how professional writers use notebooks

how professional writers use notebooks

The Importance of Notebooks for Professional Writers

1. Benefits of Using Notebooks for Professional Writers

Notebooking is an extraordinarily dynamic way to keep track of and increase production. It is a way that works for the active person, the person who wants to know where they are at any time and where they may be going. Unfortunately, we’re living in a different time than about 10 years ago, when people planned to go outside of the house, and it is tough to find someone not writing on a computer. Writing on a computer is easy and efficient, but it is static and uninspiring because the computer makes everything look presentable. The writer is less likely to want to edit anything, because it is too much work to cross things out or make big changes, and the text appears finished long before it is. Static text is uninteresting though, and the first draft is never perfect. Writing is always an evolutionary process, and notebooks provide the perfect medium for that because they are a tool for both brainstorming and wayfaring. Through brainstorming and wayfaring, the writer’s thoughts are externalized, and he/she can clearly see where the thoughts are going. This allows the writer to maintain focus and direction, which is something that’s easily lost on a word processor due to the ease of making any sort of large changes. With notebooks, there is no confusion about what has been written and what needs to be written because the order is always clear. Besides the extra clarity and focus, the act of writing is a creative act, and the feeling of handwriting with a pen is a feeling that can never be replicated with the sterile feeling of typing. This acts as a catalyst for inspiration and productivity, and no act of writing is more creative than the act of editing. Handwritten text is an unobtrusive and natural way to edit because there are no distractions with changing fonts, sizes, or colors and there is no temptation to make any formatting changes. The writer can simply read and see where changes need to be made, and handwritten notes have always been the best way to give feedback.

2. Organizing Ideas and Thoughts

The general advice for organizing your ideas is to write things up and sort through them. This method of organizing ideas is more quantitative in nature and forces you to put thoughts into written word, but it also favors a certain kind of organization where linear progress through your thoughts is the main focus. This is a more tree-like method of organization starting with a base idea and progressing through related thoughts with each main branch being a separate idea. This method of organization has its own strengths in that it is easy to follow the thought process at later dates even if you have forgotten the finer details and it may eventually lead to a polished linear article. However, this method does not accommodate thoughts that are not directly related to the current topic and may force the idea of a potential tangent out of your consciousness if it does not fit into the current structure. In the worst-case scenario, a lost tangent of thought may become entirely disassociated from the current line of thought and be forgotten. This method also does not accommodate well ideas which are still in early stages of development and require much refinement. If each main node of the article is already a fully developed idea, then to change an older idea because of a new one requires much backtracking and editing of the existing structure.

3. Capturing Inspiration and Creative Sparks

The complex information that the professional writer deals with can exist in many forms, some of it conscious, much of it unconscious, and it often emerges when least expected. Sudden clarities can be quickly lost unless captured in some form and traditional note-taking often does not lend itself to the rapid capturing of these inspirations. In managed work environments, such as offices, classrooms, and libraries, paper notebooks are often not the most convenient tool at the time of the inspiration and other methods may be used. The writer may make a quick note on a pad, a scrap of paper, or directly onto a computer. But there are problems with these methods. The physical action of logging into a file on the computer and finding the appropriate application is often too slow to capture the sudden ideas. Handwritten notes can quickly become lost or scattered and although the computer has an advantage in word processing potential, the files can be forgotten or take too long to access.

4. Improving Writing Skills and Techniques

Now, if you forget a particular thing, you need not run around books searching for it. You can find it easily in your own notebook. Writing about other things from a book also requires referencing to the material you are writing about. You will be able to keep a good track of your references, and eventually, it will simplify your referencing work.

Since the notebook is a private place, you will be able to write freely without anticipating a worry that or not your writings make sense. Try making pointers on various writing techniques and stick them in your notebook. When you read something worthwhile that is related to some writing technique or style, write it in your notebook. Writing that thing in your own words will make sure you have understood the thing and can use the technique well. This way, your notebook will be a good compilation of various writing techniques.

This is where the writer’s notebook is of great use. Writing regularly in your notebook, looking for newer and better ways to express yourself, will help you develop a unique style. You could try various techniques at writing the same thing. For example, use different tones of language in a humor passage. You will be able to compare and see which one is better.

Writing on a daily basis is one of the best ways to improve your writing skills and to develop a unique writing style. Regular writing not only makes you familiar with your style but also develops your thoughts and ideas. But the problem is what to write and what is the guarantee that whatever you write will make sense.

The one thing that distinguishes professional writers from others is the sharpness and technique of their writing. It is the quality of their writing that sets them apart. The better the quality, the more they are demanded and paid. Each and every writer wants to improve his/her writing skills and techniques, but many are at a loss as to how this can be done.

4. Improving Writing Skills and Techniques

5. Enhancing Productivity and Efficiency

Having a clear plan or outline for what they wish to achieve can be a helpful remedy for such a situation, and using a notebook to draw up these plans can be an even more effective strategy. The mere act of physically writing out the details of a writing task helps to fix the specifics of that task in the writer’s mind. If concentration proves to be an elusive thing when it comes time to write, the writer can easily refer back to the outline to regain his sense of purpose. Any moments of hesitation or indecision during the writing process can be answered by consulting the plan, making the writing task that much easier.

Creating and maintaining a writing schedule can be a trying task. Between work, family, and other obligations to contend with, finding time to write is often at a premium. Because of this, when the time comes to sit and write, many writers are unable to attain the level of concentration necessary to be productive. They squander away their valuable writing time trying to recall just what it was they were aiming to accomplish.

It is hard to argue with the notion that a professional writer’s prime objective is to produce high-quality, publishable work in a consistent and timely manner. The practice of writing and revising requires a great deal of time and energy, and the skilled writer is always looking for methods to streamline the task. Notebooks can help increase efficiency at every stage of the writing process.