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Jo Lein's avatar

My writing coach taught me to write in blocks because you never know how ideas will be connected. Now, I write nonfiction stuff so it’s a little different style.

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Shira's avatar

I do that. If I ever have an idea but don't know how it would fit into any of my stories, I write it down and wait until I see a connection. If there isn't one, that's ok, but more often than not it fits beautifully somewhere.

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Mariella Hunt's avatar

I’ve always had writer’s notebooks that I sort of pick up and drop. I always have the idea that the pages need to be perfect. But now you’re making me want to try again!

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Shira's avatar

I struggled with that too. It'll take a lot of work, but if you can keep your perfectionism at bay long enough to make a mistake, you'll see that it's not the end of the world. The notebook is still usable. It took me forever to get to that point, but eventually I did and it's been amazing!

Good luck! I'd love hear about it if you start one!

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MJ Polk's avatar

This is Shira! I think I'll add an accountability page to my idea book😉 Happy Writing!

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Shira's avatar

I hope you find it helpful! Happy writing!

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Vimal Patel's avatar

Shira. Those november stickers would ensure, you are never the bridesmaid, and always the bride.

So, cool. Accountability is something I struggle with. And this check in system is cool 😎..

How, did you come up with it? 🤔...

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Shira's avatar

My main source of inspiration was Shaunta Grimes. I combined a few of her ideas and came up with my writer's notebook system.

If you struggle with accountability I suggest you try this, it's worked wonders for me.

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Vimal Patel's avatar

Alright. Glad this worked out for you.

Shira.

What were you working on, was it a book?

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Shira's avatar

I'm currently writing a sci-fi novel. I have other projects in the works as well, but the sci-fi project is the one I'm working on now.

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Vimal Patel's avatar

Cool.

Is it dystopian or something new?

Shira..

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Shira's avatar

It's sort of post-apocalyptic, but it's still in its early days, so who knows what it'll be by the end.

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Vimal Patel's avatar

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Michelle Reeves's avatar

Thanks for sharing this. I remember reading Natalie Goldberg's view on writing notebooks in 'Writing Down The Bones' and while I fundamentally disagree with her that they should not be beautiful objects, I do agree about them being an important tool. My notebook is like an extension of my mind, where I pootle about capturing fragments, musing about things my characters might do or say. I carry it about with me so I can scribble down the ideas that come to me when I'm driving. It's not specifically a writing notebook, more a creativity notebook as I journal and paint in it too. I try to keep 'organisation' out of it though and store that information in Notion. Look forward to reading more about how your book is coming along!

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Shira's avatar

Thank you so much for sharing!

I love that you described your notebook as an extension of your mind. It's lovely that you made it the home of your other creative endeavors as well.

Thank you for joining me on my journey!

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