These were the notebooks just within reaching distance from where I was sitting. And you'd think I'd feel bad about that, but rounding them up and taking a picture made me smile.I'm pretty sure that makes me a notebook addict.
But I need them! Each one of those contains different projects (from top to bottom: Technical Difficulties, Hammered [mostly, plus some old school Transparent], brand new for a Top Sekrit Rewrite, Transparent rewrite, Relax, I'm a Ninja [plus a little Spork], and some aliens and contemporary stuff).
I love to make notes by hand. I don't know what it is, but there's something in actually scribbling with a pen that gets my brain going. Though I mostly type my story out, much of the "behind the scenes" work happens on paper. I outline better on paper, edit better, brainstorm better.
I know it's not for everyone, and I'm not telling you to do the same. I'm just saying there's something about paper for me. Maybe it's the artist thing—pen and paper put me in that creative mode almost automatically, while typing puts me in a work mode. Both are good, but sometimes I just need to be creative and save the work for later. I suppose it's my way of finding that balance in writing.
Also, it let's me draw while making notes. I know, so fancy. It helps me figure out what things might look like in my world (yeah, they are blurry and backwards on purpose—sekrits abound!):
A character sketch/sheet. I like to explore characters, see if they'll open up a stalled plot.
My first map from Spork. I've since revised a bunch, but there it is.
Airship! Also from Spork. It was fun playing with a fantasy story because there was so much more to imagine and draw. So yeah, there's a little glimpse into part of my writing process. I think a lot of non-writers don't realize how much planning happens behind the words. It's like putting on a stage production. Hopefully the reader focuses only on the actors, and ideally no one sees the techies back there making all the magic. But without the techies? No show.
Now, excuse me while I go play with my new notebook. It has colored sections so I can categorize my notes! *Squee*
I'm the same way with writing: brainstorming, background, etc in a notebook first...I'm notsomuch an artist like you, but I do like to doodle! lots of daisies and butterflies and spirals (the extent of my artistic abilities) grace many a notebook page...
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
I love notebooks, too! I type faster than I write so sometimes I type things up, print them, and then write all over them and stick them in my notebook. Does that sound totally odd??
ReplyDeleteLove the stage show/techie analogy! I'm the same way: mostly write on computer, but brainstorm with pen & paper. I think there's a different kind of creativity that comes with the different mediums. But then, I'm totally a notebook (and pen!) junkie, so maybe that's just my excuse...
ReplyDeleteHi, my name is Melissa and I'm a notebookaholic.
ReplyDeleteI don't own nearly as many as I (a) would like or (b) used to, but I still oogle over them wherever I go and pet them before I'm ripped away. I totally love planning in notebooks more than any other medium. Give me something concrete to play with - that's where the magic happens.
Wow--cool drawings. I can't even manage a stick figure. That said, I, too, am a notebook junkie. I've actually got different sizes. Tiny ones for my cute purses. Medium for travel/conferences and large ones for bedside table and computer bag. Okay, maybe I have too many... :)
ReplyDeleteI'm the same too--I use notebooks like crazy to storyboard and do the "behind the scenes" work. I'm not as organized though. I have multiple projects in a notebook, so it can get a little confusing. (Because inevitably, I start brainstorming about one story while my other notebook is at home). I'm also one of those that takes a mini notebook everywhere--I'm lost without it.
ReplyDeleteI do think I should devote ONE notebook to each story; I at least know I have to do my fantasy one separate from all the others because there are lots of maps involved. (Well currently only one, but I know it will get expanded upon). That's the extent of my artist skills though.
Ooo! I love my notebooks too. they are stashed EVERYWHERE.
ReplyDeleteI'm also very jealous that you can draw. My stick figures don't inspire me much.
How fun! Thanks for sharing these. I love notebooks too, mostly for jotting down random things that come to me away from the computer.
ReplyDeleteOh, Natalie. You're the bomb. I have two of those notebooks myself! Although they are most likely filled with very different things. Mmm...treasure trove-y notebooks.
ReplyDeleteI'm very much a pen and paper person myself. I feel bad for all the trees I've killed, but have promised to plant at least five for every book that I sell. I don't know how to replenish the world's ink supply, though...octopus farming?
I love notebooks too. Except sometimes they are so pretty I don't want to write in them.
ReplyDeleteIt's ironic that you posted on notebooks today. I've got a colorful collection myself. I had about an hour today where I could have booted up the laptop and worked on my novel. But I knew I wasn't in the most creative frame of mind. So instead I got a smoothie opened up a notebook and just wrote about whatever. Soon the direction of the writing turned towards my book and I figured out some important plot points.
ReplyDeleteSometimes when I'm not feeling motivated to write, I switch to a new notebook, and by golly, it helps some. Weird, but I always knew I was an office supply addict. You'd think there'd be meetings, there are so many of us. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
That looks like fun! I so wish I had artistic abilities. One of my writer friends growing up liked to draw her characters and maps and I was always jealous. My maps just look like blobs with squiggles. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteYes! I have to limit the number of notebooks I buy or else I'd have a pile like yours (but mine would be mostly empty). I keep one in my purse for when inspiration strikes and there's generally one next to the computer but that's it.
ReplyDeleteI'm a notebook junkie too! I can't write any of my drafts by hand, though - the writing always reads more stilted than when I write on the computer. I love your map! And I've been playing around with the idea of collaging a bit too as part of my writing process :)
ReplyDeleteYou need a sequin notebook to complete your collection! Mine is teal and it's purse-sized. I take it with me everywhere! I use at the park, in the drive-thru, during church meetings (SHH! Sometimes inspiration pops up at the most inappropriate times).
ReplyDeleteI'll send you one the next time they go on sale.
I too am obsessed with notebooks. I always jot down everything from scenes I envision to random things that occurred to me while I'm trying to sleep.
ReplyDeleteSince I'm an amateur book binder, I make a lot of my notebooks myself, which is time-consuming, but fun.
I love notebooks! I got them for christmas all the time as a kid because everybody knew I loved them.
ReplyDeleteAlso, love the sketches!
I do the same exact thing! I love notebooks! I have a box full of them, and can't keep track of how many there actually are. It's a bit ridiculous, actually, but I can't control myself...
ReplyDeleteI am so gonna show this post to my hubby. We just had the "notebook" discussion that occurs any time I come home with a new one. He doesn't understand my obsession and thinks it's unhealthy :P
ReplyDeleteI'm the same way with handwriting notes/brainstorming, and the reason it works so well is because it connects both hemispheres of the brain. Or something like that, according to the book we're reading for Bible Study right now ;>
I think for every word that's gone into my WIP, there's probably been 5 behind the scenes! I have drawn some of my characters too. Since I'm a terrible drawer, it helps encourage me to do a better job describing them with words. Thanks for the visuals! I love the pics you post!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! I've got two legal pads filled up with just notes and scribles, and partial outlines (I don't outline too much...I'm more of a pantser, but near the end I need an outline to put my thoughts in order). I have my maps drawn out. I used to draw characters all then time when i was little and writing stories. I might actually start doing that again- it migh help. Love the post!
ReplyDeleteJust turn me loose in a Staples! It's nirvanah! My thing is colored pens, pencils, highlighters. OK, I have oodles of notebooks scattered around, too! :-)
ReplyDeleteWHY DIDN'T YOU SHOW ME ANY OF YOUR SPORK DRAWINGS WHEN I CAME TO VISIT YOU???
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the airship and the map!! They look so antiquey and SO very steampunk! Love love love. God, I LOVE Spork. I will always love Spork. YAY Gil!!
I love notebooks too, but I'm starting to do more online (hello Scrivener) just because I'm always panicked that I will a) lose them or b) they will fall into the wrong hands. BUT I'll never be able to give them up entirely.
ReplyDeleteOther obsessions include but are not limited to: books (duh), cookbooks (although I hardly look at them anymore because I search for recipes online), teapots, candles
Those will be fun keepsakes for those books for sure! I am a scrounger for paper, meaning I never ever have notebooks at hand but am always gathering printer paper or legal pads, scribbling, then later losing what I wrote. I think I should invest in a notebook...
ReplyDeleteI completely get this. I hand write my notes, too. When the idea came to me for my first novel, I started writing about it in my personal journal - not realizing yet that it was going to become a book - and that journal turned into my book journal. I've filled every page and then some; it's crammed full of Post-Its and receipts and grocery lists and menus and all the other things I've grabbed to jot notes and dialogue on while I'm out doing other things.
ReplyDeleteAs for your drawings, well, I do that, too. I'm an interior designer, so when I have a little spare time at work, I sit around drafting the houses my characters live in. I've drawn the full floor plan of my MC's bungalow, to scale. :)
I also have an insane number of notebooks. I tell myself that each one is for a different project or purpose, but my problem is that I write in the closest one, so everything is jumbled together.
ReplyDeleteLove your sketches.
I love to back and forth between handwritten and computer generated ideas/brainstorming/plotting. I have index cords, notebooks and my wonderful scrivener program to help me generate the creative flow. Your sketches are amazing!
ReplyDeleteI use lots of notebooks too, but not for sketching. I have at least 6 or 7 at the moment. Sometimes it's hard to keep them organized, but also do lots of brainstorming, idea gathering, outlining, and rough drafts with pencil and paper.
ReplyDelete