Although I have a tendency to pick up moleskin notebooks and other small journals--I swear, they are on every shelf in my house--I never seem to use them for keeping story notes. Although I haven't bought one in a long time, every time I see these little notebooks stacked neatly in the bookstore, just waiting to be filled with flashes of inspiration, I have to turn away like an alcoholic being offered a turn-of-the-century scotch. (Or wine, whatever you fancy.)
It's like a weird fetish I have: the texture of the paper, running my fingers down the spine of the notebook...you get the idea. I do have one that I bought a few years ago. I made a point of using it and actually filled quite a few pages. I took it to a reading by Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials and a slew of other great books. He even signed it! I asked him for some words of inspiration when the Muse is in one of her moods and is not visiting. This is what he wrote:
"When those moments come, remember that it is our job to write just as well and just as regularly when we're not inspired as when we are."
So how do I keep notes for story ideas without a notebook? I created a private blog and, since I'm at my Mac what seems like eighteen hours a day, it's easy to go over and post the idea, no matter how insignificant it may seem. We all know a seed can bloom into a great idea. If I'm away from the Mac I send a text to myself.So how about you? Where do you scribble your ideas?
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