With You When you hear the phrase “can’t take it with you,” it’s generally referring to money and how you can’t take it along when you die. But you can draw a similar conclusion with all of your “good ideas” in writing as well.

In the course of the past week, several colleagues in the Book Writing World have been discussing “saving” good material or a good idea for later, for the next memoir, for the next novel, for the next year when they have more time.

I will tell you what my professor in graduate school told me: don’t do it.

Don’t save it for later. You won’t gain anything by hording an idea for a future work. Successful writers have entered the same “diamond mine” of good ideas over and again. Exploring it more than one time doesn’t diminish your idea. In fact, I will bet that your idea will actually grow and be stronger the more you explore it.

After all, you will grow as a writer and you will change and become stronger with every sentence you write.

Think of your ideas as gold mines. Go. Mine.