On the Fourth Day ‘til Book Release my True Love Sent to Me…
…Four Filled-up Notebooks.
I imagine anyone who likes writing also likes notebooks. I do.
I still have my very first notebook, which I received from my Granny when I was about seven. I was given an ink pen that Christmas too, and I remember being very excited about using it in my new notebook. I remember opening the book and seeing the blank pages. What should I write? I thought about it for a long time because I didn’t want to make any mistakes. Finally I wrote the two words which launched my writer’s journey:
Chapter One
There – now I was a writer!
These days I use four notebooks:
1. Writing my plots. The pages are filled with long paragraphs which are often impossible to decipher, but are very useful when I want to get my eyes off a screen. It’s fairly full with ideas for It’s Raining in Moscow and I Forgot my Umbrella but now I’m squeezing in some ideas for my second book.
2. Notes on marketing. I have to thank my children for their patience and expertise. They have gently guided me (no, they have shoved me headfirst) into the world of Social Media. I have never used Facebook or Instagram before and I had only ever read two blogs, so this whole ‘get yourself out there’ is very daunting and time-consuming for me. I have watched endless webinars on the subject and I take notes in my yellow notebook (subconsciously choosing the colour of cowards?)
3. My third notebook has exercises. I collect them for when I'm taking a break from writing, and I have stickers sticking out at the top to allow quick access to legs, abs, arms and balance. When I see or hear about a new exercise I like, it goes into my notes. Maybe I’ll write a book about it one day!
4. My little black notebook is the one I take with me wherever I go. If I see an interesting incident or hear an amusing conversation I write it down. The train is a great place for this, especially when people are talking loudly into their phones and you can only hear one half of the conversation:
“…no it was definitely on the ground floor…I know it was the ground floor…because I remember walking up them stairs to get to it!”
And I also collect names. The best one in my collection is Ursula Nettleship. It’s a real person! (sorry Ursula if you’re reading this).
So those are my four notebooks. I’d love to hear if anyone else has a collection and what they are used for.
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It’s Raining in Moscow and I Forgot my Umbrella will be released on Amazon on
16th November 2020
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