As we walked around the garden, Hardy paused at a spot near the greenhouse. He had once been pruning a tree here when an idea for a story suddenly entered his head. The best story he had ever conceived, and it came complete with characters, setting, and even some of the dialogue. But not having pencil or paper with him, and wanting to finish his pruning before the weather broke, he took no notes. By the time he sat down at his table to recall the story, all was utterly gone. ‘Always carry a pencil and paper,’ he said, adding: ‘Of course, even if I remembered that story now, I couldn’t write it. I’m past novel-writing. But I often wonder what it can have been.’
~ Good-bye to All That, Chapter XXVIII
Thomas Hardy: Novelist, poet, playwright, author of short stories. (Source: Library of Congress.)
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IRISH FIREBRANDS: A Novel ~ and Other Works by Christine Plouvier, Indie Author 
I have pen and paper next to my bed because sometimes I come up with a brilliant idea before I fall asleep that I can never remember when I wake up in the morning.
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