Angela Booth's Writing Blog

Writing On Paper: I Feel Better Now

I love gadgets. This means that I own computers, an iPhone, iPad etc -- but I also have a serious stationery fetish. Not to mention a fountain pen collection. And Moleskines...

Here's why: I think better on paper than I do on the computer. Although this is fine, I kept wondering WHY I think better with a pen or pencil in my hand.

I found the answer. And I feel better now. :-)

From A Note on Paper: The Human Interface:

"Not every note I jot down has to make immediate sense. (Please suspend your thoughts about how that state lingers on until the comments.) Most note-taking software I've seen works very hard to translate the scratches I write into explicit characters or symbols. I have used certain symbols to mean particular things - for example, > to mean "make this idea into a heading," and < to mean "make this parenthetical.""

That's it. My notes don't need to make sense to me, right away.

Also, instead of copying and pasting, and calling that note-taking, I think as I write, and what I write sticks in my memory. I can go back over what I've written (with a highlighter, a red or green pen, and edit.) Later, when I get around to the "real" writing, on my computer, I've digested what I've read.

What about you? Have you eliminated pens and paper from your life? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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Guilty writing pleasures... Violette Pensee

What's your guilty writing pleasure?

I've just been browsing delicious Swisher Pens (there's a new color in Pelikans!), and realized that I'm almost out of J. Herbin's Violette Pensee fountain pen ink.

Yes, it's purple. So sue me.

I love this purple ink. It's my guilty writing pleasure.

Share your guilty writing pleasures in the comments.

Technorati Tags: fountain pens

Pens and ink: hacking your Moleskine

Moleskine writing template (click to enlarge)

It's not a secret that I'm a dedicated Moleskine fan. In many ways, using notebooks is easier than using a computer. Of course it's easier to find stuff on a computer, so I use Post-It (tm) notes and tabs to let me flick to various sections in a notebook. Here's a vital tip: number the pages, and leave several pages for an index at the front of each notebook.

Great tabbing hack

Moleskine hacks (customizations) abound online, and I love "The Moleskine Multi-Tab Hack" and have adapted it to my own use.

I currently have tabs for This Week (I move it each week), Today (moved each day), My Web Sites (to do lists for my sites), Personal (a catch-all tab for shopping lists and such) and Free Writing (what it says - I like to keep my free writing and browse the sessions when I get bored, or need ideas.)

Technorati Tags: be more productive, diary, fountain pens, GTD, Moleskine

PocketMod: Get organized with a single sheet of paper

click to enlarge

When I was browsing for a new Moleskine notebook this morning (I'm a Moleskine notebook fan) I came across this delightful DIY notebook idea.

The PocketMod is amazing. It brands itself as a "disposable organizer" made from a single sheet of paper. I use the DIYPlanner, printed out on heavy paper, so this intrigued me.

Easier done than said - a new notebook in a couple of minutes
I dragged across the pages that I wanted, folded and snipped - and wow, an excellent little notebook for my ideas. It's ideal to take on my daily walks, and to stuff underneath the elastic of my primary Moleskine which lives on my desk beside my computer.

Try the PocketMod - I give it ten stars for usefulness and another ten for cuteness.

Technorati Tags: be more productive, diary, Moleskine, DIY

Pen-mania

Love fountain pens?

Here's some gorgeous pen wallpaper to brighten your computer desktop.

Technorati Tags: fountain pens

Easy essentials: Try a paper planner for the new year

I've just bought a paper planner for 2006. I do most of my planning on paper these days. Don't get me wrong. I write for tech magazines and I love, love, love technology. I'm never happier than when I'm tinkering with my computers or trying out a new piece of software.

Unfortunately I spend a lot of time tinkering with my planning systems, too, time when I should and could be getting more writing done. As Douglas Johnston of DIY Planner says about his own habits and those of a colleague using a paper planner, you can spend a lot of time tinkering with your systems:

While I would carefully set up my list of 50-odd next actions, prioritising them, categorising them, setting alarms, and syncing between all the technology tools I had at my fingertips, Bettina would just glance at her book and get things done. This is not to say I was a slacker -- on the contrary, I did manage to plough through an extraordinary amount of work and training-- but a certain needless percentage of my time was spent tweaking my productivity system and trying to make it all work smoothly as a whole, mostly after-hours.

I still use MS Outlook, Tinderbox, and OmniOutliner, not to mention BackPack, and couldn't stay organized without them, but paper helps me to organize myself, the tech tools organize my tasks.

Technorati Tags: Planning

DIY Planner: a must-visit site for writers

You're writing, writing, writing... and before you know it you've got hundreds of pages and dozens of files and you're completely exhausted. You need to get organized.

I'm convinced that a lot of writers' procrastination is nothing more than a lack of organizational skills.

If you spend five minutes at DIY Planner you'll collect at least a couple of ideas you can incorporate into your own processes. Of course, you'll never develop a perfect system, but you will be empowered.

I love the Writer's Hipster.

Technorati Tags: Motivation

The problem with PDAs: putting stuff in, getting rid of old stuff

I love my Palm PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). I'm (almost) ashamed to admit that lately I've only used it to play games while I'm taking a breather between writing tasks.

 

I'm using paper notebooks, and index cards as my primary writing PDA again. I'm a big fan of the Hipster PDA, otherwise known as index cards.

  

When I've finished with a card, I recycle it. Rip and it's gone.

 

Yes, the PDA is useful. However, it's not a tabula rasa. If I open it to jot down a note, I'm distracted by all the other notes I've written in the past day and week. And, by the time I'm into the swing of Graffiti again, I've forgotten some of the brilliant idea I just had.

 

OTOH, with an index card, I scrawl a quick note and prop it on my desk --- I'm not distracted by other cards, and I can add to the card whenever I happen to glance at it.

 

Works for me.

 

Mess it up and write

I've got a weakness for nice notebooks. You know the kind. They're hard-backed, with artistic covers, and smooth ultra-white or ivory pages.

  

The problem is, used to I love these notebooks so much that I hesitated to use them. I "saved" them. They disappeared onto high shelves and into deep drawers. When they've been stored somewhere for a few years, they're no longer special. When I rediscover them, the pages have dried out, and the spines have cracked.

 

So now, before I buy a notebook, I decide exactly what I’ll use it for. Then, as soon as I get it home, I write in it, quickly. I write across the pages, make tiny sketches, and make a list or two. I deliberately mess up the notebook, so that it's mine.

 

You can use the same technique to mess up a writing project so that it's yours. If you've been procrastinating on a project because it feels "special" to you, mess it up. Start. Write anything. Write lists for several pages. Write about what you're going to write. Just write.

 

The next day, have another go at messing up your project. Before too long, it no longer feels so special, and you're no longer intimidated by it.

 

Your handwriting is you: change it, and you change

I've been practising changing my handwriting since last Christmas. Weird as the concept sounds, changing your handwriting to change your life does work.

  

So what's changed for me since Christmas? The first thing I did was change the reversed lower loop on my "f"s. This little habit is called a self-sabotage stroke – and changing it works. I can see that I've had a habit of self-sabotage, and just changing this one little stroke has made an immense change in my outlook.

 

Self-sabotage handwriting strokes indicate the fear of success:

  

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People that have this trait have a pattern of getting close to success and NOT crossing the finish line. Imagine getting close to a promotion, getting close to a raise, getting near the wedding date, but something always goes wrong. They may blame others, but in reality it is a form of self-sabotage. Close, but no cigar.

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Changing your handwriting is not easy, but it's fun. It's meditative to practise, but it takes time to see the results in your everyday writing. However, after almost three months I rarely reverse the lower loops on my fs. Do I still sabotage myself? Time will tell, but I can see and admit to the habit, which is huge progress.

 

Waterman Phileas reigns supreme

My Waterman Phileas slipped out of my hand and speared into the carpet on my office floor yesterday afternoon. Oh, the horror. When I picked it up, the nib's prongs had lifted out of alignment by at least a couple of millimetres.

 

My favourite turquoise pen with a medium nib… I stared at it for a while, then pressed the prongs back into shape on a piece of paper.

 

Guess what? It writes. Of course it doesn’t write the perfect way it wrote before, but it still writes. Magic.

 

On my next order to Pendemonium, I'll be ordering another of these little treasures. :-)

 

Clean your fountain pens regularly

If you love writing – and writing with a stylish fountain pen most of all -- remember to keep your pens clean.

 

If you feel that your pen isn't writing as smoothly as it once did, wash it out:

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Just as your car needs its oil changed, your fountain pen needs internal cleaning. A once a month flushing will save you a trip to the nib specialist. After flushing the ink out of the pen with water, we recommend flushing with 1 part household ammonia and 2 parts water. Fill and empty the pen three or four times to dissolve the solids accumulation.

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I've never added ammonia, I just flush my piston-filler pens with water, and soak the cartridge-converters for an hour or so in plain water.

 

Clean, clean, clean! If you've been slack over this, don't feel bad. For years, I didn’t even know that you were supposed to flush pens out, and a old Parker… well, I won't go into the gory details, but suffice to say that ever since then I've been the Queen of Clean Fountain Pens. :-)

 

You're a writer: but how's your handwriting?

I got tired of my chicken scratchings, and made 2005 the year I improve my handwriting. I've been practising for 25 minutes a day since Christmas 2004, and am starting to see the benefits.

  

Not only can I now READ my handwriting, but my handwriting is also rather elegant.

 

But does penmanship still matter?

 

Yes, because hand-writing is really brain-writing. Practising your handwriting skills helps you to become more creative.

 

Make the most of your Hipster PDA

Forget your palmtop. It's back to simplicity. What could be more simple than a clutch of index cards and a bulldog clip?

 

I've been resisting writing about 43 Folder's Hipster PDA trick because I thought everyone carried around index cards anyway, and so what.

 

Well, it appears that everyone doesn’t carry them around, or have them stashed in books and on every flat surface. The index cards trick got coverage in The Bulletin. Go figure.

  

If you're an index-card-newbie:

 

* index cards are ideal organisers for writing projects. When you start a new project, start a card collection. Put ONE thought/ scene/ quote/ idea on a card: this makes the cards easy to organise so you can structure paragraphs, scenes, chapters, books, etc.

 

* zip-lock baggies are handy for card collections. For longterm projects, I zip the baggies closed and toss the baggies into a box with the project's name on it.

 

* keep the cards. Years later, you can go through your card collections to get fresh ideas.

 

* slip cards into the books you're reading so you don’t have to hunt for a card to make notes. (Remove cards from library books before you return the books.)

 

* write must-do reminders on cards. Scrunch up a card and slip it into your pocket, or into your purse. It's bulky, you'll notice the bulk and remember.

 

* to keep important cards, scan cards into Microsoft OneNote. Use OneNote's Insert/ Picture/ From Scanner or Camera menu item. I cluster (mind map) and doodle on cards, and often scan them. You can just scan a card, of course, and save the image file on your computer.

 

Writing is thinking: switch to a pen and paper and use both sides of your brain

Writing is not typing. It's thinking, and preferably thinking using both sides of your brain, both the verbal, logical left, and the creative, intuitive right brain. The two halves of your brain are so different that you're basically two completely different people.

 

In Writing the Natural Way (a must-read, if you care about your writing skills), Gabriele Rico calls the two halves of your brain your Sign and Design minds.

  

I've been going back to using a pen and notebook as a FIRST choice before I write. This is because in a blank, unlined notebook, I can create a cluster and vignette (see Rico), and use the cluster as a springboard for a first draft. I do use Inspiration and Mind Manager, which are mind mapping applications, but I've found that nothing replaces a hand-drawn cluster. Why? I have no idea. :-) It works for me, so I don’t care to question the results. I find that if I'm using a pen and paper, I get deeper associations, than I do using a computer program.

 

For me, Inspiration and Mind Manager work more as structuring tools, than as left and right brain thinking tools. You may get different results. :-)

 

Try using a pen and paper. Jack Vinson's useful item "Thinking while note taking" says:

 

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Writing, on the other hand, allows me to make more jumps and smash thoughts together even when they are not discussed in the same sentence.  You might talk about X-Y-Z-A-B-C-Y, and I can lump the Y's together by simply smashing some text into the margin.  Or I can draw lines and arrows and conceptually group things with circles and squares.

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There seems to be a movement back to using pen and paper (yes, I'm a fountain pen nut). My feeling is that many of us are discovering that we need both halves of our brain, and pen and paper gives us best access to the right brain.