Stealing Like an Artist in a Commonplace Book
Keeping a Notebook: Week Five
When I started high school, I carried a tiny notebook with me. I have a strong memory of finding it at a store that used to be called the Pic-N-Save (then it was MacFrugals, and now it's Big Lots) for 49 cents. It was maybe the size of a business card and was like a miniature composition book with a black marbled cover, only with a whale on the front.
It's possible the whale was a sticker I added myself. I can't remember that bit, precisely.
But I do remember writing things in it. I kept a list of books. My father had just gone to prison and it was books that kept me grounded. For a couple of years, I would find a book and it felt like magic. It would just shine, like a light. This was my book. Sometimes they were books I'd read over and over all my life. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Little Women. Robin Hood. Sometimes, they were something I'd find at a yard sale or on my parent's book shelf. The Handmaid's Tale. The Stand. Flowers in the Attic.
I also wrote bits of poetry or lines from those books.
We had a house fire when I was in the eleventh grade (it was a rough few years) and I lost that little book, but I think it was the seed of me becoming a writer.
The practice of keeping a book of quotes from other people's work is called keeping a Commonplace Book. Basically, curating a collection of excerpts of other people's work.
To me, it’s part of what Austin Kleon calls Stealing Like an Artist.
I've been obsessed with the idea of a Commonplace Book since I read this article, by Ryan Holiday, about keeping one on index cards. But, I've really kept one most of my life, since long before I knew the word for it.
While I love the idea of keeping ideas on index cards, and I've adopted it, nothing can ever really take the place of a notebook.
My own Commonplace habit has evolved into the idea of an Everyday Notebook. One place to keep notes, quotes, lists, ideas, inspirations. One book I carry with me all the time. It's not an art project (although, if you're more artistic than me, there's nothing wrong with making it artsy.) It's not a journal or a diary, really. It's more like a log. A repository.
I go through my notebook pretty often, once or twice a month, and move some of the notes onto index cards, a more formal Commonplace book. It's amazing to me, to see the connections between what I'm reading, what I'm thinking, what I'm working on.
Don't forget to read all the way down for this week's notebook prompt.
“You may want to keep a commonplace book which is a notebook where you can copy parts of books you think are in code, or take notes on a series of events you may have observed that are suspicious, unfortunate, or very dull. Keep your commonplace book in a safe place, such as underneath your bed, or at a nearby dairy.” -- Lemony Snicket
I've put a few Everyday Notebooks in the shop under a category called Outtakes. They're not quite perfect, but still super cool. They're half priced. Here's one of my favorites.
There are a bunch of other new ones up, too. Like this one that my husband might end up claiming.
I think that these little index card books would make a perfect quote journal or Commonplace Book. I love this new one, especially.
And, we've added a bunch more little 4X6 sketchbooks. This is a favorite.
This Week's Prompt
This week, start keeping your own Commonplace Book. Just keep a small notebook with you, or use your Everyday Notebook, and write down quotes from books, movies, bits of poetry, inspirational quotes. Start a collection of excerpts from other people's work.
Let's talk about Everyday Notebooks this week over on the Facebook page.
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Shaunta Grimes is a writer and teacher. She lives in Reno with her husband, three superstar kids, and a yellow rescue dog named Maybelline Scout. She’s on Twitter @shauntagrimes, is the author of Viral Nation and Rebel Nation, and is the original Ninja Writer.
