Method to My Madness

I have this problem. Every time I go to the store, I have to buy a notebook. Not just any notebook, but a nice 5 subject, college ruled notebook. Five Star, Omni, Exceed, and No Boundaries are my top favorites. I think it’s an addiction. If I leave the store without one, I get this nagging feeling in the back of my mind.

Why do I love notebooks? They are the tools of my method. Growing up, I had oodles of stories I began but never finished. If an idea came to me, I sat down and wrote everything as though I was reading a book. These early attempts of mine always ended in failure. Then an idea blossomed forth. Rather than writing a book, I began outlining. As long as I kept the ideas flowing, the longer my interest in the story lasted. So now every time I see a fresh notebook, my skin tingles with the story possibilities and the journey that may follow. Perhaps that is why I feel the need to buy a notebook each time I go to the store. Leaving without one is like turning my back on the possibilities.

I also love buying three-ring binders. These simple guys contain my freshly printed chapters. I look at each completed chapter like a miniature goal. It’s an odd way to look at writing, but the method keeps me focused on my current project. The four binders you see are my current manuscripts. From top to bottom: Four Corners: Masquerade, Four Corners: Forever, Four Corners: Legend, and Eden. The top three are finished works, while the bottom contains only the first two parts of Eden. I’m afraid that Eden will be over the 740 page cutoff for the 6” x 9” book at Lulu. But that’s with the current template I made for my first two published books. I may have to rework things. *sigh* But InDesign to me is like a fine sable hair brush to an inker. I don’t think I could’ve survived the layout process with Microsoft Word. I may not be a professional by any means, but I love to pretend.

I’ll end this post with a pic of my desk.

*poof*