Have Notebook, Will Travel

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Packing for the beach, I couldn't find my notebook. As a writer and stationery aficionado, I always have a notebook in progress -- that place where I write down all the miscellany that comes to me over the course of a day. Since my usual spiral-bound notebook has been supplanted by my summer notebook, the former has apparently been tucked away in a safe place, one that didn't spring to mind in the midst of my last-minute packing. Knowing I could not go to the beach for a week without a notebook, I grabbed an old notebook from the counter in my office and tossed it into my bag.

How old a notebook? The photo on the front is of my daughter -- the one who is now a sophomore in college -- at age nine. On the first page of the notebook was a list of summer plans -- camps, play dates, family vacation -- designed to stave off summer boredom, thereby maintaining Mom's sanity.

I don't miss those days. While I enjoyed our summers, it's also nice to have reached a stage where if she's bored, it's up to her to figure something out. That's a double-edged sword, of course, as whatever she figures out often involves car keys, gas money and perhaps a trip to a foreign country.

For the most part, I've embraced this growing-up process, encouraging her burgeoning independence. But lately, things like trips abroad and family vacations on her own terms have tested my carefully crafted Cool Mom facade. My mind grasps these changes and her readiness to tackle them head-on, but my heart is lagging behind.

It will catch up, I know, but in a world that's growing increasingly scary, my poker face is becoming harder and harder to put on. I have faith in my daughter, but now, more than ever, I understand my mom's retort that she trusted me, but not the rest of the world.

It's a refrain I echo to my daughter and to my husband (about my daughter). I want her to move forward boldly and fearlessly, but I also want her to do so intelligently, carefully and perhaps in a bulletproof wardrobe.

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That's a pretty tall order for a nineteen-year-old -- especially one I remember so clearly as the nine-year-old on the front of my notebook.

The notebook served me well last week, giving me a place to write blogs and lists, as well as capturing random thoughts and ideas before they drifted off on the ocean breeze. And, while the young adult who accompanied us to the beach has come a long way from the little girl on the cover of my notebook, she was a wonderful travel companion in a completely different way.

In my office at home, I have a bin filled with the notebooks I've used over the years. Some don't make the cut; once all of their contents have been transferred to more permanent and specific homes, they end up in the recycling bin. I know this one will make the cut, though, more because of the little girl who graces the cover than for whatever remains inside. And this week, it earned its keep, even as it brought a little nostalgia along for the ride.

A Writer's Notebooks

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I am a notebook nut. In fact, I imposed a moratorium on my notebook purchases after a recent organization of my office revealed just how many brand new notebooks I already had in my possession.

In addition to my new, just-waiting-for-the-right-project notebooks and the many others in various stages of usage, there are three notebooks I use daily.

My Word Count Notebook. I chose an old steno notebook to record my daily word counts when I began Word Count Wednesday last spring. The two-column format is perfect for this: the date and the task go in the left-hand column and the number of words I wrote goes in the right hand column. In addition, I note writing tasks that did not yield new words (such as revisions) in the left hand column. For these tasks, time spent goes in the right-hand column.

This notebook has a place of honor on the right hand side of my desk. I leave it out because its very presence serves as a nudge to tackle my writing and revisions.

My Sprint Journal. Ever since I attended Ramona DeFelice Long's workshop at the Pennwriters Conference in May, I have been trying to do a writing sprint at least five days a week. Ramona advocates sketching each sprint out in a notebook, but pantser that I am, I like keeping my options open, so I journal after I sprint. Weird, I know. Ramona's planning makes a lot more sense from a logical perspective, but I've found that journaling post-sprint works better for me.

I'm repurposing a calendar as my sprint journal, so each entry includes the date, the length of my sprint(s) and the number of words accomplished during the sprint. Because I make sure that I write in my sprint journal daily, this journal also includes what I did on the days I didn't sprint (e.g. class planning, family responsibilities, etc). This notebook is a companion to my word count notebook, and as such, sits underneath the WCN on my desk.

My Catch-All Notebook. Decades ago, when I took my first course through the Institute of Children's Literature, I was taught to carry a notebook everywhere I go to jot down ideas as they occur to me. Decades ago, this wasn't necessary. As I prepare to celebrate my 53rd birthday, it has become essential.

My catch-all notebook is just that -- a little bit of everything. Slightly smaller and much more beat-up than my WCN or my SJ, it goes almost everywhere I do. As a matter of fact, when I make my daily trip to Starbucks, I often have to remember which bag I used the day before so that I can locate it. Right now, it contains lists of boys' names (I am struggling to find character names I like for my work-in-progress), samples of my daughter's handwriting (guess what traveled to a medical appointment with us last week), lists, class planning notes, and partially written blogs…among other things. I buy these basic notebooks three to a pack at Staples when they go on sale because I like the size and the fact that the pages are perforated.

I don't think I'm alone in my notebook peculiarities; I think proper notebook selection is a quirk many writers (and students) share. It's all part of finding the right tool for the job. To some, the overlap among my notebooks might seem inefficient, but it's a system that works for me.

How about you? Are you picky about your notebooks? Big or small? Top spiral vs. side spiral (or no spiral at all)? Lined or unlined?