sir_writealot

Here's a hot tip:

Always carry a notebook. Write that notebook up on your computer as soon as you can. If you don't carry a note taking device of some sort, your life is not in writer mode. Not only is this the only way to be sure that you remember all your great ideas, but the act of writing down that good idea may well inspire you to write down something else that’s just as good or better. You don’t want to miss that opportunity. The same opportunity arises when you copy notes you've forgotten onto your computer.


My personal test for buying a notebook is that it must fit in the back pocket of my jeans. Three key points to remember about notebooks:
(1) you don't want your notebook to look so lovely and expensive that you feel bad about writing down anything less than great stuff. This is not the point of notebooks! I deliberately buy cheap and nasty notebooks so that any old scribble feels that it meets the standard the notebook appears to demand.

(2) you should be able to carry your notebook with you always, so size/weight/cover material are factors. Bear notebooks in mind when you shop for clothes (less important for women with handbags).
(3) don't be shy. Yes, people may get annoyed that you pull out a notebook and start scribbling. If you're among friends or family, they should understand. If you're out in public, your work is simply more important than what strangers might think of you. If you want to be discreet (you don't want to look rude because you're on a date, at a wedding, or whatever), then, like the coke fiends of the eighties, you can always do a couple of lines in the bathroom.
(4) keep your notebook in easy reach of your bed. If you're lucky enough not to be sleeping alone, use a torch (flashlight) instead of a lamp or you soon will be!

Anyone got some more to say about notebooks?

Mike C

Wow, why has nobody else ever thought of that? Or started a thread to say that?

You managed to waste 8 paragraphs saying it, too. Well done.

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strangedaze

Cold, Mike. Cold. But then, I guess you needed to be, since the tip was so volcanic.

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Mike C

Personally, when I join a forum, I hit the 'Introduce Yourself' thread, say my hello's, then look around, see what's what, maybe contribute here and there...

It's an act of supreme ignorance coupled with unforgivable stupidity to bypass all that and introduce yourself by posting the bleeding obvious.

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Malone

Erm...

rumpole40k

O.K. Mike .... that was a bit like using a AK - 47 to deal with a bumble bee.

Sir I really like the coke fiend comparison - done it many times.

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"Doing? You're doing what ANY sane man in your appalling circumstances would do. You're going mad." - The Killing Joke.

*Angel

haha poor sir-writealot,


welcome to the happy community, don't be intimidated and try heading over to the intro section

JHB

The poor guy's probably never coming back now...

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murder_of_crows

not to piss anyone off but i have a fly pen for one the road ideas everything i write i can transfer right to my comp

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ClancyBoy

Know what I write on? A desk. How many times have you tried to write with the paper on your hand or leg, or on the grass and poked right through it?

When you write on a desk things like that don't happen. I can't emphasize this enough, people. DESK.

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*Angel

try stone or bark,

much more sturdy

Mike C

What's a fly pen? I'm imagining something really, really tiny that winged insects can slip in their top pockets, but I could be wrong.

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JP Wagner

lol no i think that was more than using an ak-47 on a bumblebee, i think it was more like a nuke on a beaver dam.

here's another tip tho.....when u write....use words. ^.^

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The Backward OX

Any consciousness experts out there anywhere?

Quite a few people here and on other sites have commended keeping a notebook for the jotting of random ideas as they occur in the course of one’s day; ideas that may later be enlarged, changed, fleshed out, and so on, as a basis for more detailed scribbling.

It made sense. If everyone else was doing it, it had to work.

Six months or more back, I purchased a notebook . . .

Licked my pencil . . .

By now I should have filled it. Let’s go see.

All I’ve jotted in this time are two entries:

• “Lesser breeds without the law”
• Wotan’s Revenge

Neither of which would seem to be original thought, nor at this point in time have any meaning for me whatsoever.

The notion of jotting down thoughts, ideas, etc, hinges on having those thoughts and ideas in the first place.

I dunno what I’m doing that’s different.

I don’t yet have Alzheimer’s – at least I don’t think I do - but thoughts, ideas, etc, either aren’t there or if they are they don’t impact on my consciousness sufficiently for them to be transferred to my notebook.

What’m I doing wrong?

Contrary to what you may think, this is a serious question.

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dwellerofthedeep

I've given up keeping a notebook in favor of a dozen other notebooks and hundreds of notecards over time. Maybe the notebook you're using is too awkward to work with space allowed. However, if the problem is as it appears to be (Mental rather than physical or logistical) then I'd suggest you should try spending some time with just your notebook as if it was your sole diversion. If you've already tried that or don't have time for it then I am sorry. You might also consider trying to do specific exercises in your notebook. Write lists of interesting sounding words (Which can be garnered from the internet if necessary) and then try to use them in sentences or even scenes. Write about personal stuff in there. Sometimes thoughts come, sometimes they need encouragement.

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