What are your standards for the difference between scratch paper and garbage? Because a lot of people don’t seem to have standards in place regarding that, and I consider it important.
If you think about it, some of the best ideas ever were probably written on scratch paper because the inspiration just hit and there wasn’t much around. If you think about it, it might be something where the better the idea, the worse the paper someone would write it on. Because if I thought, “Holy shit…what about if we made up a lightbulb!?” I would write that on my own eye if that was the only available surface. But most of my ideas, like a machine that turns any liquid into pee and is called “Mr. Piss”? That probably isn’t worth writing on a piece of paper with even a minor flaw, if it looks like the lines are a little crooked or maybe it’s just a little grainier than I prefer.
That’s why the scratch paper thing is embarrassing for me. An old Wendy’s bag that has the formula for faster-than-light travel is something that could end up in a frame someday. But a Wendy’s bag with the words “What if Princess Toadstool kept a diary?” isn’t as exciting.
If you really took it to the furthest level, like the Memento guy, I would be running around with the phrase “What if credit cards made of of chocolate were a thing?” tattooed across my stomach.
I’m just saying, keep a notepad for your own sake.