I keep a swipe file on my computer, and I have physical notebooks scattered everywhere. I even keep one next to my bed in case an idea hits me right after waking up.

My swipe file has grown to more than 300 story ideas by now. I’ll never be able to work on all of them—and to be honest, some of them aren’t even worth developing. But I still collect every single one.

There’s a good reason for that: over the years, I’ve realized that different parts of my mind seem to wake up depending on which stage of writing I’m in. To make the part I currently need work best, I have to quiet down all the others.

For example: The most creative part is needed for generating new ideas. But during editing, I need a completely different mindset, because the creative side is terrible at judging what I’ve written. Outlining requires yet another area—a blend of creativity and critical thinking.

When I don’t let one specific part take over, they all start talking over each other. And when that happens, nothing works: idea generation, outlining, editing… everything just falls apart. Too many cooks spoil the broth.

That’s why I collect ideas without judging them at all. I don’t rate them or evaluate them—I just write them down.

Only later, once I’ve finished a book and I’m deciding what to work on next, do I go through my swipe file and rate the ideas.

I’m convinced that if I tried to generate and judge ideas at the same time, I would discard most of them, assuming they weren’t good enough. Eventually, I’d end up with no ideas at all, because the constant cycle of generating an idea, rating it poorly, and throwing it away would discourage the creative part of my mind from offering ideas in the first place.

By making it a habit to let ideas emerge freely and uncritically—and by writing them down no matter how good or bad they seem—I’ve allowed the creative part of my brain to express itself without hesitation.

Of course, everyone works differently. But if you’re thinking about writing your own stories, I recommend trying this approach: Keep a notebook with you at all times and jot down whatever comes to mind while watching a movie, reading a book, daydreaming, waiting at the doctor’s office, or listening to music. I’m pretty sure that when you look back over your notes after a month, you’ll find at least one idea in your swipe file that’s worth developing.