Notebooks

Although I love writing on my computer, I always have at least one notebook on hand.

Writing Tip #2: I keep a medium-sized spiral at my bedside. I use it for a lot of things. Sometimes, I try out passages of description. I drafted a great description of my new character Ida, who had been giving me trouble until she finally took form one night before I fell asleep. I like drafting poetry in this notebook, too. Often I want to be able to see the multiple words I am considering as I write the poem. I want to see the evolution, be able to go back if I want. Sometimes, I’ll simply write lists of things I need to do or buy.

I have a wonderful tiny green notebook with an engraved tree on its leather cover. This notebook I save for short jottings. In it I gather thoughts. It is a repository for funny things I hear, websites or physical places that might help me with research, ideas for stories or poems, one-liners. I try to keep this one with me on a regular basis so that I can write in it as I hear things, but I find this difficult. My writing friend Paul carries his in his shirt pocket – men’s clothing is so much more efficient than women’s. And since I don’t carry any one bag all the time, my little green notebook is usually somewhere other than where I need it to be. Instead, more often than not, I am scrambling for a scrap of paper in the car console. Every so often, I gather up the scraps and add them to my green notebook.