Strong cups of Earl Grey never fails to move my brain cells, and then the keys in front of me.

For nearly a year I have been keeping a tattered dollar-store notebook tucked into the worn folds of my wallet. I have learned the hard way that keeping something to write on handy has become very useful. When I started to pen my book outline it became necessary to keep something on me 24/7 just so I minimized the risk of losing any potential gems of ideas.

I recently exchanged messages with one of my favourite comedic actors and writers where I asked him about how he goes about generating material. I have taken a fascination with the methods used by colleagues because I figure I can learn something from each of them on their practice. This person told me he writes for at least 4-5 hours every day. Even if its journal writing, or what I now refer to as note-booking. He always keeps inspirational material handy and reduces as many distractions as possible.

As much as we have all become drawn to our computer screens for writing, I have come to realize the value of note-booking. My suggestion to writers is that there is more to note-booking than just writing down ideas when you get them. Note-booking is also the reason I no longer believe in Writer’s Block as a barrier to work. The ultimate “cure” for Writer’s Block is to work. If a page of notebook is written and maybe does not make sense in that weak moment of seemingly brainless creativity, it is still writing and therefore still output.

If I could ever locate my old typewriter, I have thought of setting it up and always leaving a page in it. That way every time I walk by I might be forced to hammer something out.

Two words, two sentences, two paragraphs, anything on the page can always be re-visited at a later date. The number of times I have returned to older pages and finished off some stuff ranges in the dozens by now. There is some delight I can take in when it comes to taking something that might even me a decade plus old and giving it a fresh face on the page. A few words can make something in a note-book really stand-out and even worth sending out to a publisher.

Notebooking really should be just one word. Is they hyphen really necessary? Pardon me whilst I go to war with spellcheck. (spell-check)