I’ve blogged a little bit about how I’ve not been very good at writing in notebooks in the past – I don’t really keep up with notebooks very well and tend to start most of my creative writing in the digital format. Sometimes, if I really want to play with a piece of fiction, I’ll do that in a notebook, but that notebook tends to only be dedicated to that project, and I don’t always even finish the notebook. I wanted to try to get better at writing in notebooks recently, so I bought myself sometime nice. It’s a Traveler’s Notebook from the Traveler’s Company.
I’ve had it for about 4 days so far. I’ve been “journaling”, so not really writing any fiction (novels or short stories). Instead, I’ve been reflecting about my day, sometimes multiple times a day, reflecting on the things I’ve done that morning, what new things arrived in the mail for me that day, or the TV shows I watched that evening. It’s a very casual journal, but I also give all the reflections/journal entries titles so that it feels a little more official, like a creative nonfiction piece I’m working on or something.
I think that it’s good for me, but I guess it’s really too soon to tell for sure. I definitely like the shape of the journal; it’s an interesting size and it’s actually a good fit for me. I got the regular size – it’s sort of like an A5, only a little skinnier. There is also a passport size, but I don’t have that one (yet). I think the regular size works for now. It’s enough space to write whatever I want. The leather cover has already started taking on a character of its own with little blemishes and scratches. Supposedly the leather ages beautifully over time, so I’m excited to see how my cover looks in a few months.
I love the paper that it comes with – the blank Midori MD paper inserts. The inserts are 64 pages. I’m wondering how quickly I will fill it up. The refills aren’t too expensive, $5-$7 dollars depending on where you buy them. There are also a lot of different types of inserts and paper that Traveler’s Company makes for it, and I imagine there’s a lot of other brands that will work for it, too. If I fill these pages up quickly, maybe I’ll feel that sense of reward that I rarely ever feel since it takes me so long to fill up my other notebooks.
I guess I’ll keep you in the loop on how using this notebook is going. There are a few accessories I want to get for it soon, including a pen loop and a pocket/folder/place to put loose scraps and things. There are some official things that Traveler’s Company makes that will work that I’ll probably end up getting.
PLEASE let me know in the comments if you like a certain kind of notebook, or if you have any journaling advice or anything.
