what do you do with them?I'm sure a lot of you consider this a silly question, just remember that I'm also a silly person, so you should expect this sort of question from me.

You see, my dad got me two little tiny moleskin blank booklets (they are smaller than 3x5 cards), and I'm itching to use them...but I struggle with using notebooks because everything I write changes and I can't really change stuff in a notebook very much like I can in a word processor. Also I'm not good at handwriting.
Still I think I'd use them for random notes, but how do you use your notebooks? How do you organize what you write in a notebook, do you number the pages or something? How should I use my dad's gifts (the notebooks) to me?

Doodling. Even a squiggly picture is worth a thousand words. Therefore this is the most economical answer.

Yeah...but I'm not much of a doodler. Yet. If I am ever good enough at drawing to draw something worthwhile in there that small, I'd do it!

But I meant more along the lines of world-building or storybuilding.

Ah. I leave those answers up to the more experienced in that area.

Okay, thank you for the input though!

I once attended a writing seminar, and the speaker said it would be handy to have a small notebook with you most of the time, so you can write a thought or sentence that suddenly comes to you, or an observation that just suddenly stands out of everyday life...and then eventually use in a story. That's what I use my small notebooks for.

That's a good idea, thanks! I think I did something like that once...I forgot though, silly me. Anyway, thank you! I will start carrying one around for that very purpose.

A very, very good idea. Many times I have interesting thoughts I think I'd like to write about later, post on Facebook, or expand into an article on my blog, and then I forget them.

Exactly! And since I want to start a website, that's a good point, about saving ideas for blogs...

*Nods*.

All the note books I have had have always ended up messy, and neglected. I am not very good with diaries, notebooks and the like.

Yeah, me too! It's so hard to organize them... I suppose I could put a little heading at each page like "story ideas" or "character ideas" or "blog post ideas", and then number the pages ad show which page numbers belong to what category...if that makes any sense.

Yeah, that was my mistake before. I'd store it in my memory, thinking I could bring it up later, but to no avail. After that, I resorted to writing things down. Even if it's just a phrase. Or a word that sounds interesting.

Exactly.

What he said.^

I always carry one around. There's no order to it, and I use it for everything. Scribbling down directions to a new place I'm going, jotting jokes, one-liners, and epic random things I think of while working at my manual labor job, phone numbers, addresses, and so on. When one fills up, I stick it with all my other random important things and start a new one.

So how do you find stuff you need that you wrote down?

You can "color code" them with pens, like I sometimes do to mine.

That sounds like a neat idea! Especially if I get one of those pens that has like five colors of ink, each in a different tip.

Colour coding! Now that is a neat idea.

I open the notebook up and look for it.

No! Really? Well that's neat...I think it wouldn't work for me very well though.



Yeah! And I was just thinking...even without a multi-color-inked-pen, I could highlight stuff at home later instead, so that I don't need a fancy pen.

I can generally remember where something is.

Good.

Yes, that's a good idea too!

Yes! Now just to get past the "but it's so perfect without any words in it..." phase.

*Chuckles* Yes, you have to use them!

Yes, yes... I'll try to...

LOL! I know how that feels! =))

I'm loving all the ideas on here! I've been wondering a lot of the same things;) Thanks for all the tips

*goes to find a little notebook that she's never used*

Oh, I'm glad I'm not alone! I did finally put one idea in there...and it's so crazy I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to use it... =P

Do it! little notebooks rock.

Same here!

Great minds think alike