I enjoyed this article, which makes some great observations about writing in notebooks vs. on a computer, or even a typewriter:
Everything I’ve ever written was composed in notebooks first. I have hundreds of them filled with my scribbles tucked away in boxes. I also buy them obsessively, so I probably have just as many empty notebooks lying around the house ready and waiting to be filled. I find that writing longhand I can enter a zone of comfort I find hard to achieve when sitting in front of a screen – I find typing annoying, if I’m honest, not the mechanics of it, but the sound. The constant tap-tap-tap-tap on the keyboard reminds me of all the offices I’ve worked in. The sound bores into me, it fills me with an anxiety I could do without. I feel like I’m signing off invoices rather than writing my next novel. Writing longhand is a whole different feeling. For a start, I can take my notepads and pens everywhere I go; which means I can write anywhere I want, when I want. This is good for me as my writing comes to me in fits rather than prolonged spells. Only when my work is finished in longhand do I transfer it to a computer, editing as I type up. I find this part of my writing process the least enjoyable.
Read more at Why creative writing is better with a pen | Books | guardian.co.uk.
I’ve only just seen this article in The Guardian- I would certainly have responded positively to it – my blog is all taken from my notebooks. I also have a page explaining why I feel this.
Drop in and have a read.
http://rowlandjones.wordpress.com/what-is-ram/
Happy writing!
Even though I own an iPad and a netbook, I always keep a notebook with me; there’s just something about a blank page and a fresh pen that inspires me to write and scribble down anything that pops into my noggin!
I carry a notebook everywhere, and it feels like an organic extension of myself. I use notebooks that I physically make them, especially those I current use, with high quality but beautiful thin paper which takes ink well. I make the notebooks in standard bookbinding style, folded paper sewed into sections and cased-in using limp boards.
My writing is greatly improved when I use those books, and my enjoyment is enhanced!