Notebooks/Journals

I just realized that keeping two notebooks/journal separate from each other helps me a lot.

So, I keep two notebooks. One is my writing notebook, where I write my poetry, novels, short stories, lyrics, etc.. The other is my actual journal/"diary" type thing. My writing notebook is composition, so I'm not tempted to rip the pages out because then the notebook would be ugly-looking. This is good because no matter how bad your writing is, you should keep every piece. Use your crappy ones as examples and categorize them as "How Not To Write". lol. That's what I do. The other notebook is spiral, where I can feel free to write my feelings, talk about my day, and rip out the pages for they are perforated and easily tear out. Composition notebooks are the best way to go when you have a tendency to rip out your work from your journal.

Just thought I'd share that for those of you who have the bad habit of throwing away your writing (no matter how horrid it seems).

Oh wow. I don't even know how many journals I have... a few of them are filled, though, so I think I've got about four active ones: one personal, one for continuous stories, one for short story/poetry, and one for planning and research. Needless to say, I always get B+N gift cards for Hannukah...

Yeah, I'd have to agree with you that multiple journals are nice

Multiple journals would help me a lot, I think. I don't throw my writing away, but I'm extremely disorganized and lose most of it. Right now I have one notebook for biology, physics, history, poems, short stories, letters, and diary entries.

xD Yeah. I can't have my writing mixed in with my school stuff. If I don't have my writing notebook on hand, I'll write it on whatever I can get my hands on, but normally it's with me where ever I go. I've got three whole journals filled up with no pages ripped out. I found one from third grade that I had filled up. It's ridiculous. I couldn't even believe I had written some of that crap. I'm so embarrassed. Needless to say, no one's ever reading THAT besides me, when I need a good laugh. xD There were two that I couldn't believe I wrote because they seemed so... mature for a third grader. It's pretty cool being able to look back on stuff like that though. I keep every journal I ever owned.

I have several different notebooks. I write my actual journal in a composition notebook, cause I like those best for journaling. And I have quite a few notebooks for story stuff, but I have a lime green Staples notebook for my writing journal, that holds plot bunnies and outlines. I do admit that sometimes writing stuff slips into my journal, but usually stuff that I remember, or something. Sometimes I've done nothing but write in a day.

And then I have my halfsized notebooks, which is really all I ever use for writing anymore. It gets about 100 words a page, with my large writing, and its easy to handle. I've been through several of them already, but I love them.

But, yes, Composition Notebooks are good for not tearing pages out. And they're so plain that you don't have to worry if you mess something up and you have to scribble things out. Or if you haven't gotten used to writing 09 in the dates and you figure out that you've been marking your journal as 08 for the first week of 09.

I have a notebook made of pressed woodpulp and a cover made of woven reeds. It was handmade in Nepal and I got it for ten dollars. There are no lines on the pages. In it, I store ideas for sentences and concepts and some poetry. It's full of scraps of paper and sticky notes with other ideas on them and it has a page in the back where I put a check mark for every time someone ticks me off (the page is full, needless to say).

I'm pretty proud of it. Makes me feel all new age-y and sophisticated.

-Kylan

Yeah, i have a few note books and such lying around in my room. And then another one that is completely filled out from doing NaNoWriMo. Then I have an online one in Google Notes, and a few random word documents I pull up from time to time.

I really wish I had a composition note book, I do tear things out and its a really bad habit.

Bah. I'm jealous of everyone that can keep organized like this. I have tons of notebooks, most of them for school, and I keep mixing them up. I can flick through a couple of pages of math equations, find an odd poem or too, maybe a doodle, and then something written for my science class. It's hectic, but I feel comfortable with that. I guess I should put labels on them, to make things easier for myself. But I already do put labels...

Anyway, I have a separate notebook for all my research. It's the only notebook where I keep things organized. Everywhere else is a complete mess. I can still work like that. Honest... My teachers and parents don't believe it, though. That's why I always get a comment where I need to work on my organization.

And on the subject of diaries, I cannot keep one. I cannot muster the energy to update one, and they all get lost. Diaries and blogs, since they need to be regularly updated, are the things I avoid at all costs. Well, reading them is good, but not making one. I'll probably foget about is in three days.

I only have one notebook that I use for the planning and idea-scribbling for my current novel. It has everything in it: character plans and details, plot sketches, words I need to remember, even doodles from my story. It's terribly messy inside but it works. ^^

Yay for notebooks. Seriously...

I have multiple notebooks/binders: my binder that is my actual journal, where I put my daily experiences and thoughts and whatnot (it's also got some random drivel short stories I've written); my red notebook that is my writing journal, with a bunch of ideas and observations. No actual writing in it, though; NaNo binder! It's still filling up as I edit stuff... ; my trusty clipboard, with a bunch of loose pieces of paper I'm writing on and later file in respective binders, folders, etc.

And last, but not least, my gray portfolio thingy. It's got all my "Mutts" in it, along with some folders with prongs that hold handwritten stories and whatnot.

Not to mention all the computer files I have on the various computers in my house and on my little data stick.

When it comes to actually writing, I prefer looseleaf, as I tend to write a lot of little idea snippets randomly, as well as idea scenes and whatnot, so if I was to stick with a notebook, it would become very confusing very fast. Believe me, I've done it. I end up wasting a bunch of notebooks because I get about halfway in and then totally get lost and give up. So yeah, looseleaf, then putting it in either a project folder or binder works much better for me.

Notebooks/binders are the best. Just owning them makes me feel more writerly.

~GryphonFledgling

My writing is everywhere. It might not make sense to anyone else, but it doesn't matter because it doesn't have to.

I actually have two writing journals, which hold excerpts, ideas, etc. I don't know why I ended up having two, though. I have one notebook for lyrics and poetry that's almost filled completely, plus the regular journal I keep more or less daily. Oh, and I have one notebook for random writing stuff, like outlines, playlists, inspiration ideas, and name meanings. Not to mention the documents on my computer and the older ones on my flash drive.

I keep all of my journals, and I have this cabinet in my dresser full of them. I never even realized that this wasn't normal someone came over, opened it up, and spent a while staring (I also find this prevents people from reading them-there's so many they wouldn't know where to start). I have to agree with Gryphon-just owning notebooks makes me feel more like a writer.