Above: a wonderful notebook I recently bought from CalligraphyByErin’s Etsy shop. Yes, those are actually small scrabble tiles on the front cover. Only $10!
A survey: how many of you still use paper (yes, that non-digital writing material!) to keep writing notes? I do most of my writing on the computer, but I also have paper notebooks of varying sizes. Part of the reason is because I always like having some of kind of notebook with me for scribbling down ideas. But I also admit that I have a thing for writing supplies, especially paper and notebooks of all kinds.
What about the rest of you?
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{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
Oooh! That’s an awesome notebook! I still keep notes in paper notebooks sometimes, but I mainly write on my computer/laptop.
I also have a thing for writing supplies. My dream is that, once I sell a novel and get my first advance, I’m going to go on a shopping spree at Officeworks ^_^
For years I wrote exclusively on a computer. But I noticed that I spent more time re-writing than writing, and rarely got anything finished because my internal editor went into overdrive. So I switched to writing my first drafts longhand in a spiral notebook, and now I knock out about two stories a month. If my internal editor starts trying to get a word in edgewise, I turn off the lights and write in the dark; the ambient light is just enough that I can see the lines on the page, but not enough that I can easily read (and edit) what I wrote. Works great! And when I type the draft into the computer, I get to do my first (major) rewrite then. Since I’ve had a day or two away from the draft by then, it’s easier for me to spot what needs to be fixed.
I also recently started using a fountain pen so I could stop tossing so many disposable pens into landfills, and I absolutely love it!
I’ve also started writing my first drafts longhand, and have been much more productive. I save my revisions until I transfer the work onto a computer, and can now utilize small chunks of time when I have my notebook with me, but not my laptop.
And God bless the fountain pen! If you’re going to write longhand, you’ll need a good, fast-writing pen that will let you keep up with your thoughts.
I have notebooks all over the place. Especially the kitchen. I love to cook, so I’m in their a lot, but I always get ideas while I’m cooking. So I’ve always got an open notebook, the back of my kid’s homework sheet, or a piece of scrap paper from the recycle bin on the counter to write on. Last night I wrote almost an entire blog entry while making soup.
My college roommate and I also write to each other in a journal. We send it back and fourth through the mail. I know we could just e-mail each other, and we do if we need to ask a quick question, but there’s something about putting pen to paper that is more honest.
There’s no way I could get by w/o notebooks! I’m just about everywhere and there are plenty of times I can’t whip out the laptop. I have far too many notebooks and comp books, but I definitely use them!
My handwriting is so atrocious, I gave up using a pen for anything but the briefest of notes the better part of two decades ago. That and the carpal tunnel is actually worse when trying to do something longhand than it is with a keyboard with a proper wrist rest…
So, no, it’s a ‘puter with a bunch of windows open for me… which makes me a little wistful, because some of the writing supplies are so beautifu (pens) or whimsical (the above notebook)…
I tend to find, when I’m writing creatively, nothing can beat pen and paper. Sure, typing’s faster (for me at least) but all that comes out is pure drivel. It’s worth spending the extra time to get something better out of it =)
Notes however, I’m 50/50 on that. I’m studying computing at the moment, so sometimes a computer is just more handy than paper.
Notebook addict or more specifically Moleskine addict here! I love my laptop but I can’t let go of paper and pens. No matter the occasion my husband knows to include a couple Moleskine lined journals in my gift. Some girls love jewlery, I prefer writing supplies.
I’m also a bit paranoid as I wrote a scene for a work for NaNoWriMo a few years ago and it was seriously platinum. It was the only part that I hadn’t actually committed to paper & my HD went haywire. It was lost and I’m still not over it. You can’t rewrite it exactly the second… or five-hundreth time no matter how you try.
Nerely all my writing (poetry, to-do lists, day planner, mental spew) is done in a notebook. Ok, so I have 7 concurrent journals! I am super-fond of the spiral binding shown on your purchase above; that is the best binding for me. -H…
I use a mixture. I didn’t used to like doing big blocks of typing, but my typing speed has increased to the point where I’m not sure if writing or typing is faster anymore. I still wouldn’t want to be doing everything on my computer, I’m a bit of a stationery addict and there’s just something that feels nice about writing longhand.
I’m with Isabella and Anissa- I go bonkers over writing supplies. My husband knows that he can’t take me into Staples or OfficeMax unless he has a minimum of $20 to spend on my post-its, notebooks, and pens.
In fact, I’m attempting to write an entire novel on post its (I naturally write very, very small), and it’s working better than any other attempt that I’ve made. Plus, if I start skipping around in scenes, I just peel and re-stick where I think it should go.
I use an Apica notebook (8×11) for notes and quotes.
I love paper. There are times when working at the computer is too distracting, and times when I simply don’t have access to a computer.
I carry notebooks in my backpack; one for keeping notes on the game I’m running, and one for all sorts of other miscellaneous ideas. They aren’t moleskines, though
I also carry numerous decks of 3.5″ cards (otherwise known as “hipster PDAs”. There’s one in my pouch, one in my coat pocket, one in the cupholder in the truck. They’re for quick notes, shopping lists, reminders, etc.
I’m a total composition book junkie. I do nearly all my writing by hand first…including my NaNoWriMo (up until about 25k, when I had less than a week left.) I’m obsessed with my notebooks; they have to be the same kind of notebook with the same covers and 24-lines. I get them at Staples, and everytime I’m there I buy a couple more, just to keep them in stock. I use them for everything–quotes, stories, journals, even taking notes in school.
School is actually the main reason I rely so much on paper. Except for lunch (which is where I am right now) I have no computer access at all during the school day. Writing in a notebook is easier.
Moleskin notebooks rock! That’s the only notebook I trust with my fiction ideas. I am so tough on notebooks and frequently loose covers or sheet fall out and blow into the abyss…the moleskins are still together and my scraps of paper are safely tucked in!
Moleskin notebooks rock! That’s the only notebook I trust with my fiction ideas. I am so tough on notebooks and frequently loose covers or sheet fall out and blow into the abyss…the moleskins are still together and my scraps of paper are safely tucked in! Oh and zebra pens!
Ditto, Ditto…I LOVE notebooks. I don’t write much longhand because my hands cramp, but I use them for jotting, dreaming, pasting pics and thinking on paper. I justify skiving in front of the TV by recording significant bits from movies I watch, etc. I must drag myself away from hardcover journal books in the store!
Right now my MAIN notebook is a hardcover with a Thoreau quote on the front. It was a gift from my last boss, who wanted me to jump on the high-powered corporate rat-wheel again, but graciously sent me on with her blessing when I explained why I wanted a simple and low-stress day job…to support my writing. What a woman!
Oh yes. I keep notes, story ideas and whatever random stuff comes up in a real, live physical notebook. I also write my first drafts of my stories on paper (*gasp*!).
Another vote for notebooks! Not only to I write, but I also like to sketch my jewelry designs and you really can’t do that on a computer!
Another vote for notebooks! Not only do I write, but I also like to sketch my jewelry designs and you really can’t do that on a computer!
I developed the habit, in my previous life as a programmer (and it works great for a writer, too!) of keeping a notebook right next to my computer, ready for anything I might need to scribble down.
I don’t need to worry about where I’ll put a file on the computer, what I’ll call it, whether I’m making a quick text note or if I should send an email or type it into a Word document or an address book program – I just scribble it down on the notepad and find it a proper home later. I also use the notebook for taking notes at interviews (which I immediately type up when I return home).
The notebook is always there, never runs out of batteries, and has a built-in history function
That notebook is a cute one!
Yes, I still use my faithful notebooks, since I am not always near a computer, and they’re a great way of seeing how far you’ve come on your personal writing journey.
I am a notebook fanatic, now to the point where I am writing a blog about it!