I believe Ernest Hemingway said it best in A Moveable Feast: “I belong to this notebook and this pencil.” Okay, so we don’t all use the real paper kind of notebook anymore and many of us probably don’t even own a pencil, but the value of a notebook (be it hard or soft copy) is immeasurable when it comes to being a writer. Why? Quite simply, because we never know when the mood will strike us.

Do you keep a notebook? Is it with you at all times? Do you journal in your notebook? Write interesting thoughts or quotations in the notebook?

One particularly valuable lesson I learned long ago was to sit in public (not that we really should or can do this anymore, at least not without taking social distancing protocols into play) and listen to others talk to one another and write down what you hear. It’s an excellent tool to make dialogue really speak the language of the times, or, more poignantly, of the age group. Without a notebook handy, it’s rather difficult to jot down random conversations amongst strangers. Worried they might catch on and give you a hard time for recording them? I wouldn’t – an audio recording device might be more invasive and cause an issue, but physically writing in a notebook is more of a novelty and they probably wouldn’t even notice. Besides, you’re not quoting them; you’re learning from them.

I find notebooks both beneficial and essential. I have one book in which I keep my daily journal, something I’ve done since I was a teenager. When I’m writing about a time or place, I find this journal useful to help me remember events, happenings, places, how we talked. I also have several notebooks of all different shapes and sizes scattered about the house so there’s something to write in when the idea strikes. I have notebooks that I carry with me when I know I’m going to be out of the house for a long period of time, like visiting the doctor or the dentist. Even though I hate sitting around waiting, I suspect my novel (no pun intended) means of filling in vacant time might be disallowed now, too, as places where sterilization is vital may well limit what is brought into the facility and what is taken away.

Leonard Bernstein wrote: “Inspiration is wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time.” In my opinion, humble as it is, that “rest of the time” can be suitably filled in a notebook (or two). Writers have long considered a notebook and a journal an essential part of the writing trade. Journaling, writing in a notebook, for many writers it’s all the same thing: writing. “I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows, disappear, my courage is reborn.” Anne Frank wrote this in her diary, one of the most distributed books in the world, translated into so many languages. Why did she find writing so comforting? “Because paper has more patience than people.” At the young age of thirteen, Anne knew so much more than many of us will ever aspire to know.

As important as it is to keep a notebook handy, it must be remembered that this is more of a jot-down-random-ideas type of book. There is no order or logic to a notebook’s creation. It’s a tool to help keep the writer’s ideas handy; to preserve them before they disappear into the oblivion of the ever-full writer’s mind. However, and this is just as important, a notebook should never be considered as an essential tool, a mandatory daily exercise. It’s not a required chore or a duty to keep a notebook as the notebook, really, keeps the writer. It’s a free-for-all exposé of random thoughts, dream, ideas, catchy phrases, overheard dialogue, descriptive thoughts, and, yes, valuable quotations (valuable to ourselves, at least). A notebook is, quite simply put, a writer’s doodle pad.

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote: “I kept always two books in my pocket, one to read, one to write in.” Some writers are adamant about the importance of a notebook. But, perhaps, it’s not as essential as some would believe. I believe it’s a useful tool and it helps pass the time in places where you have to wait (and wait and wait). Jack London insisted, “Keep a notebook. Travel with it, eat with it, sleep with it, slap into it every stray thought that flutters up into your brain.” A notebook is a personal thing, one that might be useful to you. If you consider the notebook as a fun way to pass the time, rather than a chore to be filled, you might be surprised as to how quickly you’ll fill more than one notebook. Give it a try and see if it benefits your writing. I know it has for me.