writing notebook

Some of my favorite writing notebooks.

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I’ve been collecting writing notebooks and journals since I was a teenager. Most writers I know tend to accumulate a lot of stationery and office supplies: notebooks, pens, paper clips, and other odds and ends that we can use to manage and organize our writing projects.

Over time, all these items pile up.

I now have a sizable collection of writing notebooks and journals. Some are completely filled up. Others are still blank. A few are only partially used.

Writing in Notebooks

These days, writers use computers for most of their writing. But many of us readily admit there’s still something about good, old-fashioned pen and paper that gets creativity flowing. It’s difficult to brainstorm on a computer; jotting down notes and random thoughts is cumbersome; and it’s impossible to doodle in the margins.

When you work with paper, more of your senses are engaged. When more of your senses are engaged, creativity flows more freely. It’s a tactile experience.

I get lost in my writing when I’m composing scenes on my computer, but the real magic happens when I’m working out problems and developing ideas in my writing notebook.


Deciding How to Use Your Writing Notebooks

Back when I first started writing, it was just me, a pen, and a spiral-bound notebook that had been intended for schoolwork. At some point, I discovered hardbound journals with decorative covers. As long as they weren’t too high-priced, I found them to be serviceable and fun to write in. But if they were too fancy (expensive), they tended to remain on my shelf. I prefer mid-range notebooks: not so cheap that they’ll fall apart, but not so expensive that they seem too precious to write in.

writing notebook

Watson-Guptill sketchbooks (aff link).

One of my favorites was a Watson-Guptill Sketchbook in which I did anything and everything creative: fiction, poetry, free writes, brainstorming, even drawing. It was my go-to notebook for creativity.

But then I decided to try different notebooks for different projects.

I was generating a lot of ideas for novels. But these ideas were getting buried in the pages of my notebook, and it was difficult to find a scene or character sketch within its pages. Ideas for a single project were spread out in the pages of my notebook. I wanted a system to organize all those ideas and keep projects separate and contained, so I purchased a handful of composition notebooks. They’re cheap but sturdy, and I used them for individual projects for a few years. Eventually, I moved away from that system, because I ended up with a bunch of notebooks that only had writing in the first few pages for any project that didn’t get past the brainstorming stage. Stories that did get past the brainstorming stage got migrated to the computer, so they too were only partially filled.

I’ve found that indexing works better for me. I set aside a few pages at the beginning or end of a notebook, number the pages, and then index the contents. The first time I used this method, I did all the indexing when the notebook was almost full. I’ve since discovered that it’s a lot less tedious and a lot more useful to index as you go.

Although I still occasionally try using a dedicated notebook for a particular project, I always seem to move back toward a single omni-journal for all my creative work. I think it’s because I have a bunch of notebooks for other purposes (business notes, a fitness journal, a finance notebook, and an art journal), so keeping all my creative writing in one notebook keeps things simple. When I have a writing idea, I just grab it and get busy writing. And packing a single notebook with a variety of content seems to inspire even more creativity. For this, my favorite brand has been Moleskine. There are plenty of sizes and styles to choose from.

But what works for me might not work for you. Maybe you prefer using multiple notebooks, or perhaps you’ll find a way to sort all your writing into two or three notebooks. Maybe you use a single notebook for most work but keep a sidekick (pocket-sized) notebook in your pocket when you’re out and about.

Try some different systems and methods for your writing notebooks, and you’ll find what works best for you.

What’s in Your Creative Writing Notebook?

Recently, I looked through all my notebooks and journals. I found some good ideas I’d forgotten along with plenty of ridiculous ideas that I’m glad I abandoned. I also went through the notebooks and journals that I haven’t used yet and found myself wondering about the poems, stories, and ideas that will someday fill their pages.

Do you ever go through your old creative writing notebooks and journals? Once you’re done with them, do you store them somewhere, or do you keep what you want to use and throw away the rest? Do you have a favorite brand or style for your writing notebook, and do you keep a decent supply on hand, or do you run to the store whenever you need a new one? Do you use multiple notebooks, each with a different purpose, or do you like keeping everything in a single notebook?

Leave a comment to tell us about your favorite writing notebooks, and keep writing.

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