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I've recently begun thinking more green about my writing. What this means is that I save and recycle.

I have always had bits of inspiration pop into my head: lines of poetry; concepts for stories; words and phrases that intrigue me (writers are a strange breed. The other day, I had the phrase "pineapple upside-down cake" pop unbidden into my mind); clever ideas for T-shirts. Sometimes I would write these down and other times I would just chuck them in my mental "That's a good idea" file.

Half the time I then lost these brainchildren. I would eventually throw away the receipt or napkin on which they were scribbled or my overloaded brain would tuck them in the dusty "Maybe someday" drawer. The truth is that I had a real bird-in-the-bush attitude. Why focus on a scrap of an idea when there was real work to be done?

However, I have come to the conclusion that almost every idea has its proper time and place. Just as painters don't throw away a tube of oil paint just because they are not using that hue in a current painting, writers should not haphazardly discard words, lines and paragraphs that might shine in a future project.

Blogging has helped me the most in reaching this deduction. Blogs are by nature variable bursts of thought. If ever there were a place to publish a thought that is half-baked, it is in a blog entry. I began with a MySpace blog and moved onto a subscription site, then to Helium. Seeing my ideas up in real-time helped remove them from the mental rubbish category in which I had placed them.

I have posted poems on MySpace and then moved them onto pay-per-click sites. I maintain a blog dedicated to my very short poems and tending my bit of Internet fame keeps me patient while I work on more long-term projects. And I've found places for the phrases that have found me: My first album is called "Nicotine Angel" and I've written a short poem using the line "a little sweaty and alive." Maybe I'll write a longer one.

I suggest you, too, stop throwing away the scratch paper riddled with doodles, words, lines and brainstorms. And make sure you do write them down. Writing is like a bird's nest. When complete, it is charming and serviceable. And you'd be surprised to see what kind of "junk" goes into making a bird's nest-mud, twigs and even trash.

While driving, I often risk life and limb by scribbling on the paper detritus that fills my car. You might want to carry a small voice recorder instead for when your creative muse strikes; you can listen to the words

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