“Always carry a notebook. And I mean always. The short-term memory only retains information for three minutes; unless it is committed to paper you can lose an idea for ever.”
― Will Self
Most authors and writers will already do this, but if you don’t, ask yourself why. I am guessing that in the age of technology, some writers will keep all their ideas on their tech gadgets and desktop computers, and that is where I keep a lot of my notes.
However, I also use a notebook because, personally, I find it easier to refer back to, and I like those personal recollections in a physical place. Let’s face it: as amazing as technology is, should there be an outage or some kind of tech disaster, it would be a tragedy to lose all those ideas.
Of course, it works both ways; you may just as easily leave your notebook on the bus, train, or plane. But if you have your notes on your tech devices, you are well covered both ways.
There is something satisfying and delicious about a tactile notebook. It becomes a document of progress, ideas, thoughts, and processes that might otherwise be lost in a moment of distraction. As it becomes dog-eared over the ravages of time, it becomes a fascinating place to revisit. To view your own handwriting, how it changes, your moods, and the way you write, is something to be appreciated and enjoyed. It’s also a wonderful way to leave something for others—those who come after us and are looking for clues to what our thoughts or writing processes are. Our writing doesn’t have to become famous for this to be of interest.
Last night, when I wasn’t tired enough to sleep, I jumped up and started noting down ideas for my short stories. I lay there for a while, thinking to myself, “Oh, I must remember that in the morning. But then I thought, “What if I forget? There is the expression ‘perish the idea.” My thought at that moment was, “What if the idea perishes in a sea of dreams, distraction, or other ideas?”
This merry month of May, MyriadLifeBooks is offering an extra Colour My Cover notebook if you buy two or more of the notebooks shown on this website. It can be from the Writer’s Notebook Collection or from the Norfolk Notebook Collection. The offer is open to UK customers. See more about it here.
Spring is in full swing, here’s hoping for a nice sunny summer ahead with many more stories to unfold.
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I will leave you with another author quote by Ani Baker:
“Maybe if she would have written things down in a notebook; details smaller than her life. Maybe if she would have turned them into a song. Maybe if she had a picture. These are the ways to remember things that your mind doesn’t on its own commit. However it chooses what it does to commit. However.”
― Ani Baker, Handsome Vanilla
