If you’re a writer, it’s inevitable that you have little sparks of inspiration written down and tucked away in various places. A Google Doc where you dump story ideas. A character idea that you wrote on a napkin. A Post-it where you documented a conversation you overheard.

Today’s post is about having a place to store all those sparks.

What is a writer’s notebook?

This is a place to keep all those random bits of writing and inspiration. It could be a digital notebook, a literal notebook, a three-ring binder, an expandable folder, or something else. In Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott talks about keeping index cards with her at all times and jotting down ideas or quotes on those.

My physical writer’s notebook is actually two things: a 3-ring binder plus a reading journal. But since I almost always have my phone with me, I also have a note in Google Keep titled “Writer’s Notebook.” I use this for capturing thoughts that I transfer to my notebook later. (More on my system in a bit.)

One piece of the puzzle that I’m still missing is a digital “notebook” that I like. A way to hang onto online articles that spark ideas or images that I find compelling. (Ideas welcome! Drop them in the comments!)

What’s the point? Why bother with keeping a writer’s notebook?

In the past, here is the incorrect way that I have mentally filed my writing: If it is part of a bigger work (a novel, a blog post) then it’s important and worth saving. If it’s small and doesn’t (yet) fit into something larger, it’s unimportant.

But I’m learning that’s a poor way to manage my inspiration. That I need a place to capture little bits, even when I don’t know how they fit into something bigger. Like when my friend said she painted her house a color called “steamed milk.” I liked that color description, and I knew at some point in my future, I would be looking for a way to describe something white. In the past, I would’ve let that spark float away, but not now. Now I write it down.

Here’s the other great side-effect of keeping a writer’s notebook: it has the power to wake you up to details in your life. Would I have noticed my friend’s word choices if I didn’t have a practice of writing down descriptive phrases that I like? Maybe, but I’ve found that just having the dedicated place keeps me more motivated to observe and collect.

Keeping a notebook like this doesn’t come naturally to me. I’ve tried several systems over the years, starting with the index card method of Anne Lamott’s because Bird by Bird was the first writing book I ever read. I always start my new system with enthusiasm, then totally forget about it. Months later, I stumble across the binder/folder/note cards and think, “Oh, yeah! I forgot about this…”

But for the last few months, I’ve taken a more active approach to keeping a writer’s notebook, and it’s because I’m seeing the pay off in my writing. Like a few days ago, when I needed to describe the color of thick, expensive paper, and almost immediately thought “steamed milk.”

How to make a writer’s notebook work for you:

The first thing to figure out is what kind of collections you have. Is it snippets from books you’re reading and really like? Clever bits of dialogue? Notes on future characters? Free-writing? All of the above? When you know what you want to collect, it makes it easier to figure out how to do so.

If you already have a pile of random notes, you can start by sorting those into broad categories.

If you don’t have much to work with yet, consider starting with areas of your writing where you know you want to grow. Descriptive phrases? Dialogue? Humor? Vocabulary? If so, you’ll need a place to capture descriptions you like, conversations that intrigue you, situations you find funny, and words that are new.

My writer’s notebook is a 3-ring binder. Here’s what is currently inside

• A list of what I want to actively work on to improve my writing.
• A tab for “Examples from other writers” When I read something clever in a book, I write it down in there.
• A tab for “Notes” or “Ponderings.” If I have something I’m noodling, like, “What compels a reader to turn the page?” I write my question there. As time goes on, I leave myself notes answering my questions.
• A tab called “Collections” where I keep random observations from my days. For example, my cashier at Michael’s the other day had a really cool, interesting look to her. I came home and wrote down what she was wearing and what her hair was like.
• A tab for “free writing.” Free writing is the practice of writing without pausing. Sometimes I do it to clear my head and other times to work through a problem in a manuscript. This is a place to keep that work.
• A tab for “words.” As I learn new, interesting words, I write them down in here.
• Two blank tabs: I don’t know what else I’ll want to collect, but I’m ready!

As mentioned earlier, I also have a reading journal as part of my writing notebook:

In the reading journal, I make notes that I feel will be helpful to me as a writer. What about this book did I think worked? What didn’t work? What would I have done differently?

Secondly, start small. If you can, start your writer’s notebook with supplies you already have so you can figure out what will work and what won’t without spending much money. If I hadn’t already owned a reading journal, then I would’ve just made a section in my binder for unfiltered book reviews.

Lastly, actively look for content for your notebook. If you’re actively adding to your writer’s notebook, you are much more likely to reap its benefits.

It’s great when inspiration comes to us, like when we have a new story idea or we overhear a conversation that amuses us. Write down that stuff too, of course! But actively maintaining your notebook will wake you up to far more inspiration around you.

What do I mean by “actively look for content”? I mean give yourself assignments of things to look for or think about. For example, you could decide to go for a walk with the intention of finding 3 sensory details to add to your notebook. If I were to do this assignment right now, I might come home with: my neighbor’s door is painted the color of Sunkist soda, the wind is so cold it makes my eyes water, and the bell of the Catholic church chimes with the new hour.

Here’s a list of assignment ideas to get you started:

• When you’re reading and you come across a phrase you like, add it to your notebook. (If you’re reading an amazing book and it belongs to you, consider just marking the line with a pencil and then adding them to your notebook all at once rather than continuing to stop your reading. That gets annoying quickly!)
• Take 5 minutes to free write. (Meaning write without stopping or correcting.) You can free write about real things (what you’ve done today, what you’re stressed about, what you want for your future) or story things. I sometimes use free writing to develop story ideas, and it’s fun!
• Find ten different textures in the room you’re in.
• Pick two different people and pay attention to how they put together sentences. Like, your nine-year-old sister and your six-year-old brother. Your mom and your dad. Your teenage cousin and your grandmother.
• Go to your closet and write down the different patterns, textures, and colors you have in there.
• Think of the last book you deeply enjoyed reading. Write the basics of the plot in a bulleted list. If I chose The Hunger Games, I might write, “Katniss’s sister gets chosen in the reaping, but Katniss takes her place. Katniss and Peeta travel to the Capital. They train with the other tributes. They enter the games.” Then try looking at the list and twisting it into your own story using “what if?” questions or looking for opposites. To be clear: I’m not talking about writing a book called The Starvation Match about Patniss and Keeta. I mean look at what happens in that story beat and say, “What kind of home would my character live in? Why would they choose to leave? When they leave, what does that look like? How do they travel? What do they need to learn in this new world? What if in my book, the government is actually benevolent and good? What if my main character is actually the “Prim” of the story? The sister who got selected, but then someone else decided to sacrifice for her. What would that story look like?” We’re not trying to cleverly plagiarize. The point of this is to pay attention to what worked in a book we loved, and play with it.
• Again, think about a book you read recently and loved and then play with the time period. How would it change if it was set in the wild west? Victorian London? 1920s New York City?

I try to intentionally add to my notebook at least once a week. Even 10-15 minutes a week can add up over time!

Do you have a writer’s notebook? If you have a way that you save things digitally, please tell me what you do! I’m trying to adjust that part of my system now.

Stephanie Morrill writes books about girls who are on an adventure to discover their unique place in the world. She is the author of several contemporary young adult series, as well as two historical young adult novels, The Lost Girl of Astor Street and Within These Lines. Within These Lines was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection, as well as a YALSA 2020 Best Fiction for Young Adults pick. Since 2010, Stephanie has been encouraging the next generation of writers at her website, GoTeenWriters.com, which has been on the Writer’s Digest Best Websites for Writers list since 2017. She lives in the Kansas City area, where she loves plotting big and small adventures to enjoy with her husband and three children. You can connect with Stephanie and learn more about her books at StephanieMorrill.com, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.