Paw Prints

The Commonplace NotebookCommonplace books (or commonplaces) are a way to compile knowledge, usually by writing information into books. They have been kept from antiquity, and were kept particularly during the Renaissance and in the nineteenth century. Such books are essentially scrapbooks filled with items of every kind: recipes, quotes, letters, poems, tables of weights and measures, proverbs, prayers, legal formulas. Commonplaces are used by readers, writers, students, and scholars as an aid for remembering useful concepts or facts. Each one is unique to its creator's particular interests but they almost always include passages found in other texts, sometimes accompanied by...

Holidays are always a mixed blessing for me as a writer. In many ways, time away from writing or editing is a bonus as my brain gets to switch off. That sounds exactly what a holiday should do, right? So, what’s the downside? The downside is that once my brain gets to relax in such amazing scenery, it also gets creative. Too creative, usually, as nine times out of ten I’ll come up with a plot for another book! As a consequence, I need a notebook on me at all times! And, given the weather we had, one that will withstand the rain and cope with being chucked around in a backpack.

Enter the Rite in the Rain notebook, and The Alwych, both of which I road-tested (almost to death, but not destruction!) on holiday.

The daily driver pocket notebook was my setup in the past.I still use a notebook as a daily driver, but it is a desk-sized book. My pocket notebook now works ancillary to it.Used in this way, the pocket notebook becomes task manager, journal and commonplace notebook all in one. My own method was to start the day with a gratitude note, i.e. one thing from the previous day for which I am grateful. Then I would start listing my major tasks for the day, and adding in any appointments. The book would be at my side all day, with tasks...