Write it down or keep it in your head?

[matt0044]

Do you write all your ideas down in a notebook or do you keep some details in your head? I'd like to know what you guys do when brainstorming since I sometimes don't write details that I can't exactly put into words. Like I know what my characters are doing but I don't need to be incredibly detailed to get my point across. Something like that. Of course, I get scared that I'm making a mistake and I won't know it until it's pointed out to me.

 

[LightningTopaz]

I write most of my ideas down, but I leave some wiggle room to be creative

 

[Zekurom]

Write it down. Always. You can always come back and edit it later.

 

[Phoenix502]

if it can be put into words... I'd write it down.

unfortunately, there are some aspects that are just so thought out that I'll have trouble doing just that, so i keep it in my head... which tends to sometimes cause problems, especially when the story's all thought out EXCEPT for one thing, and it often drives me crazy trying to find out how that one thing can get molded well.

 

[Midorikawa]

My ideas don't usually get put into stories like I should try so they end up staying in my head. I don't usually forget important details though.

 

[Caitlin]

I usually write everything down, sometimes in meticulous detail that will never be seen by the readers. For example, here's my character notes on Marvin Dennison, the main character's father and a relatively minor character at best of my old fanfiction:

Age: 39
Gender: Male
Eye Colour: Brown
Hair Colour: Brown
Hometown: Slateport City, Hoenn
Relatives: Meredith Dennison (wife), Andrea Dennison (daughter)
Job: Lieutenant of the Storm Island Police
Introduced: 0x01
Biography: Marvin Dennison was born in the sunny, tropical city of Slateport City. From a young age, he showed a passion for protecting others, standing up to schoolyard bullies. Unfortunately this conflicted with his parents' wishes, who wanted him to grow up to be a famous Pokemon master. He moved away from his parents (who were very disappointed in him), wandering the world until he was about 18, then hitched a ride aboard the SS Anne to Storm Island to start a new life.
It was on that boat ride where he met a young 17 year old girl by the name of Meredith Ashewood. The two instantly became good friends, eventually marrying the next year. After a year of marriage and Marvin successfully being enlisted as an officer in the Storm Island Police Force, the two decided to start a family.
Marvin is a hard working and honest man. He has a passion for adventure, but as he's mostly tied down to life in Azure Ridge, he's tried to pass that passion onto Andrea, but she doesn't seem to take off with it. His sense of justice is boundless and he puts himself in harm's way if it means bringing someone to justice or something to light.

Most of these are things I probably would have never touched on simply because they're not relevant to the plot of the chapters I planned to have him appear in. In fact, thinking about it, I did have a lot more information about him in my head, but it's been almost a year since I've written this that I've forgotten all of it. I'm sure it would have been suitably epic enough to break the mold of "the main character's parents are always boring and never seen", but I guess we'll never know now.

So yes, write things down.

 

[Kantomasta]

I write the basic stuff down. things such as plot idea, characters names, setting, that type of stuff. The rest i usually keep in my head and let it show itself while I'm writing.

 

[Tetrahedron]

I've a tendency to do a combination. Like if it's a short story, I might not bother writing characters down and stuff, but most of the time, I will write out a sketchy outline or a scene. For a longer piece of fiction, I always plain out my main characters and even my side characters. Sometimes, I've done it with main characters from a series just so I can KEEP them in character.

For plots, I'll write down a brief summary, and sometimes, if I see a scene in my head, I'll write down a sketch. It all depends if I'm near my laptop or not. I really don't usually carry around a notebook that often anymore. It would either get lost or filled with notes (for uni) instead of notes for a story.

 

[Gama]

You should write down everything it is possible to write down, otherwise stuff gets forgotten - it's inevitable. Also, the action of writing down often helps in terms of making decisions or coming up with new ideas. You can always cross it out if you don't like it!

 

[Blaze-Boy]

What I do with my ideas:
Write them down
Draw them
Also keep them in my head. But I think that leads to me forgetting some of them since I try and keep all my ideas stuffed in there.

 

[Dragonfyre]

I usually let the idea stay in my head for some time, letting the idea form itself completely while I build up my emotions. Then, when I feel that I'm ready and the atmosphere is just right, I write all I can on paper. I currently have two notebooks for my fics: one's filled and the other's only got a quarter of it used. The fics get edited again when I finally type them, though...the length usually doubles as I add details that pop into my head. All the fics I've written so far are relatively short, though.

 

[Kelleo]

Sometimes I write my ideas down, but other times, I don't need to because I have a pretty good memory.

 

[Nicoloki]

I always have to write the plot down because I always get paranoid when I don't. I jot it all down in a notebook, all of it, everything that comes to mind. I'd think about it for, I think, five minutes, then I write and write and write. I even had a whole notebook dedicated to one story alone once, but I've never finished writing it. I think it's because the mood isn't right. Whatever the reason, it's what I've always done, and the end result is always the same: I. Never. Finish. Any. Of it.

 

[Joshawott]

I keep most of them in my head, because once I write an idea down on paper, it bores me. If it's small details I'm likely to forget, I will make a note somewhere though.

 

[CrystaI]

I write down all the details such as background settings, the world geography, culture (I'm writing in an original region), and also the characters details. BUT NEVER the plot itself.

Whenever I write down the plot down even that is just a summary or a scene somewhere at this and there, I'll lose interest to think the story further. So I just don't intend to write the plot.
But all those details I mentioned above are basic requirements for further story development, so I must jot them down. Even there is just a minor change, I'll quickly go open the documents of those information and edit it.