brick out on you (ask my husband about it sometime). Even as I write this article, I downloaded it just in case the power goes out from the storm outside. Why? Because you just never know. I personally like to save my most important drafts in several places just in case more than one location glitches out. Excessive? Yes. Saves the draft? Every time!

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how you do it, or whether you do it right the first time you try it out for yourself. The point is to own your work as you make it. Don’t just leave it about for any old crow to come and peck at. Each idea may not be a winner but it does have a purpose. Who knows, later on down that robot story you were writing you may need a side story about two long-lost sisters and then your imagination kicks into high gear. Plus, it helps to be organized when you have an entire novel, video game, or poetry collection to write. The last thing you want is a continuity error that you can't go back and fix! But that is a topic for another day. Until next time!

About the Author

Crystal Cabrae is a storyteller who writes dystopian, romantic, and adventurous worlds for animation and fantastical fiction. Born as Angelica Cabrera, she is a proud graduate of Full Sail University, AMDA NYC, and New World School of the Arts. Her six years of acting training in New York and Miami gives her a unique perspective when approaching her characters. Crystal has a passion for sharing how to create stories with the world and inspiring the storyteller that lives within all of us. While she tries to keep up with her social media accounts, the best way to get to know her is over a cup of tea or a good plate of food.