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How to keep a writer’s notebook

katherinemay.substack.com · 2,227 words · saved by 1 readers

Yesterday, when I sat down at my desk, I couldn’t find my notebook. The panic that brought: without it, a part of my brain was missing. It wasn’t that I wanted to find information in it - instead, I wanted to write in it. A stray piece of paper wouldn’t do. I needed, in that moment, to add to that particular collection of words, to find the relief of disclosure. The notebook was easily found, packed accidentally into a bag with other things. But it made me think about the long relationship that I’ve had with notebooks, and their centrality to everything I do, the way that they foster my creativity across years and decades. I’m sure that’s true of most other writers. And yet, whenever I see guides to keeping a journal online, I rarely recognise my own practice in there. I’ve seen so many idealised journals, designed for public display, written in overly neat handwriting using multi-coloured pens, filled with motivational quotes and orderly bullet points. This kind of journal feels oppre

How to keep a writer’s notebook A method for the unruly Katherine May Aug 25, 2023 2,096 43 378 Share Subscribe Hello, Yesterday, when I sat down at my desk, I couldn’t find my notebook. The panic that brought: without it, a part of my brain was missing. It wasn’t that I wanted to find information in it - instead, I wanted to write in it. A stray piece of paper wouldn’t do. I needed, in that moment, to add to that particular collection of words, to find the relief of disclosure. The notebook was easily found, packed accidentally into a bag with other things. But it made me think about the long

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