Planning Notebooks

When I first started writing I never really cared about what kind of notebook I used when it came to planning. That was until I started getting annoyed with the smallest things that made me ditch the notebook all together and try to find something else. I tried keeping my notes on a computer but that didn't last long at all. I didn't realize how picky I was until I found the notebook that worked for me.

I went through a lot of phases. The regular A4 notebooks that are always on sale and even when they aren't, they are still really cheap. They were too big and I ended up bending the spirals because I tend to carry around some heavy things that squish them.

A5 journals are generally what I like to go for. They are the perfect size to fit in almost any bag and the hardcover versions are durable. I'm not talking about the spiral bound ones but the perfect bound. They don't have spirals that I have to worry about and they just hold everything I need in them just fine.

There are a variety of these kinds of journals. Moleskine. Ecosystem journals. Piccadilly. Piccadilly is my favorite and currently, they sell for a decent price. These journals are just for novel planning or for when I plan out a short story series.

There are some saddle-stitched journals that work just as well for the more smaller pieces I work on. Some short stories that I write that are stand-alone stories tend to fit these better than a full sized journal. Again, the a5 journals are the size of choice. They are much easier to carry that way.

Lately, with the saddle-stitched journals (even the stapled version), I've been adding them to my felt fauxdori my sister and I made one day. Though, I use my felt fauxdori for more journaling purposes than planning.

I can see how this method would be great for planning though. It allows books and other things to be added or changed out once they are no longer what you need. This could be perfect for when you are writing a huge series and need to split some things apart. It would help with organization. There is a definite advantage to having this as a planning method of choice. Also, it helps that the inserts are easy (and cheap) to make.

There are still several options I haven't tried yet. Eventually, I'll explore that but for now, I'm going to stick to what I have since that is my only option at the moment.