tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771775388110854391.post6778230397249560007..comments2024-01-29T06:21:11.353+00:00Comments on Sarah Duncan's Blog: Is A Writer's Notebook Essential?Sarah Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12530089356370140344noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771775388110854391.post-4561133270371553612011-10-06T22:04:58.321+01:002011-10-06T22:04:58.321+01:00I'm glad that I'm not a lone voice in a se...I'm glad that I'm not a lone voice in a sea of notebook fanatics. Some great tips tho - would never have thought of using a phone to make notes, or using a diary in that way. (That sounds dim but I don't usually carry one around with me.) <br /><br />And glad quite a few of you drool in Paperchase, I thought it was just me.Sarah Duncanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12530089356370140344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771775388110854391.post-80096573080473850012011-10-06T07:11:46.567+01:002011-10-06T07:11:46.567+01:00Notebooks can be useful. My problem really is bein...Notebooks can be useful. My problem really is being organised enough to remember where it is, and I usually end up leaving myself notes on the kitchen blackboard! <br />But as with all these helpful, motivational hints, if you're like me, you have to take care that sorting them doesn't lead to the dreaded procrastination...Penny Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05987400902932312959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771775388110854391.post-65330317894355885402011-10-06T01:18:51.077+01:002011-10-06T01:18:51.077+01:00I need to write ideas down or type them up, otherw...I need to write ideas down or type them up, otherwise I'll forget. I have a notebook by my bed, and I'll frequently turn the light back on to record a sudden brainwave.<br /><br />I don't carry a notebook around with me. Instead I use the notes feature on my phone. I frequently sit on the train, tapping away. Whether it's a person dressed in distinctive clothing or a snippet of conversation. It looks like I'm being very social (texting or emailing), but my writer's brain is whirring away, storing up creative nuggets.Charlotte Brentwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17241042192422436027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771775388110854391.post-32880663506336485312011-10-05T17:29:34.090+01:002011-10-05T17:29:34.090+01:00I must admit, I've never understood all the fu...I must admit, I've never understood all the fuss about moleskine notebooks. When I first started writing, however, I did carry a (non-moleskine) notebook around with me, largely because I kept on reading everywhere it was what every aspiring writer needed to do. Well, after a few months of writing (mainly illegible) notes I barely looked at again, I soon abandoned the idea.<br /><br />I think what you say is very true. There is no 'right' way to write. Writers should trust their own instincts and work in the way that best suits them.Helenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06573809532018015486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771775388110854391.post-63292382906945483892011-10-05T13:22:36.704+01:002011-10-05T13:22:36.704+01:00The best things are always written or drawn on the...The best things are always written or drawn on the back of receipts or used envelopes.her white harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12038885049065952716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771775388110854391.post-71649066636986066202011-10-05T12:43:08.451+01:002011-10-05T12:43:08.451+01:00I have notepads going back some twenty years. I al...I have notepads going back some twenty years. I always have one with me. I simply don’t trust my memory. I also find it helpful to work out ideas on the page sometimes because too many times I’ve tried to develop a perfectly good idea in my head, gone off at a tangent, found I was unable to find my way back to where I started and everything was lost. I have been caught short. When I got the idea that eventually became my fourth novel I was walking across Glasgow Green and either had no pad or no pen with me and had to hold a whole paragraph in my head until I got to work and could scribble it down. Now <i>that</i> would have been a terrible loss.<br /><br />I have a Moleskin notebook at the moment but only because my wife bought me one. I'll write on anything.<br /><br>Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771775388110854391.post-86614105481673879492011-10-05T11:21:11.791+01:002011-10-05T11:21:11.791+01:00I have to say I am a notebook fiend. I have had to...I have to say I am a notebook fiend. I have had to learn to be discreet, though, as friends and family have wised up to me jotting down things they've said. It's not a very nice habit, nicking ideas from other people, even if that's what writing is all about (for me, anyway). But I do agree that snippets that seemed like wonderful material at the time can look like utter bonkers on revisiting them in the cold light of the laptop screen. I just hope that I remember to burn them all before I get old in case my nosy children leaf through them and decide it's time to consign me to a home after all.A Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00988158597150297353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771775388110854391.post-42116763520329985112011-10-05T10:54:33.797+01:002011-10-05T10:54:33.797+01:00Sarah: I can't tell you how relieved I am, to ...Sarah: I can't tell you how relieved I am, to read this. I love notebooks as notebooks. I drool in Paperchase. I have a collection of pretty ones that people have given me because they've heard I write. Only they remain in a drawer, pretty and useless. I like to stroke them from time to time but that's all. <br /><br />Ideas, titles or phrases never come to me when I'm out and about and if they do, as you've found, weeks later they're meaningless or stupid. I have to be in front of a keyboard and screen and feel as if I'm 'at work' to think and write. That doesn't mean I don't notice what goes on around me. I listen a lot and observe but it all goes into my compost heap of my brain to mulch and mature until needed. No notebook required.Sally Zigmondhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07520579251842006765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6771775388110854391.post-73791514424668204432011-10-05T07:42:44.134+01:002011-10-05T07:42:44.134+01:00I'm hopeless about notebooks, too, Sarah, and ...I'm hopeless about notebooks, too, Sarah, and although I buy pretty ones, don't feel obliged to put anything in them.<br /><br />What I can't do without is my little page a day Moleskin diary. That I do use everyday for addresses, urls, the occasional note for the wip and shopping. I have already got my 2012 edition filling up with blogging dates.<br /><br />I do, on the other hand, occasionally write brilliant stuff on the backs of supermarket checkout bills. Mostly I lose them.Liz Fieldinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10464889663853976327noreply@blogger.com