In this modern age the computer have since long killed the typewriter, and handwriting only drags along in the form of scribbled notes and shopping lists. Analog writing is dead, digital is King, right?
Wrong!
I’ve since long been a notebook freak, as in paper notebook, not small laptop. At times I had a notebook for each project, which isn’t something I employ right now since it added clutter. I’ll be talking more about clutter later on, by the way.
A more focused use of notebooks is great. I utilize them like this:
- Always in my pocket, no idea is wasted this way.
- By my bedside, weird dreams can start off great fiction sometimes.
- On my desk, for quick notes that would get lost on my computer.
- For storyboards and storylines.
When not sitting by my computer, I tend to think a bit differently. That’s one of the reasons why I have a couch in my office (the other being that playing videogames without somewhere nice to sit, well, plain sucks). When I need to mull something over, I tend to leave my workspace and sit in the couch, let my mind wander a bit, and then tackle the problem at hand. That works especially well when I’m writing, fiction foremost, but also longer articles and blog posts.
Putting down plans, notes, ideas, and hunches in a notebook can be a great way to help organize your mind, as well as sharpen it. We tend to remember things jotted down by hand better than words hammered on a keyboard.
I actually take my analog writing a few steps further than this, but that’s for another day. Give the notebook a shot, and tell me how you use it!
There’s a lot to be said for note pads and to-do lists, which I have laying around the office and my desk at home.
Things that go on my to-do list are the stuff that’s likely to be added to my very own time management software, which is all part of my analog-to-digital workflow…
Moleskine books are everything one could ask for. They don’t fall apart; they have an elastic binder to keep the pages together; they have tough board covers; they accept non-digital media (pen, pencil) and they allow a free flow of ideas, unhampered by the technical requirements of even the most straightforward of notewriters.
Great point. I didn’t think about this but I do sometimes write better by hand. – Eric Monse
I’m totally hooked on Moleskine myself, as you will see in an upcoming post.
If, and only if, my real intention was to publish my notes to the web and I wanted the notes to look like ‘notes’, then Notebook from http://www.circusponies.com/ has a publish-to-web facility, and the published notes look like the notes you make.
I use super sticky 4″x 4″ Post-It notes .. and stick’em to my wall around my phone (which is attached to the wall) ..
That’s a cool app, David!
Aww, clutter Hart, clutter!
You have made some nice arguments. As far as the tangibility of paper is concerned, I agree. But there are certain issues I would like to raise:
* Not all paper is made out of sugarcane or bamboo pulp. Paper costs trees and going paperless means you are saving trees.
* What happens to notebooks, say after 3 years? On an average if you you take notes everyday and as per your suggestions for every valuable thought, the volume of information in a single month or say a year would be huge. Archiving these is certainly not easy.
* Searching? If you have journals kept on a laptop, you can search with ease. It’s not only important to put down the correct information but also to retrieve it when required. A computer takes care of indexing and arranging your thoughts and information in a better way.
* As far as muscle-memory is concerned, it not just for hand written stuff. The reason why you can type without looking at the keyboard is because it goes into your muscle memory as well. Also there is no scientific data that says that hand-written stuff is better remembered than typed stuff. And how is remembering involved? Isn’t it the reason you take down notes!! So that if you forget things later you can just take a look in your diary!
That’s my view and may not the the view everyone should have. I also occasionally write (with a fountain pen) but am careful with what I put down on paper because paper is precious.
I keep a legal pad in my backpack, another on my desk and I also use a telephone memo book. It’s a spiral bound thing with an area for calls. I use it to jot down the details from voicemails (why don’t they just e-mail???) or questions that a live caller may have. I started doing this when I needed better ways to document my time–I needed to show the bosses how much of my day was really spent answering questions. But now it’s surprising how often I refer back to it.
I also use paper to sketch out general Web layouts (boxes) so I can plan out my CSS.
For simple stuff like that it’s quicker than using a drawing program, and I can always write on the back of old memos to save paper.
Those are great points, Utpal. I most certainly agree with you that there are advantages in keeping notes stored digitally. Searching is the most primary one, I must say, and that is a problem. Still, you can partly solve it by doing indexes – I’ll do a post on how I solve this further along the line. It’s not ideal though, so that’s most definitely a point, as is the environmental aspects.
Muscle-memory is interesting as well. You have a point, but I still find that I remember notes made by hand better than I do the ones typed on my keyboard. It might be somewhat illogical, and maybe it’s just me, but it does work out for me. And yeah, the purpose of taking notes is to not have to remember it – that I actually do that is a bonus and nothing else. It would be interested to hear from other on the muscle-memory aspects though. Do you remember things typed on a keyboard as well as you do things typed by hand?
Heidi, I used to do all my web designs on paper first, but nowadays I end up just sketching and then firing up Photoshop.
The forum (internet) Has an effect on anything written on it. It used to be that you got a book somehow, and went to a private place and read it with a certain excitement. You were alone
and private. The internet is too public for that. Even if no one else knows you’re reading a certain thing, The fact that it’s a public forum detracts from that private feeling. And there is a mood over everything due to the stupid things that you have read on “the web”. Reading and writing on the internet is not the same as on other forums. I don’t like it. —Doug Rosbury
TDH – holding on to your word there.
I would like ot know how we can organize the ideas we put into a notebook.
I forgot about this post! Thank you subscribe to comments thing.
I would also like to know, TDH, so whenever you’re ready…
I will, probably before the holidays.
Writing down notes and loose ideas is easiest when things are quiet. Especially when not being interrupted by others. There are different niches for writing. Some writers claim that paper is for dinosaurs. Others claim that it make you look snotty, or downright snobby or even an arrogant ass.
I generally don’t listen to what other people may say and think. A writer has to develop a thick skin. In truth writing notes by hand can be handy at times. For me, good selection of tunes, and a fresh note book with pen on hand to write.
Storing blogs and entries on computers or notebook PCs is easy. But is tricky when looking for what you wrote. Visually indexing them on a computer is tricky. A notebook pc might be handy, but it will go into five second delay mode when more than one application is open. Even though, the laptop is juiced up to its maximum memory. And not to mention typing during thunderstorms, can be very dangerous for your notebook. If you write on your notebook, during a violent thunderstorm, you risk losing precious data and precious writings.
Scribbling away is ideal, so best of both worlds. Typesetting all of thy writing, and start typing away. I remember having to write scribble away with a small flash light in mouth when the power goes out. Its slow, but it kept me occupied.
Personally I like writers finding their own niches, without being directed by other people. Which all cases can ruin the flow and the original vision of the creator of that story. You got to start from somewhere, fumbling one’s way through writing.
I never post any of my writings in writers group anymore. Since my writings were defiled by the so called ass of a moderator. basically she ruined the flow of my story making me sound like angry lesbian, even though I’m a guy. i don’t care who the moderator is, no one else is supposed to touch the writing except for the original author.
Tweaking another writer’s story is an insult to him/her. It happened quite a lot to me, many times before, hence I lose sum of my stories. Fortunately for me the rest remained and still locked away in my lil noggin. But being somewhat naive and stupid.
Anyways having a two gigabyte jump drive aka USB memory key, or which ever you call it, makes all a difference. It’s ample and would sufficiently store all of your digital notes. A four gigabyte USB flash key aka USB memory key is pushing it. If you intend of going blind in writing, at least all of the notes will be there.
There’s nothing wrong in using technology in aiding a writer. I simply prefer the old way better.
[...] My Moleskine notebook, packed with ideas and great for quick notes, and my Moleskine calendar, since I’ve opted out of keeping track of dates and todo lists digitally. [...]
[...] am a fan of using pen and paper, it is nice to see others post along the same lines. In The Power of Analog Writing is this part which I agree on: Putting down plans, notes, ideas, and hunches in a notebook can be a [...]