I was talking with a close friend, a writer, and she mentioned she had dozens of story ideas that she has been mulling over in her head for years. She lets them germinate in the back of her head until she finds the key elements that she needs to know they are ready for her to start writing, sometimes years after the initial concept.

I asked where she writes these ideas down and she replied she doesn't. There is no written record at all they just stay in her head until she has enough to start writing. I was very surprised because I have to write everything down or it disappears. It was that moment I realized I do not trust my own mind in a way that most people never have to worry about. I could never let an idea just stay in my mind without worrying about forgetting it.