Notebooks Are A Writers Treasure Chest

It’s more than a stationary addition! What I use my multiple notebooks for as a passionate writer?

A row of beautiful notebooks bare their spines. Perfect, uncracked, unhappy notebooks. Too scared to use them they sat watching me. Waste time preserving them and catching dust. What a waste. I loved notebooks then, but damn I did not treat them right.

Full of the messy madness of me, now they are real. They grow beside me now and gather no dust. Imperfect, happy fulfilled pages with purpose.

Each one affects the other and are a huge source of inspiration for me when they are glowing, growing and thriving.

Writers Notebook

I cross this one with Notion by collecting the ideas on paper and the ones I’ll elaborate on, or work on on the move. This is where my fiction lives and transforms.

This notebook is for housing ideas around fiction writing. For characters, their development, plots, enticing 1st sentences, dialogue (I’ve heard some strange ones, yes, fiction writers are creeps) and outlines of short stories. Sometimes this means mind maps too.

The section I adore the most and spend the most time in is what I call the “setting the scene” where I describe a scene in great detail either a real event, dream or something that attacked me mid dishes stack.

Morning Pages

I haven’t been doing these as consistently as went through the ‘Artists Way’ program. But when I do them, it changes the whole projection of the day. I feel freer, kinder and calmer.

I pick up this book and bare my heart and soul into it, nonstop, long form for 3 pages.

For a while there, I did this on binder pages, would fold them as small as possible then burn them at the end of the month.

Burning is always an option, not one I’m taking right now.

To a lot of artists, I bet morning pages are old news. So, If you haven’t already I would highly recommend going through The Artist’s Way 12 Week Guide. The activities are really fun and truly eye-opening.

Sketchpad/Notebook

Honestly, I doodle in all notebooks but these particular pages are where my WEBTOON to be lives.

This is a little notebook with half-lines and half blank pages where I draw out the scenes and characters, then set the story beside it.

This pad is new to my rotation but I’ve gotten very lost in its pages lately. Drawing cartoons is so consuming.

Handbag Notebook

A homemade (I think) A7 notebook I carry everywhere. Like, if I have to, I’ll stuff it in my bra. Does my partner love the fact I carry a pencil on date night….?

Probably not, Hopefully, he’s used to it now.

This neat little pad is home to everything on the road. I’ll fill 20 pages with dialogue or about a character if needed. Sometimes it’s just boring stuff I remember out and about. These notes all get sent to their note homes after. I’ve gone through 4-ish this year, they’re great.

If you are keen to make your own little boob pad… I mean… handbag notebook. Let me know in the comments and I’ll find the site :)

Bullet Journal (BuJo)

I used to carry my BuJo around but it got way too bulky. I’d pick it up and 20 sticky notes would scatter. So the handbag notebook above was born.

It took me a while to get into the whole BuJo thing. Now it’s just where the planning happens, it’s deliberate practice. A practice I love to add to each day.

In the BuJo, I house my to-do list, birthday party plans, ideas and layouts for my pieces here on medium, future planning, goal setting, exercise programs, my daily log, lists of many variations, schedules and probably other stuff too!

It’s my Ol’ reliable.

It turns out there is actually a book about it – ‘The Bullet Journal Method’ It is highly inspiring and encourages the individuality of your BuJo. If you haven’t read it like my poor ignorant soul last year, check it out here. It’s worth seeing for yourself how you can create it to fit your world.

Portable Storyboard

My mother is also a stationary lover/hoarder. Resulting in us having too many exercises books leftover from (some primary school!) school days to bother counting.

In this pad, I am creating a portable storyboard novel. This is similar to my writer's notebook. But not quite.

Withing these pages lives but one story. I am developing and laying out every seemingly minute detail I can to these pages. It is the home of my novel to be.

I’ll likely go through loooots of these, but that’s good! I’ll have plenty of stock to refer back to as my fictional world grows, changes and adapts.

Notebooks are a huge part of how I process things as a writer and a human. Here was a peek into the types I use to transform my world into words. My many notebooks are collected and curated to be perfect for me, they are an inspiration seeing how much I grow through the process.

Bridie Dillon, Smiling politely.

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