A new notebook. It’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it? The smell of it, the blinkingly bright white pages, the crisp swish as you flip through it for the first time. But it’s also so very daunting. Those fresh clean pages need something worthwhile written on them. They shouldn’t be wasted. Especially the first page. You don’t want to open that beautiful cover and find just incoherent ramblings.
A new notebook can be as much a curse as a blessing.
The solution is easy. You just need to write. Anything, everything. A stream of consciousness just to get the pen going. Writing breeds writing. It’s absolutely true. If you dream of writing a novel for example, perhaps start that fresh clean notebook with a mind map. A big, beautiful scrawl of words – and doodles if you like – detailing characters, plots, chapters, locations and anything else you feel inspired to get down. You’ll find it’s also lovely to look back on years in the future when you have completed your book.
It’s a brain dump: just let it all out.
Now, depending on how you like to write – and there is no right or wrong here – you may want to write down a structured plan, with each chapter detailed, you may want to write a simple ‘beginning, middle and conclusion’ outline, or you may just want to write ‘Chapter 1’ and jump right in. Everyone has a different style, even professional writers. Some like to listen to music, others write with earplugs in. Some get up super early to write, others prefer to write in the evenings. Some have a daily word count they want to complete; others work on a time target. What is consistent across all writing styles, however, is routine.
A routine will turn all of those ideas into pages.
Find a routine that works for you and stick to it. Write regularly and write often, and you will get into a rhythm that will lead to the results you want. It’s hard, there’s no denying it. You need to be dedicated; you need to want it. But the results are unmeasurable. Because the joy of opening a fresh, new notebook, can only be surpassed by the elation of closing it, having filled it full of your own words. And let me finish with a little tip for you. If you are finding it just too daunting to make that first pen mark in a beautiful new notebook, and you’re procrastinating day after day, then just go and buy a cruddy school exercise book or an A4 ruled pad and give yourself a break. You may find that takes the pressure off and allows you get started. Maybe pick your favourite sentence from each days writing and transcribe it into the beautiful notebook. But remember, notebooks are designed to be written in. They are not ornaments; however exquisite they appear. And above all:
JUST GET WRITING. ANYWAY. ANYHOW.
For some tips about writing fluently, hop over to my post Does your writing sing?
Ruth x
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