Nathan Bransford - The Forums

I'm working on my WIP when all of a sudden, I have this feeling like I've written the last paragraph somewhere else before. And I have this whole forgotten memory along with it like, in the past I've told myself to write it and then save it because it'll come in handy someday.

So for the next twenty minutes or so, I go through every single file and word doc I have, looking for this nonexistent page.

The worst part is, every time I reread that paragraph, I feel like I'm meant to remember something important and it's SO FRUSTRATING. Like not being able to recall one part of the lyrics to a song and it bugging you all day.

Has this ever happened to you or is it time for bed?

I do the same thing with names - since I write fantasy I get to make up all kinds of weird words all call them "names" instead. Sometimes I'll create a word and think that I've already used it, or I read it somewhere, or that it somehow has a character/world/etc. attached to it. I end up spending way too much time Googling every variation of the word I can think of and skimming through books I've read just to make sure I'm not copying someone else's names.

This is when I start to freak out about inadvertant encroachment on another author's work. You know, like maybe this line or phrase sounds familiar because I've actually READ it somewhere and liked it, versus just swearing I'm brilliant. It was this same exact situation that caused me to start an earlier thread about whether you can read while you write. It's like blending dreams and reality - what's real and what isn't? What's really yours?

YIKES! Tread lightly.