Of course you do. I'm thinking of buying a new one, I have a tiny one buy want a bigger a5 one to fit extracts in from books that have inspired me (not to copy they provide an image) and pictures that have inspired me. Still looking for one can't decide it I want a normal notebook or something lovely
Nope. What I do have is at least a thousand napkins, scraps of paper, business cards and Post-It notes scattered around the house and car.
all my notes are done on my computer or odd pages in random notebooks. I prefer everything to be neat and organised though, but I'm off to buy an A4 notebook for my novel today so I can scribble and not care for neatness
I don't keep a notebook for scribbling random ideas, but once I decide on a project, I pick up a spiral notebook, usually 5-subjects, for outlining, research notes and other planning techniques. For my historical, I needed two notebooks, plus a flip chart to sketch out a family tree.
I use notebooks for everything. I have two small notebooks I keep in my purse, one for my high fantasy (it's very complicated) and one for general stuff. I also have one notebook each for every story, either for ideas or for actual writing. Once I get some chapters written, I transfer them to the computer. Having notebooks helps me stay organized. I write freely as I think them, so I can go back and see why I decided to go one way and not the other. It keeps me from going backward or spending time researching something I already researched and forgot about. lol
I carry a pocket size plain moleskine notebook or similar around with me all the time. For one novel, I have filled 16 of these notebooks so far with random ideas, notes, sketches, lyrics, paragraphs, developments etc etc. once written in I tend not to review what the contents holds, as the act of jotting it down means it's in my memory and doesn't get lost like my other thoughts do.
I have two. A smaller fancy one that I usually carry about with me when I travel, and a large A4 notebook that I use to brainstorm and write down random ideas and roughly structure plot. I have this odd quirk that I must write my notes in pencil instead of pen, though.
I do, yes. I have two. I take one everywhere I go, and it's for notes, and another for poems I like that honestly helps me come up with ideas.
I just have one that I call Z. I use to write in so many notebooks I couldn't keep up with them. I like how I can add notes on the side. I keep up with my list of characters, ideas / fragments, rough drafts of some chapters, chapter outlines and my special /evolved zombie concepts, in good ol' Z. Of course, when I get the chance I type it all up.
This is the type of notebook I've been looking for! What brand of notebook is it if you don't mind me asking?
Probably not in a high street store, but maybe Amazon? That's the only thing I can think of, or some kind of notebook specialist.
I can't find the brand. It was on the paper you tear off on the front. It's just a plain project planner I got from Wal-Mart.
A notebook? No. Lots of notebooks yes. I go the cheap route - I pick up fat notebooks at the dollar store. 160 pages and keep them on my desk, by my bed and in my purse. But the stuff in them is pretty random; bits of description, full scenes, shopping lists, things I notice, book wants etc.
With past projects, and the current one, I've just been writing down notes on loose sheets of paper -and it's very random. I have no idea why I haven't thought about having a notebook. And I have so many of them! It's probably because my planning is very fragmented.
When I began writing, I used a bunch of stenographer's notebooks. This sort of thing: But I couldn't fit it in my pocket. I then discovered Moleskines: These are great! I use them all the time now. I even buy shirts based on whether they have pockets big enough to fit my Moleskine notebook and a pen or two.
No. I think I used to. It was like a few years ago. I had too many and they were just things that I wanted really bad to be in the story but had no way to fit and so when it came to the actual writing, the notes didn't help because I was still working on what just my story needed, I was creating the foundation, and the stuff I wanted in there only got in the way. But I guess when I have the bare bones of the story written, I can add in the notes. I don't know. I guess I just feel writing in a notebook is another extension of procrastination when you instead should just be writing out the first draft as fast as you can. A story should follow logic and seem seamless. I feel notes and daydreams and emotions would just get in the way of that. Or maybe I just have really good memory, or at least think I do, and don't feel I need to write everything down and that if it's important I'll remember it. I've thrown so many outlines and notes and drafts of my story away, and have found them dumb, that I feel it's just a waste of time now and that the real work is to just get to the writing.
I have an entire library of notebooks, and my favourites are the ones with hard cover and a spiral bind that is quite big, not the little kind the A4's have. Mine are half that size and twice as thick. And I write in them all the time, especially in the pre-writing stage and whenever I get stuck, in order to clear my thoughts. Couldn't do without them.
I'll be needing a new notebook soon, and I was wondering if people had a certain type they found useful. I need it mostly to structure plot and characters and take general notes on world building. Thanks!
I don't use notebooks anymore for my writing and planning. When I did, I used spirals, those college-ruled ones that are easy-tear. I prefer these over the stitched ones because I sometimes rip off a page.
I second the above suggestion. I've tried binders with loose leaf paper. I've tried legal pads. But spiral notebooks are by far my favorite. I found legal pads and binders are too hard to write it. It's easy to pull a page out out of a spiral and flip through pages to get exactly where you need.
