She Writes on Fridays: What’s in YOUR Notebook?
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Contributor
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Deborah Siegel wants to know.
I used to hunt for the perfect notebook. Then I realized my hunt was not about the notebook, of course, but rather some idealized notion of what I thought a “writing process” should be. Real writers had a system. Real writers used index cards, or leather journals, or spiral notebooks–whatever it was, I imagined it was consistent, like one’s sense of style or preference in food. When I was busy trying to be a writer, the notebook was the thing.
Then one day, around mid-first-book, I woke up and realized that the quest itself was the thing.
I had settled, by that time, on the quad-ruled composition notebook from Staples, the kind with the green and white specked covers and blue-green gridlines inside (left). It was utilitarian. I was pushing out the work, working like a machine. It did the trick for the genre I was writing in (nonfiction). And I found it sated my search. When fully immersed in a project, showing up to my notebook, I no longer felt the need to look.
Eventually, however, the composition pad stopped working for me. When I was pregnant, writing stopped working for me. And by the time I resurfaced both physically and literarily, I found myself jotting notes, while nursing, in a small pale green notebook with blank cream pages (right, below).
These days, I’m writing on scraps of paper and in my Mother Writer! notebook, courtesy of SW group founder E. Victoria Flynn and Café Press (sadly, these are no longer available—but perhaps they will be again! The small print on the cover reads: “L’Union Fait La Force”, and proceeds went to Doctors without Borders for the benefit of Haitian earthquake relief). It’s the perfect combo: grid-like dots, whimsical cover, casual enough not to intimidate but serious enough to inspire. It works for the moment. It makes me feel strong and free.
I’ve learned a thing or two since the days I spent scouring stationary shops, gift stores, and office supply chains: There are no perfect notebooks. There is no perfect process. There is only the writer, her work, and her devotion to the search for words and a place to put them.
Of course, most of us also also write the "real" stuff on computers these days.
And so She Writers, I turn it over to you:
What do you write in these days?
What’s in YOUR notebook?
If you feel inclined, post a picture—of the cover, or a page—on your blog at your profile page, post the link here in comments, and I’ll do a mashup in a follow up post (assuming there are enough to merit a mash!).
SW member (exquisite memoir writer, beloved teacher, and so much more) Mindy Lewis has started us out. Here are pictures of her notebooks, along with her explanation:
“I took 2 photos of my notebooks before my battery pooped out. The red one is a random spread from the notebooks I was using when I wrote my memoir; 6-1/2 x 8-inch ruled Clairefontaine notebooks; I have a tall stack of them. The other one is more recent; I now write mostly on legal pads and then tear out the pages and keep them in folders, depending on subject. In that photo there’s also a notebook off to the right: a 20-pg ‘memory book’ (for children) that I carried with me when I traveled to New England on a mini DIRT anthology tour last summer.”
I had settled, by that time, on the quad-ruled composition notebook from Staples, the kind with the green and white specked covers and blue-green gridlines inside (left). It was utilitarian. I was pushing out the work, working like a machine. It did the trick for the genre I was writing in (nonfiction). And I found it sated my search. When fully immersed in a project, showing up to my notebook, I no longer felt the need to look.
Eventually, however, the composition pad stopped working for me. When I was pregnant, writing stopped working for me. And by the time I resurfaced both physically and literarily, I found myself jotting notes, while nursing, in a small pale green notebook with blank cream pages (right, below).
These days, I’m writing on scraps of paper and in my Mother Writer! notebook, courtesy of SW group founder E. Victoria Flynn and Café Press (sadly, these are no longer available—but perhaps they will be again! The small print on the cover reads: “L’Union Fait La Force”, and proceeds went to Doctors without Borders for the benefit of Haitian earthquake relief). It’s the perfect combo: grid-like dots, whimsical cover, casual enough not to intimidate but serious enough to inspire. It works for the moment. It makes me feel strong and free.
I’ve learned a thing or two since the days I spent scouring stationary shops, gift stores, and office supply chains: There are no perfect notebooks. There is no perfect process. There is only the writer, her work, and her devotion to the search for words and a place to put them.
Of course, most of us also also write the "real" stuff on computers these days.
And so She Writers, I turn it over to you:
What do you write in these days?
What’s in YOUR notebook?
If you feel inclined, post a picture—of the cover, or a page—on your blog at your profile page, post the link here in comments, and I’ll do a mashup in a follow up post (assuming there are enough to merit a mash!).
SW member (exquisite memoir writer, beloved teacher, and so much more) Mindy Lewis has started us out. Here are pictures of her notebooks, along with her explanation:
“I took 2 photos of my notebooks before my battery pooped out. The red one is a random spread from the notebooks I was using when I wrote my memoir; 6-1/2 x 8-inch ruled Clairefontaine notebooks; I have a tall stack of them. The other one is more recent; I now write mostly on legal pads and then tear out the pages and keep them in folders, depending on subject. In that photo there’s also a notebook off to the right: a 20-pg ‘memory book’ (for children) that I carried with me when I traveled to New England on a mini DIRT anthology tour last summer.”
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This weekend I couldn't carry a notebook around to different events, and here I was searhing the tables for some sort of paper, anything, to write on. So - left over event folders ended up my notebook!
I laughed out loud when reading about the search for the "perfect notebook". I started with an artist's sketchbook in high school and continued until journal writing became derigure for the entire world. It was at that time the torture began for me. Notebooks became more and more interesting. At first the true test for me was lined paper or unlined paper. Since I was no longer incorporating artwork in my notebook (I was writing "seriously" now) lined paper was a must. Then I had to choose between bound or spiral. Serious or amusing (I LOVE that MotherWriter cover on yours!). Large or small. Jesus! I can tell you now that I have a boatload of half written in journals & unfinished manuscripts all in some way attributable to the fact that the notebook no longer appealed to me. And did I mention the half a book shelf in my office lined with all the unused notebooks that I got as gifts, sale tables or some other reason other than necessity that I will probably never use. I'm back to basics - the ole' green cardboard cover artist's sketchbook.
Deborah, A great question and fun to read your mash-up and Cheryl's blog. It is fun to find out that nearly everyone uses different notebooks for different things, which I do too. I use an unlined journal for journaling, a three section spiral for notes on writing, pencil drafts of ideas and images, promotion ideas, etc. and a small notebook that fits in my purse to keep notes and ideas on the run. On trips, I get a medium sized, spiral bound, non-lined book for keeping a diary and drawing images I see. Thanks for sparking the conversation.
@ P M - I appreciate your visiting my blog to read the post.
Cheryl--Wow! What an amazing journal collection--so glad you shared photos of them. They are a treasure for inspiration to look back over the days.
I published a post with photos to my blog. You can see it at: http:/
Love this entry. I'm a little intimidated by nice notebooks, to be honest. I buy five packs of 3x5-sized notebooks at Staples, keep one in my purse, one next to the bed, and one in the kitchen. Then, every couple of weeks, I transcribe my notes into one long-running (i.e. now about 10 years and a hundred single-spaced pages-long) document. The occasional to-do list and grocery list sometimes makes its way into the notebooks, but I've learned to make my peace with that. So interesting to see what works for people.
I write on the computer, scraps of papers, overdue household utility bills. I also use the memo/text applications on my cell phone. Oh those spiral notebooks... I've got about 10 of those filled with what I call "some day I'll use that ditty". By the way, I also leave some of my ranting/thoughts on my voice mail. You can say... I am all over the place, even on my sister's calendar.
I love this post! I could write all day in response (of course, I really need to get my @$$ into my office and work on my novel...) But here are just a few thoughts your post brought to my mind: thru trial and error I have found the right writing tools. Other things work but don't feel as satisfying. I won't list them all but for the 30-plus years of journals, I prefer a fountain pen. Spiral notebooks in varying sizes serve different uses: a tiny one in my purse, always, for jotting notes; a bigger one for trains, planes and roadtrips. And a digital recorder that uploads to my computer for when I drive. Yes, I am that compulsive - I never stop thinking about writing.
PS Don't you love stationery stores?
Deborah—
Thanks for the prompt—and here’s a link to the blogpost answer:
http:/
It was my first attempt using the She Writes blog format, so the photos came out huge—I’ll try to figure out how to fix that, but at least I got that far!
I also wanted to say I just got done listening to the download I’d purchased of Shari’s webinar on writing coaching and I loved your specific examples of your experience with clients. Such specifics help with “imaging” change—some of that internal work Shari discussed that is so vital to making an outward change.
Thanks also for your stewardship here.
I am so impressed with writers who can keep track of things they write in notebooks. Lined notebooks and nice pens were my favorite childhood possessions and I still treasure them. I have a small collection of journals with fabric or leather covers and a whole pile of others that I got in gift bags and can't bear to throw away, but I rarely use them now. I used to keep all my musings, reminders, and lists in small lined notebooks that fit into my purse so I could always have the current one with me. I still carry these small notebooks (my current one has two women on the cover with the caption "I'll be Thelma, you be Louise."). However, I am getting to the point where I use my computer almost exclusively when it comes to the actual writing. And when I am away from the computer and want to write an idea or a few paragraphs, I use my Blackberry and e-mail it to myself. Then I download it and file it electronically.
Thanks for posting this! It's great to take a peek at other writers' process. Notebooks are so personal, like lingerie; it's an odd feeling to expose my underwear drawer. (I have to say I did not choose the messiest, or the most personal pages!)
Jill, glad you like the notebook view! It's great to have more than one option for a writing resource as is clearly evident from everyone's comments and Deborah's article.
Best of all, it gives us a chance to be creative and to break down some boundaries; being more visual with adding pictures, sketches, maps, has been a productive process for me. The journal/scrapbook combo works!
A friend of mine recently shared journals from his Aunt and Great Grandmother. They were very old, leather bound journals. The women had several careers; botanist, nurse... There were sepia tone photos from Belgium, France, Italy, places she had traveled, with enchanting notes from a Victorian era. She had sketched plants with labels and notes of descriptions. I loved the diversity of the journals. They inspired and motivated me to include memorbilia in my journals.
My sis gifted me with a small, beautifully tooled-leather journal a few Christmases ago. Although I loved it, I was hesitant to begin writing in it. I felt like whatever I wrote in it had to fit the specialness of the journal. The following Summer I attended the Southern Arizona Writer's Project. During our writer's group, I sat next to Heather. I noticed she had a whole paragraph in her journal that was x'ed out. After that I knew it was ok to just write.
Hi Jill,
That's a great idea - using a blank notebook as a scrapbook.I have a few languishing on my shelf. You gave me the best idea how to use them. Have a great weekend.
PM, I didn't know about the notebook view in Microsoft Word for Mac. LOVE it! Thanks. My favorite notebooks lately have been hard cover, spiral bound with lines on one side of the page and no lines on the other, and artwork on the cover. (I usually buy them in the bargain section at Barnes & Noble.) I use the lined pages for my journal and notes. The unlined pages I use for inspirational quotes, references, things I clip out of magazines. So my notebooks become a combination journal and scrapbook.
One more thing: I must have lines and I don't mind those quad-ruled notebooks. But blank, no lines - no way, that won't do for my obsessive compulsive tendencies.
Love, love, love this post Deborah.
My name is Cheryl and I am a notebook and journal addict. Must have a fix every few weeks or so. Although I have about thirteen new ones on my book shelf, every time I go to the mall, I can't help but sneak into my favorite bookstore to see what new notebooks or journals they have to offer. I use notebooks for works in progress, writing exercises and as a catchall for articles ideas, overheard conversations, treasures from books and movies and any other crazy or not so crazy sparks of inspiration. Journals are specifically for my daily/nightly journaling routine.
I'm always in a quandary when a notebook or journal is coming to an end. Which one should I draft into service from my collection?
Oh a writer's life is so stressful!
That too would be interesting Deborah!!! Thanks for the great post. Nancy
PM, I am SO with you on the lines. Love this Nancy: "packing the right notebooks, takes up more time then filling the suitcase!" We could do a whole nother post on pens!
Oops! There are actually 3 options for writing notebooks--I missed listing the first one as the Hilroy writing tablets.
Here, again, briefly, is my list:
1) Hilroy writing tablet--100 plain sheets;
2) Dollar store--hardcover, blank paged notebook with an elastic bookmarker;
3) Notebook view in Microsoft Word 2008 for Mac.
Hi -
Notebooks - I have every shape and style. They have their own space on a shelf, or shelfs in my office. Wire notebooks, composition - those 99 cent notebooks from dollar stores - Large permanent notebooks from borders, Journals, paper in the old pad style which rips from the top - (I tell my husband to bring home a box from work.) And slips of paper from anything on the counter, I file these in to be filed. The notebook is anything that can quickly serve me for a thought. Just yesterday I was waiting in the parking lot for my friend, she was shopping and I was writing on this 3 inch by 4 inch pad of paper I keep in my gym bag, just in case. So, I will be traveling this weekend, and packing the right notebooks, takes up more time then filling the suitcase! I also went out and purchased the perfect pen those sharpies which do not bleed through paper, make writing easier, and the pen is so comfortable. So - you got it, paper, anywhere. Oh, I do have two special notebooks, a journal I try to keep each night - since I was married, and another notebook where I will do writing excercises and they are numbered. So enjoy words, they are filled with excitement. Thanks for the post - it's great to learn what others do. Sincerely Nancy Duci Denofio PS I use my full name because right in my own town I have another Nancy Denofio - imagine - I don't want her to be the one writing notebooks!
So neat to know how the muse works in many different ways, or notebooks!
For me, it's all about the lines, or lack thereof; unlined paper in notebooks, notepads, sketchbooks is the best surface for me. The price is right too! For a few dollars, I can purchase a Hilroy 100 plain sheet writing tablet (actual cover label); it is great for writing paragraphs, sketching drawings of settings and scenery, mind mapping ideas. The list is endless. I have solved the problem of sheets detaching from the spine when this notepad is used frequently by attaching a binder clip to the spine. It works well and allows for varying the orientation of notebook in a portrait or landscape direction.
2) Dollar store--hardcover, blank paper notebook--excellent to take outdoors or on vacation; it has a bookmarking elastic to move as you proceed through the book.
3) Computer--I have actually arrived at the stage where writing is often done from start to finish on our Mac computer using various programs; Most often I use Microsoft Word 2008 for Mac in the Notebook view. It is worth checking out! Many options are available to customize the template appearance for your writing
--Blank sheets or with Lines of varied widths, font, spine, colour, tabs. It really is something! You can even sketch a character or setting, insert images, etc. I have found it especially useful for journalling and for writing articles & stories as it is possible to keep tabbed sections of information all in the one file.