Revisiting the Notion of a Writer's Notebook

I do not keep a writer’s notebook. It keeps me. It keeps me writing. It keeps me thinking. It keeps me closely observing my world. As Ernest Hemingway declared, ’I belong to this notebook and this pencil.’

 I write most days and on the days when I don’t write, I am usually considering what I want to write next. I cannot stay away. My notebook beckons to me continually.

None of my notebooks would be considered a journal or a diary. They are quite clearly writer’s notebooks. Meant for the collective random gatherings of my life and the sometimes scatty world inside my head. Something pops up and I feel the strong compulsion to write it down just in case I might need it later. Fleeting thoughts sitting comfortably alongside more considered comments. 

Creative bursts of reflection and scattered recollections are scattered across the hungry pages of my notebook. I do not use sections in my notebooks. Nor do I number pages or keep an index. I tried these things once and they only brought on frustration. So now I give my thoughts free rein. Entries are recorded in the order they arrive. I see my notebook as a writing tool

It can record matters for posterity. It can become a place to tell truths and ask questions. a gathering place. A place to record observations on the world. A place to record beginnings . It can be a place to safely store fragile ideas. An incubator. The place where I harvest ideas- where I live as a writer.  A place to take risks.  A safe place.  A place where all the things that spark my thinking come to  meet. My collection zone for the raw stuff. 

When we write alongside our students, we create a sense of community. We begin to walk in the shoes of other writers. We send a powerful message. -We’re all writers. This is a journey we are undertaking together. My writing becomes a model for students to follow. My notebooks are therefore a teaching tool for me and the impressionable young writers I meet. I  mindfully share my writing processes and how I solve problems. I invite young writers into the world of a more experienced writer. I want them to know How to find ideas. I want them to have choice and voice. I want them to write about those things close to their hearts. I want them to write with honesty.

Demonstrating and modelling how we as adult writers connect to the world around us is a vital lesson for our students. We need to explain how we see the potential in things for writing each and every day. We need to demonstrate how we harvest ideas, how we excavate memories and how we connect and learn from other writers.’

Notebooks have been part of the writing life for almost 40 years. Across that time they have come in many forms. Lined and unlined, thick and thin, large and small. None of them had spiral bound spines. All of them had strong covers. My notebooks must be robust, hardy and durable. It’s a tough existence for a working notebook.

Some writers use their notebooks to brainstorm ideas. Some fill notebooks  with observations that eventually form the foundations of  larger writing projects. Other writers use their notebooks to record their writing progress while undertaking a writing project. Some writers simultaneously conduct multiple notebooks for different purposes. I must admit I have done this too. At one time I kept my poetry in a separate notebook, I used another notebook exclusively for writing about music. Notebooks are unique to that particular writer. There is not ‘one way’ that  notebooks must be ‘done.’

There are many orthodoxies that develop around notebooks and we should be wary of them. The notebook should not become a chore. The notebook should be fun to be around. It should lead the writer to discovery and greater self-awareness. Always ready to capture the delights of its owner/writer. It is not a task that must be done. It is a place of wonder and possibility. A place for fact and fantasy, experimentation and imagination. No one else should presume to take away the ownership of your notebook.

It is most certainly a place to write. A place to create beginnings, plans, notes, and first drafts. It might also be a place to draw, sketch maps and make lists. It is above all, a place to harvest your own unique endeavours and interests.

Use a pen of your choosing. Use a pencil if that is your preference. Colour? –you choose. I mostly use a Uniball fine tip black gel pen. I also use a Lamy fountain pen (black ink) These are my preferred writing tools. They feel comfortable in my hand.

The notebook provides a space in which the writer can feel free to wander.  A place to be silly or serious depending on your mood. You may poke about in the darker recesses of your mind or reflect in the brightest light. Keep your notebook close by. Feed it regularly. Be responsible for its continued good health . Let it becomes a natural part of your creative life.

 It is not my role as an educator to tame the words that enter a young writer’s notebook. I believe the notebook should remain a slightly wild place for a writer to work with words. Wordplay is essential. I want the inexperienced writer to know the joy of playing with words in the same way I have come to know this pleasurable pursuit. I encourage them to roam the literary terrain in search of words and ideas, discoveries and the inspiration to write in that space. I work hard to preserve a view of the notebook as a place to explore possibilities. I try to convince them through my own actions that the notebook they own is hungry to receive their words.

When teachers descend upon notebooks the young writers begin to see it as just another workbook. The integrity fades. The unique status of the notebook evaporates. Risk taking, experimenting shrink away, replaced by teacher pleasing, and safe writing. The special light goes out.

The best way to influence a child’s view of their notebook is for a teacher to attend to their own notebook . Make a powerful declaration by regularly sharing entries from your own notebook. Show, don’t tell. Share not only your words, but also your process.

When I look at the collective pages of my notebook entries I am privileged to see the footprints of my life and times. These are the gatherings from my time in the collection zone.