I’ve read about writers carrying a notebook everywhere they go and jotting down any random thought they might have about their writing. I once tried this about two years ago. I was all giddy and excited to be writing my first book that I thought it would be a good idea to take a notebook with me everywhere so that I’d have it just in case a thought decided to pop into my head during the course of my day. I used the notebook maybe five times.
I just never really embraced it. I ended up thinking that if something really was of such great importance, then I’d likely just remember it without getting it down on paper. I mean, my memory isn’t leaving me any time soon. So I abandoned the notebook pretty quickly once I realized that it just wasn’t for me. The funny thing is that I used to keep one for blogging ideas that I used way more often than I used the one for my writing. And I still have a note on my phone that I use to put down my blogging ideas. I’ve been using it for months and it has dozens of post ideas stored for my future use. I actually look at it before I write every post.
I’ve never really used a notebook for my own writing, but I’ve used one for blogging. What about you?
On this day in 2014 I published Guest Post: Pantsing vs. Outlining.
I have a journal on my bedside table and one in my vehicle. At points I write in them every day, but at other times they might languish for eons before seeing fresh ink. I like having them handy, especially in times when a lot is on my mind, but even more I appreciate going back through them later to see where I’ve come from. While they are personal journals, they often capture ideas for writing too. So, I guess I like them, but am not tied to them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have none! I find it hard to transfer text from a note to a computer. Even when writing a book, I only jot down on a paper the main points (sections, chapter, etc.). When writing, the ideas flow.
LikeLike
Hmm. Do you have a lot of them that you’ve used?
LikeLike
Over the years, yes enough
LikeLike
I would die without my notebook. I rarely use it for my ‘one’ promising novel…. Okay, scrap that, I have three quarters of a different notebook filled with that novel. I forgot I carried that one everywhere last year as I was writing. I actually don’t use a notebook just for ideas. I use it to write. I do forget things, and trust me, John, you are young. You will start to forget things as your life gets busier and you get older. I love to write by hand, so that’s why I have my notebook. I actually have more written by hand on this one novel than I do typed up on my laptop.
LikeLike
You have a lot of a novel written in a notebook? That sounds painful for your poor hand. And noooo, my memory is never leaving me!
LikeLike
Half of a novel. I just plug away at it. It’s rather nice to have it in hand. Not painful because I never do the writing thing like say, Neil Gaiman and 3-4 pens a night thing. Just a page here or there. Oh you young young thing. You will loose your memory. Just wait. Lol.
LikeLike
You’re not even that much older than me to say that.
LikeLike
Lol, caught that did you? No, I’m going by my parents, and everyone, literally EVERYONE who says it happens. It does happen to me, but I’ve always had trouble with that. 😛
LikeLike
I don’t remember what this was about.
Hehe. See what I did there?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh shut up. Lol Smarty pants
LikeLike
You’re so nice to me. 😒
LikeLiked by 1 person
Trust me, the tone in my voice/head as I wrote that, was very nice. 😀
LikeLike
Mhm. Very believable.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Carrying a notebook is pointless for me. I come up with those on-the-fly ideas while driving… or when I’m in the shower… or juuussst as I’m falling asleep. In no way does a notebook help in these cases. Usually, once I reach my destination, or get out of the shower, or wake up in the morning, the idea is a half-baked mangled-mess of what it was. I write them down anyway, but they usually take several more days/months/(sometimes years) to fully develop.
LikeLike
I’m just not the type of person to carry a notebook with me at all times. I try to keep one in each of my various bags and backpacks, but I often leave those at home too. If I do once in a blue moon have it with me when inspiration strikes, I tend to forget it’s there. I’ve mostly made my peace with this, but I shudder to think of all the ideas I’ve lost because of this!
LikeLike
Haha so what do you do when you think of something worth remembering?
LikeLike
Honestly? I just hope I remember it until I’m at my computer. =)
LikeLike
Ha! Good plan.
LikeLike
I used to carry a notebook–now I carry an iPhone. I jot down story ideas in the Notes section then immediately email them to myself so I don’t lose them. And I do it anywhere–I’ll poke my hand out of the shower and do it, wake up in the middle of the night and do it, etc. I have so many thoughts flying through my head all the time, I’d be lost without something to write them down on!
LikeLike
Haha the only thing I think of in the shower is good tweets. But then I never tweet them cause I’m sometimes nice. 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
No notebook. But I do record ideas I have while driving. Because that is when ideas come to me.
LikeLike
Record? Like on your phone?
LikeLike
Yep
LikeLike
Don’t die. That could be dangerous.
LikeLike
LOL, its hands free!
LikeLike
Hmmm. Could be deceiving me.
LikeLike
Notebooks do actually come in handy. Sometimes you think of this amazing sentence to start your essay with, but then you have no notebook to write it down, you eventually start forgetting the sentence.
It’s happened with me a lot of times. my best ideas always come along at the most random moments in the most random places, and then i try to keep them in mind, but then i start to lose words. it’s funny how it happens, but my memory isn’t that great. Maybe phones are a substitute, yes, but i usually forget i jotted anything down on my phone. It’s silly. So yes, for a person like me, notebooks are important ;’)
LikeLike
Essay? Hmmm. We’re different. I could never write an essay with notes or an outline. I didn’t use a single outline for any paper in college. But I think I might be crazy.
LikeLike
I actually found a use for google docs. I carry my phone everywhere, I think of something and open google docs, after that I can get it from any of my computer locations.
LikeLike
And do you use Google Docs for just about anything you think of? Or is it only for writing ideas that you do that for?
LikeLike
I just started using it a few months ago when I found out I could pin docs to my screen. I’m starting to use it more for everything.
LikeLike
When I was writing my first book, I wrote my ideas on any piece of paper available: receipts, envelopes, post-its and of course, my trusty notebook. Now for the 2nd I find myself using notes on my phone, printing them off, then putting them in a semblance of order:) Also I have four kids so if I don’t write it down the second I think of it, the thought is gone forever lol
LikeLike
Print them off? Are these long, detailed notes you’re writing on your phone? I used to wrote half sentences. 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m actually writing my whole book on my phone😊The aforementioned 4kids makes it impossible to sit down at a laptop so I write by talking into my phone then organize it after I print it off. It’s the only way I’ll ever get this book done!
LikeLike
Yikes. That sounds scary. The kids and writing a book on your phone.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I use a notebook by my bedside. Inspiration seems to strike me more often at the time I’m in that zone between consciousness and sleep. If I don’t take a few minutes to jot down the idea I’ll lay there all night mulling over the thought, dreading that I’ll forget it in sleep.
LikeLike
Really? As soon as I get in bed for the purpose of going to sleep, nothing else matters. I’m sleeping in seconds. I couldn’t deal with having to jot down ideas most nights right as I’m ready for sleep.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wish I could just sleep, but some of my best ideas come to me in bed.
LikeLike
I bet that wouldn’t happen if it were a water bed. You’d just get seasick.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have a dozens of notebooks and HAVE to have one tucked away in my purse or laptop case at all times! My thoughts are too fleeting and random; I can’t really trust myself to remember even the ideas I get really excited about.
I swear, texting and driving is not the reason I’ll be ticketed for someday– I’ll be pulled over for jotting down ideas in my notebooks. (Yes, I am guilty of writing epiphanies down at stoplights . . . )
LikeLike
You might consider not doing that anymore. What if you’re jotting down a note and suddenly you’re driving right off a bridge?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Luckily, I live in a city with, like, one main road. No bridges 😀
LikeLike
Well you better watch out or you might hit a gas pump. Unless you have none of those either. 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
We run on solar power (Ha! I wish…)
LikeLike
My house does. 🌞
LikeLike
I write ideas and thoughts on my phone or tablet. It helps a little.
LikeLike
Are these writing-related or cult-related?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahaha. Good question. How about both.
LikeLike
Do you have the hierarchy of your organization down in one of these notes? I’d like to know where I am in the big picture.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, you are right near the top of course. You are one of my most loyal supporters.
LikeLike
Should you ever start bringing in some funds, I expect to get a small percentage.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You will be paid in extra time with you benevolent leader.
LikeLike
How wonderful that will be.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m liking your outlook.
LikeLike
Leaders are often eliminated by those they let get too close.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A smart leader would do a premptive strike.
LikeLike
Just forget everything I said
LikeLiked by 1 person
Will do.
LikeLike
When I started my book, that’s when I started to keep a journal. A lot of my ideas stemmed from dreams, and I forgot dreams so quickly that I had to write them down. And I am a horribly forgetful person, so regular day to day ideas would escape me as well. If I don’t keep a journal, I would never keep my thoughts straight! Therefore it is with me 24/7.
LikeLike
Is it a journal for anything or just for writing?
LikeLike
Its a journal and for writing. I write down dreams, feelings, ideas, scribbles of conversations, or anything I deem important at the moment.
LikeLike
Ooh. I should write down dreams. Cause mine are so crazy.
LikeLike
Dreams can be crazy! They also make great story idea… if used correctly.
LikeLike
Especially the ones in which I’m being chased by dinosaurs!
LikeLike
I don’t use a notebook all the time for my writing. I mainly like to use a notebook for drafting writing goals and topics I want to blog about in the future. In regards to creative writing specifically, I use a notebook to write poetry 50% of the time 🙂
LikeLike
Hmmm. I write my poems on my phone. Lying in bed. 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s not a bad idea!
LikeLike
Don’t change anything you do!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Blogging, for me I get my ideas from online sources or just a sub subject off a main post, for my writing off line I do not use anything to write things down. just from memory.
LikeLike
Sub subject off a main post? I’m not sure what you’re saying.
LikeLike
Sorry, too much chivas. When I make a post, I can usually cover another area of said subject in a subsequent post. Dear God, please tell me my liquor is making sense. LOL If not, that means I haven’t had enough. The first few drinks, I’m not understood, a few more and I turn Einstein. HA!
LikeLike
Okay.
LikeLike
I have a “plot bunny” notebook of ideas that is in my house. If an idea is strong enough to stick with me and start forming throughout the day, it earns a spot in the notebook. I have separate notebooks for each of my WIPs, most of which are for outlining, research, notes, etc. Although for my current WIP, I’m switching to using Microsoft OneNote. There’s just too much information and I need it very organized in one place.
However, I NEVER write actual prose by hand. First of all, I don’t want to have to transcribe paragraphs and paragraphs into the computer. But mostly, I don’t write well by hand. The creativity doesn’t work unless I’m typing. I dunno, it’s weird. I don’t like it. So there’s no reason for me to carry a notebook, really.
LikeLike
So you have several notebooks but you don’t carry one with you? That’s…interesting. I have no idea what OneNote is.
LikeLike
Yeah, I have pretty much no desire to write in public. And since I generally work on one thing at a time, most of those notebooks are shelved anyway.
You might have OneNote if you use Microsoft Office. It’s hard to explain, but it’s kind of like a virtual binder.
LikeLike
I took a creative writing class that required me to have one. I guess it just stuck with me. I mean I don’t always use it, but I always have one.
LikeLike
So you carry it just in case? Not necessarily because you’re ALWAYS using it.
LikeLike
Pretty much. It has become a kind of security blanket to just bring one along for whatever reason, whether that be to write, draw, or just to have in my bag. Lately, I have been using it a lot more than usual.
LikeLike
I don’t carry a notebook with me, but I have a notepad on my desk at work. I have a really mundane job, and it’s amazing how much my mind can wander while I’m working. Amazing new ideas will pop into my head and I write them down as fast as I can. I apparently do not have a good memory, because some days by the time I get home and read the ideas, I’ve forgotten them, and get re-inspired by my own notes. I can’t use my phone at work, so having that notepad is the easiest and fastest way to jot down my thoughts!
LikeLike
So all your notebook-using happens only at work?
LikeLike
Yeah, I guess so. Other than that I’m usually out and about and not thinking about my writing, or I’m at home and can just write. At work is really the only time I’m able to brainstorm but don’t have access to my writing. I kind of like having a boring job for this reason – my mind gets to be creative! 🙂
LikeLike
Nah. Boring jobs are boring. You can be creative whenever you want! 😂
LikeLike
Yes, I always have a little notebook with me. Usually it’s just for jotting down ideas quickly if I can’t use my phone to dictate or can’t get to my computer. But it’s just a tiny notebook smaller than my hand. I’ve used it many times in unconventional circumstances. For instance, I was in the middle of church a couple years ago and had a MASSIVE book idea plop into my head. I couldn’t pull out my phone and talk into it in the middle of the quiet church ceremony (and I can’t type that fast on my phone), so I pulled out my notebook really quick and got down the gist of the idea. Then I went back to it when I got home. But if I hadn’t had my notebook, I’m positive I would have forgotten the idea. I’ve forgotten quite a few ideas when I didn’t write them down right away and I’ve kicked myself over each one of them.
LikeLike
Smaller than your hand? How much can you even jot down? As far as being in church, should have just walked out. 😉
LikeLike
Haha! I should have known you’d suggest that.
And I don’t need to write that much to remember the idea later on. Just a sentence or two. Maybe a paragraph. Plus, I have to keep it in my purse, and let’s just say that the real estate in my purse is highly sought after, so I have to economize in size for everything that goes in there.
LikeLike
Haha. Highly sought after real estate in your purse? 😂
LikeLike
Heck yeah! I have to cram a lot of stuff in there! Don’t you know that a lady’s purse is a danger place?
LikeLike
A danger place? 😂
LikeLike
Haha! Whoops! I meant dangerous, of course. And it is. You never know what you’ll find dwelling in the depths of my purse…
LikeLike
Pizza? Will I find pizza in there?
LikeLike
Probably a coupon for one.
LikeLike
Eh. So much for all the depths of your purse. Sounds like a piece of paper hidden under a pack of gum.
LikeLike
Hahaha!!! If only you knew. Last week I had a waffle in there for the better part of a day.
LikeLike
Bahahaha WHAT!?
LikeLike
I know! I made waffles the night before so I could take one in to work for breakfast. But I ran out of ziploc bags and all my Pyrex lunch bowls were too small or in the dishwasher waiting to be washed. So I just flung a paper towel around it and shoved it in my purse. Then I got so busy at work I forgot to eat it.
LikeLike
Hahaha I love this!
LikeLike
I keep a tiny graph notebook in my purse that I mostly use for doodles, or writing down weird things I see on long car rides. If I ever sit down to write, I always start in a notebook, because I love the feel or a pen on paper. But I typically make a note in my phone if I’m away from the house and have any idea. I do have a ton of notebooks though – I just hoard them because they’re lovely, I don’t really use them to write in. 😀
LikeLike
Wait, you have a lot of notebooks but you don’t use them for writing ideas? Hmm. And what’s a graph notebook?
LikeLike
Like, the grid paper? I always think of it as graph paper for some reason. Lol. And yeah, I’m afraid to ruin my pretty notebooks with crap writing that might make me want to tear the pages out. So I leave many of them untouched. I just hoard them like a crazy person.
LikeLike
Oh. I know what you’re talking about. I’m not sure what they’re called. The next time I’m flipping through channels and I see one of those hoarding shows on I’m going to stop to see if it’s you with your notebooks. 😂😂😂
LikeLike
Haha! Between books and notebooks, it’s possible!
LikeLike
Haha be sure to give me a heads up!
LikeLike