A Writer's Notebook

You Need a Writer's Notebook

As soon as you start calling yourself a writer you need a dedicated writer's notebook - my favourite are molskine notebooks. Most novelists, poets and short story writers keep a dedicated notebook and more freelance writers now do so. Think of your notebook as one of the primary tools that you need for your writing and anything pertaining to that should go in, including but not limited to, the following:

• A list of words you like and their meanings
• Your thoughts about the writing life
• Conversations overheard and ideas for settings
• A list of places to look for work if you want to be a freelance writer
• Story ideas
• Settings
• Ideas for poems
• Ideas for articles
• A list of sources for research

Well, you get the picture, a writer's notebook should contain anything and everything that pertains to your writing life, including pictures if they help your thinking processes or think they would work in a piece of writing.

Keep Your Notebook with You

Either keep your notebook with you at all times or have several notebooks, keep one for your desk, one for your pocket, one for a specific project etc. Many writers keep separate notebooks for particular clients if they are long term as it helps them to see what they have written over time and what suggestions they might make to the client for specific articles or copy.

Notebooks are Personal

There is no right or wrong way to keep a notebook. Every writer is different and so your notebook should contain your ideas and whatever you think is pertinent to the job in hand. Try reading the notebooks of famous writers, the notebooks of Raymond Chandler for instance were a real eye opener for me when I read them many years ago. Pick notebooks that appeal to you, women in particular are more likely to write something in a notebook when its appearance gives them personal pleasure. What are your thoughts on keeping a notebook?