I’ve always been interested in writer’s notebooks, but until recently, I’d never started one — at least, not an “official” one. Why? Because just about every article and blog post I’ve read about how to keep a writer’s notebook focuses on how to use it for a specific work in progress. I don’t always have a work in progress. And when I do, I have a different (admittedly often much less efficient) system for keeping it organized. So, does that mean a writer’s notebook isn’t for me? And if so, what in the world am I going to do with all these beautiful-but-kind-of-pricey journals I can’t seem to stop collecting?
Good news! I recently discovered a different approach to keeping a writer’s notebook, and it’s WIP agnostic. You can use it if you’re working on a novel but prefer to keep it online or in some other system. And you can use it even — especially — if you don’t have a current work-in-progress, whether you’re taking a breather between projects or you’ve been in a creative rut for months.
A small sampling of the notebooks I’ve been acquiring and neglecting — and the one I finally put to use!
My Approach to Keeping a Writer’s Notebook
This alternative version of a writer’s notebook is less of a story bible and more of a repository for your thoughts about writing and stories. To inspire you to get started, here are five things that go in my writer’s notebook:
Writing About Writing
A lot of what’s in my notebook — especially the first few pages — is just writing about my writing process, my current feelings about writing, and my overall relationship to my writing. These notebook entries are more like diary entries, and they give me a chance to reflect on what writing used to be for me, what it is now, and what I hope it will be in the future. I find they also get me excited to start writing about other things. Very meta, I know, but give it a try!
Character Sketches
When I see somebody interesting-looking out and about, or when I hear song lyrics that make me wonder who they’re about, I use my writer’s notebook to jot down character sketches. I don’t have a story in mind, though maybe one day somebody in my notebook will make a perfect protagonist. Instead, I’m just letting my imagination run free, writing about who that person is, what they’re like, what they want in life, what they keep in their nightstand…whatever comes to mind.
Unanchored Scenes
Have you ever had a scene pop into your head? Not a full-fledged plot or anything — just a random scene or fragment with characters you may or may not have met before? When this happens to me, it goes into the notebook. There’s no pressure to connect it to my work in progress or anything else, but the writer’s notebook gives me a place to record it. Maybe it will stay there forever (which would be fine), or maybe it will be the kernel for something bigger in a few months or even years.
Writing Prompts & Exercises
My writer’s notebook has also become my go-to place for practicing the craft of writing. When I come across exercises I want to try or prompts I want respond to, that’s where they go. My writing doesn’t have to be perfect — or even all that good — because it’s just for me and my notebook. And knowing this really frees me from some of the writer’s block that goes along with perfectionist tendencies. (If you’re looking for new prompts and exercises, I’ve got you covered! Try these character brainstorming exercises, these deep character work prompts, or this world-building exercise, whether you’re connecting them to your WIP or not.)
Visual “Art”
Let me start this one by saying I do not claim to have any talent for visual arts. I took a drawing class in college and a book design class in grad school, and both professors told me (not meanly) that I was fortunate they graded based on hard work and improvement. Still, though, I think accessing creativity through another part of your brain can have a big impact on your writing. That’s true for me, at least. So I like to fill up blank spaces in my writer’s journal — empty left-hand pages between entries, those last few lines at the end of an entry, or even a corner that didn’t get written in — with color. Could be paint or markers or crayons or even stickers. There’s just something meditative about making a different kind of art, especially when I know it’s for my eyes only.
How It’s Going
I’ve been keeping my new writer’s notebook for about a month now. I don’t pressure myself to write every day — rather, I keep it with me and write in it when the mood strikes, or when I have an awkward fifteen minutes between meetings. It’s 100 percent casual, but I have to say, I’ve felt a new energy around my writing life since I started playing around with this new writer’s notebook approach. It’s helped me build momentum in my current work-in-progress and generally rebuilt my enthusiasm for the craft.
So, grab one of those beautiful, empty journals off your bookshelf (or, if you’re not a notebook hoarder like I am, treat yourself to a new one), and officially christen it as your writer’s notebook. You can get fancy if you want, and keep it organized like a bullet journal. For me, that’s too much pressure. I find that, if I don’t worry about organization or design or even great handwriting, then I’m much freer to just write. It’s a break from the detail-orientation and perfectionism that drives most of my life, and just a low-stakes place to practice — and reflect on — my creativity. All that is to say, I’m not here to tell you what kind of notebook you need or how to make it look. I’m just here to, I hope, inspire you to add this inspiring new tool to your writing practice.