Dear Agony Editor, I don’t keep a writer’s notebook. Sometimes, this bothers me. Do you think keeping one is beneficial? Signed, Noted
Dear Noted, Every writer works differently, so I’m not sure it should bother you so long as you feel your writing isn’t suffering. That said, it never hurts to pick up habits that could improve your craft. I spoke to writer Michael Winter, who keeps a notebook. When I asked why he started keeping one, he said, “I probably saw an older writer I admired use a notebook and thought, Okay, that’s what writers do. I used to wonder what older writers talked about when they were in bars or readings. Now I know they all talk about things like dental care and colonoscopies.” (I usually only talk about fibre.) In terms of what he jots down, Winter said, “I saw a man at a convenience store waiting to buy a few items.
There was no one at the cash. He rolled up a $20 bill and tapped the end of it on the glass counter. ‘Does anybody want my money?’ he called out. I wrote that down, otherwise I’d forget the specifics of it. And if I don’t write it down as it occurs, in my novel someone will buy things at a store and the transaction will follow tired, conventional lines.”