Guest Post: The Notebook by Emma Rathbone
Emma Rathbone is the author of The Patterns of Paper Monsters, which was released to rave reviews in August. Born in South Africa, Emma moved to the US when she was six years old. She currently lives in Charlottesville, Virginia and teaches fiction through UVA’s Continuing Education Program and at an organization called WriterHouse. I corresponded with her earlier this year and asked her if she would consider writing a guest post and she gladly agreed. I just love what she wrote and hope you will too. (By the way, Emma’s book is published by Reagan Arthur Books and it’s never too late to sign up for the Reagan Arthur Books Challenge since it’s perpetual.)
The Notebook
As an author, I like to supplement my computer writing with meticulous, hand written notes. This is partly because it’s a great way to procrastinate, and partly because someone once told me that writing with your hand spurs creativity. Either way, it really helps if I have the perfect notebook. Or, barring that, one that doesn’t depress me. It has to handle well, be filled with nice, fresh paper, and have the right vibe.
For instance, when I’m trying to write a novel about loneliness and apartheid, the Snoopy themed journal someone got me as a present from Barnes and Noble is a great example of something that does not have the right vibe.
I’ve had some mishaps with notebooks. The aforementioned novel which I started and then abandoned was contained in what I now consider to be an abominable red notebook. I will never write in a red notebook again, because to me, that signifies all the derailed thoughts, hand wringing, and hair pulling that comes with an idea gone straight to hell.
Conversely, the notebook that I wrote my first novel in, the novel I was actually able to finish and publish, was written in this lovely, wintergreen, now slightly battered, utilitarian spiral from the grocery store. You would think that I would follow suit, and get the exact same notebook for my next project. But I don’t consider that kind of grownup logic to be my calling card.
Instead, I like to psyche myself out with all kinds of crazy superstition, like, for instance, the fact that if I got the same kind of notebook, I would unintentionally bend the energy of the new project in the direction of the last, therefore obscuring my vision. And also, it’s better to have a completely new notebook for a new idea. Like this pink one that looks like something from Saved By The Bell. Or this sleek, stylish, Swedish notebook. Or this moleskin. No. Too trendy. And what am I, Paul Bowles? Or what about this lovely, 20 dollar journal with thick, satisfying paper that looks like something your twin would have secreted to you right before you were separated during World War Two?
Perhaps now you have a sense of the paralysis I feel when in a stationary store, or even a simple Kroger. Too many options, each signifying a different and very specific feel.
With the novel I’m working on now, the one I started after the apartheid and loneliness fiasco, I did something completely out of character. I began writing on scrap paper I already had. My thinking was that if I started something in this casual way, it wouldn’t have the attendant pressures of Writing a New Novel in a New Notebook, and I could just kind of improvise, play jazz, off-road, if you will. And, well, it’s kind of worked (so far). I started there, then moved to the computer, then to a journal I already owned, and when I had enough material and there was actual consistency to my idea, I went to the store, bit my lip and just bought something.
In the end, I came to the obvious conclusion, which is that of course it doesn’t matter what kind of notebook you have. Whether you’re writing on the back of a receipt, or on parchment paper, in an expensive journal, or on an elephant’s ear—when you’ve got a great idea, and you’re ready to commit, it’s enough that the sun is shining, and you have a purpose.
What a fun interview! I psych myself out with superstitions too, and I could totally see myself doing that with the colors of notebooks!
Very interesting! Reminds me of The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing in which each part of the story is in a different colored notebook. When I’m writing, I don’t even look at the notebook color, just grab the first in the stack of 1 billion notebooks I bought a couple of years ago when they were 10 cents apiece during the back to school sale. LOL
I loved this post! I am also critically aware of which notebook I am using for my projects and often try to match them up in a way that I think they will be creatively stimulating, so I can totally understand everything that was said here on a very personal level. I know it sounds silly, but I totally agree with it! Thanks for the lovely post that made me smile Kathy and Emma.
What a great way to start the day. This is just a wonderful post. If this is an example of Emma’s writing I’m off to buy her book. Thanks Kathy and Emma for fun and interesting read.
Great essay! I’ve got a thing for beautiful notebooks, and I’ve started many reading journals, but I can never keep up with them!
Great post! I’m superstitious as well. When I pick a notebook it has to match what I feel for what will be going into it. I have many that I always pick up; now it’s just a matter of filling them up.
What a fun post to start my day. She just proved that a good writer can write about anything. I love her style of writing which now means I must find her book.
Sorry Kathy, The previous comment was mine. I forgot to sign out of my challenge blog.
I really enjoyed reading this guest post! I love the truth and humor in this post about notebooks. Sometimes having too many options does a number on me, and I become ultra fussy and indecisive.
Well said Emma. In the end it’s not the notebook’s physical appeal or it’s magical power, it’s the creativity that comes to life as it transpires from your mind to fingertips to the page or keyboard.
I tend to be superstitious but there are times where we do have to let go of the silliness to jump into the ocean of unknowns. Thanks for sharing a piece of your world with us at Kathy’s site.
We writers are a superstitious bunch, but I know exactly this feeling. I have to have exactly the right paper or notebook and pens or pencils. I also need quiet and the weather affects how I write. Finally, I need a clear “chunk” of time in which I don’t worry about all the chores I should do that day. No wonder it’s so hard for me to get any writing done!
What a great guest post! I’m anxious to read her book! Maybe over the holidays!
I so love what you have to say at the end
Thank you so much Kathy and Emma — I always love hearing the inside story for writers and their process. xo
Great post! I too have a thing for notebooks. A different color for each task. It makes things so much more “organized” in my mind.
Great post! I have lots of notebooks and journals I write in, so I get it
Wow, I will have to check out her book. Great post! Heading over to Goodreads to add it to my wishlist.
This was so fun. I’m sure it doesn’t really matter but still … I can’t imagine the Great American Novel being written in a Snoopy notebook! : )
Oh my! I’m wondering now if Emma is my long-lost sister! Any kind of writing book is an obsession for me – notebooks, sketchbooks, memos, sticky notes, and all the 101 variations of the above. Recently, I was out shopping for some memos for my brother, and I spent a really long time checking out all the various accessories. And when I buy a book, I imagine myself using it – and do a lot of checks (compatibility with purpose, mood, color, room theme, lol), before settling for one.
What a fun post! To be honest, I’m impressed with anyone who can write legibly with pen and paper — I’m such a product of typing, typing, typing all the time, that when I write anything with a pen, I might as well be the complete stereotype of a doctor. If I were to right any of my book review posts by hand, then more than likely I’d just rewrite them when I got to the computer — not because of a fabulous idea that is better than the one I initially hand wrote — it’s because I can’t read my own chicken-scratch.
Wow! Are you kidding me? This is one of the funniest, most amazing posts ever! She’s hysterical. Love this! If this is any indication of how her novel is written, I may have to go this book…today.
I am happy to read that there are other people with superstitions too. The red notebook thing made me laugh
Great post and I love the last line. I am sure I want to read her book.
This was a very fun post to read! I do most of my review writing in a black spiral notebook, but if I’m writing memories down/journaling then I want something nicer (I haven’t done that in a few years though).
I have a hard time putting my first thoughts together with typing, somehow the physical act of writing works better for me.
I have the same disease. When I was in in graduate school, I loved to find just the right notebook for each class. The perfect notebook = the perfect classroom experience. Crazy, but true. I too love to get lost in a stationary store.
Notebooks…what is it about them that makes people covet them so? I loved this post and I love notebooks even though I’m not a writer. I still like to jot down things and keep a list of to-dos and such.
I love learning about an author’s process. I can’t imagine writing everything out longhand but I know a lot of authors do that.