I work with computers all day, do the largest part of my editing work in Word and generally spend a lot of time in front of a glowing screen. Beneath it all, though, I have a deep, abiding love for blank books of just about any variety. Whether it’s an old spiral notebook like I wrote on frequently in junior-high and high-school or the unlined sketchbooks I moved to later on, there’s just something magical about the feeling of paper spread out in front of you and a pen in your hand.
With the recent world and character development work I’ve been doing on my novel, I’ve had the chance to revert back to the world of paper and ink. Some good friends gave me a couple thin notebooks a couple birthdays back, which I’ve been hoarding ever since. I decided that this was finally the time to bust one out. I’m using it as a scratch-pad for details about the world–how it works, history, odd tidbits that I don’t want to forget about. I’m thoroughly enjoying it.
Soon enough, it’ll be back to the word processor and printouts, but for now I’ll luxuriate in using the notebook.
