{we are} storytellers: {writer's notebook} breathing in, breathing out

Welcome back! It's a new year, and with it comes a new focus for {writer's notebook} here on the blog. I hope you've found the past six months of journaling prompts, writing lessons, and storytelling tips helpful as you work to tell the stories of your life. I took a brief 2-week break over the holidays, both as a way to stay caught up with all the busy-ness going on in my own household, but also to mull over the direction I want {writer's notebook} to take this year. I spent a good bit of time with my bookshelves, looking through my collection of books on writing. That's when I decided that one of the most valuable things I could share with you are the resources I've collected.

With that in mind, we'll be embarking on a new journey here: an examination of several books on writing, chapter by chapter. Our first book is one of my favorites, and it is the inspiration behind the concept of the {writer's notebook} content on this blog. Called Breathing In, Breathing Out: Keeping a Writer's Notebook, it's a slim but marvelously informative volume by Ralph Fletcher, a writer and teacher whose many books have guided me through more writing workshops than I can count.

Each Thursday we'll cover a chapter of the book -- I'll summarize and share all the information here, but if you'd like to get your own copy and follow along, please feel free to do so. Although at first this might seem like a book for writers, it's really a book for anyone who wants to record their stories. And I'm immediately assured that Fletcher knows the reality of what most of our daily lives look like, when he comments in the introduction that "[the writer's notebook is] an ideal place for the very brief writing stretches many of us have to squeeze into our frenetic lives." (p.2) The book works to answer some very simple questions that Fletcher sets up in the introduction:

What is the writ'ers notebook?
How do writers use it?
What makes it tick?

He goes on to explain that the writer's notebook "provides a safe place for you to ask:

What do I notice?
What do I care about?
What moves the deepest part of me?
What do I want to remember for the rest of my life?
What do I want to write about?
How might I begin?" (p.3)

What struck me the most about these questions is how applicable they are to the storytelling that we do as digital scrapbookers, with photos and words. Our pages are about our lives, the things we want to remember, the things that move us, the things we notice and care about. So while Fletcher is dealing exclusively with the written word as his form, the concepts and ideas he brings up throughout this book are truly applicable lessons that we can apply to our own storytelling.

Chapter 1, A Place to Write, is a short (3-pages, that's all) chapter about the room where Fletcher writes on a daily basis. He gives a nice description of the room and goes on the list the things he keeps on his desk, to inspire him, to relax him, to remind him; his notebook is just one of those items. He includes a metaphor that particularly appeals to me: "I think of that physical place [his office] as part of a series of concentric circles: earth, home, office, desk, screen, passage, word, and the urge behind the word" (p. 7)

Where do you do your writing? I found that I particularly enjoy using those inexpensive composition books that we used in high school -- I don't necessarily write on the lines, and I fill them up completely (I love the way notebook paper gets all crinkly when you've written on both sides with an ink pen). I have little post-it notes sticking out on the sides, marking different ideas, and I often flip through it when I'm looking for inspiration. These notebooks are really easy to dress up, too -- just do some quick measurements and create a simple layout, then print it out, trim the edges, and glue it to the front cover.

Like Fletcher, my desk is also covered in items that I "need" in order to feel creative and do the work that I want to do. This week, I'd love for you to share photos or layouts of your desk -- where do you do your creating? Also, I'd love to see a photo or hear the ideas you have for the notebook or other places where you keep your writing. If you're creating a layout, make sure you upload it here in our gallery {stories}. All your other questions and comments are welcome in our forum {tales}, so stop by and let us know what you think.

Of course, we've always got great products waiting for you too, and this week is no exception. For 24 hours only (Thursday from 12-12), pick up Emily Powers' fab new kit, For the Love of Art, for just $2 and get 35% off two additional products of your choice (please see fine print for details).