How To Write A Book : Via Famous Writers One Note at a Time
- Thomas Jeffferson would wake up early ever day and make observations about his environment. He carefully noted details about plant life, weather, even the patterns of flying birds. He carried a small notebook and a pencil to record what he saw and then transferred more elaborate versions of these notes into seven large notebooks in ink.
- Beethoven was so attached to his notebook that it appears in many paintings of the man. Wilhelm Von Lenz described how he could be sitting down to drinks with the famous composer when Beethoven would suddenly interrupt conversation to pull out a notebook, claiming “Something just occurred to me.”
- Ernest Hemingway is famous for saying, “I belong to this notebook and this pencil.”
- George Lucas is said to have carried a pocket notebook at all times, which he took inside when he locked himself away for 8 hours a day in his writing room. His abbreviation for Reel 2, Dialogue 2 (R2D2) is said to have inspired a famous character. :)
- It has been recounted that Peter Jennings took detailed notes in his work as a reporter–and that this attention to detail is what gave him advantages over other journalists. Peter sometimes referred to his notebook almost like an almanac, even giving people directions on how to get places in foreign countries based on his notes.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson left behind more than 350 full notebooks, many books were devoted to one single topic apiece.
- Newton kept page headings in his notebook and then mused on a stated topic–usually science or the nature of God–for pages and pages.
- Lewis, Clark and their men recorded over 1 million words between them. When they completed their journals, they had them sealed and sent back to Washington to President Jefferson.
- daVinci left 13,000 pages, although just as many are thought to be missing. In his notebooks, he readily jumped from topic to topic without explanation or transition. He moved just as easily between lengthy writing, diagrams, drawings and lists.
- Edison kept what he called a “private” idea book where he worked out new possibilities for inventions like the electrical piano.
- Benjamin Franklin carried a notebook in which he tracked his own personal development, using his famous 13 virtues.
- John D. Rockefeller’s workers were said to get very nervous when they saw him pull his little red notebook out of his coat.
You can even look at the notebooks of some notable writers like Walt Whitman, Gertrude Stein, Thornton Wilder and Langston Hughes in the library at Yale (see images here). Or check out some boredom-induced doodles from authors like Sylvia Plath, Samuel Beckett and Kurt Vonnegut here.
Point being? Writers need their notes.
But they shouldn’t get so caught up in jotting down words and phrases, that they leave behind dictionaries and chicken scratch instead of books.
It can be hard for a writer to move beyond planning and process to…actually writing a book.That’s why Mini-Guide No. 3 in this How to Write A Book series is about a note-taking process a writer can use at the same time he or she is writing.
You can join the 90+ people who can get this mini-guide and other free resources to support the aspiring book writer, before they are posted on my website, by leaving your name and website (or if you don’t have a website, your Facebook or Twitter page) here.
This is a free online community that welcomes writers approaching book-writing to send me emails to ask questions about the process and will eventually culminate in a group-sharing effort across the blogosphere. You can participate as much or as little as you like and there is no cost involved.
…other than the cost of putting great ideas to paper.
ed cyzewski March 1, 2012 (12:10 pm)
I carry a Moleskine journal everywhere. One designer I know has two journals: one for his client ideas and one for his personal ideas. I don’t feel that need for myself since I use notepads for my client brainstorming, but I think that’s a good way to go as well.
Sarah March 1, 2012 (12:19 pm)
@Ed, why am I not surprised you’re already attached to your notebook? :) Sorry to miss you by just a couple measly hours in Kentucky the other day!
Serenity Bohon March 1, 2012 (12:21 pm)
I love this! I just took notes in a fast food lane (that wasn’t fast at all). And I always journal in the parent pick-up lane too. I like the company I’m in! But that is such an important point about how hard it is to move beyond planning and process. So. So. Hard.
Sarah March 1, 2012 (12:23 pm)
Serenity, hey girl! How are you? :) Let’s start a new generation of best-sellers spawned in the parent pick-up lane and grocery store aisle. Let me know how I can help you along in your move from planning to actual book.
Shawn Smucker March 1, 2012 (12:41 pm)
This has inspired me to get back to pen and paper. Over the course of the last two years, my writing has become almost entirely tech supported. I’m not happy about it.
Dave Knickerbocker March 1, 2012 (12:52 pm)
What a great idea! I’ve had a few lost ideas for my book in the past couple months because I didn’t write them down. Now that I’ve started my new blog it seems to be many things to write about, if I can only remember them all! Thanks.
Sarah March 1, 2012 (1:05 pm)
Shawn, I hear you! As a kid, I was all about scribbling in my notebook and even now, sometimes when I’m wrestling through a really complex idea, I have to get out a pen and piece it out onto real paper!
Sarah March 1, 2012 (1:06 pm)
Dave, exactly. I have like ten ways of committing stuff to written memory as a writer. :) Can’t afford to let a good idea go…
Jessica March 2, 2012 (9:00 am)
Thanks for this Sarah..I make notes everywhere! They seldom get to paper these days, but I still have notes :)
Shelly Miller March 5, 2012 (10:43 pm)
thanks for all these resources Sarah, all of it is so helpful. Now can you give me a resource to get over the petrifying perfectionism keeping me from taking these notes I have in notebooks in every room and car to form actual sentences and paragraphs. (sarcasm included in this comment)
Sarah March 6, 2012 (12:20 pm)
Write the book @Jess. :) I’ll help…
And @Shelly, I get that. Piles of notes are intimidating. I can’t even figure out what half of them mean if I wait too long.