Letting Notebooks Be What They Want to Be
It’s so easy for us paper addicts to decide that we need a notebook for a Purpose when we purchase it or pull it out of the stash. This will be my story writing notebook. This will be my daily journal. This is the only kind of entry I will put into my five year journal. I can’t just write nonsense in that notebook… it’s filled with discontinued paper and I paid over $20 for it! It can’t just be a life lived or what it needs to be in that moment. Right?
I was super precious about notebooks (and special edition inks) for a long time. If I use it I will run out… but if I don’t use it what’s the point? I worked to change this mindset last year. When I wanted something different to write on, I cracked a new notebook. I set notebooks aside half-finished and picked them up later. I wrote journal entries on tear out notepads and even on loose-leaf pages. It was freeing to not tell myself that “this notebook is too special to be used for that.” One thing I learned in my years of working with historical documents is that we can’t know what will be meaningful to people in the future (assuming we are doing any of this for posterity, of course).
Two rebellious notebooks that decided to be something other than I planned… I am loving the writing I’m doing in them though.
When I started out the year, I had plans for each notebook I’d carefully chosen to put into my traveler’s notebook. Each had a purpose and other than my calendar… they have all become hodgepodges. Even my chosen reflection journal is both serving as a reflection and a tarot journal. My “goal notebook” is now a journal and random notes book. I completely took my story notebook out because January 2025 has not been kind to my creative side and replaced it with a notebook for random scribbles. I have a half-filled Dominant Industry Takasago notebook that has blog notes, lists, and bits and pieces of short stories. No rhyme, no reason to it or the five other notebooks tucked throughout my desk. When I want to use that paper, I’m using it. Not going to worry about what other people will think (especially since it’ll probably just gather dust in a relative’s attic someday) or if I’m not using the notebook “right”. There is no right way. There is only the paper, the pen, and the ink that lets us put ourselves on the page. It’s a small way of existing in the physical world when so much of the world is digital now.
Same goes for ink, even though the ink giving me joy right now is an old favorite and hardly limited edition (Colorverse Office Blue) that I’ve been loading up into my favorite pen (Kaweco liliput fireblue), the new addition is playing with the new Kaweco mini-converters where the piston rod can fold down allowing converters to fit into the liliputs for the first time. Still getting used to it, but it does make it so much easier to fill up my pen again when it runs dry (assuming I still want to use the same color). Maybe I won’t want a different color in that pen for a few weeks. That’s okay.
I’m giving myself permission to use my stationery in the way I need to use it in that moment in time. If there’s a notebook you’ve been holding onto waiting for a Purpose, just start writing. It may not end up being what you think it was going to be, but that makes it no less important. Those scribbles may mean something to you later… or simply be what you needed to make at the time. In my A6 Sterling Ink notebook that I intended to be a goal notebook there is are ink tests on one page and a deep dive journal entry the next. Don’t hoard pretty stickers.
Use the stationery, life’s too short to not use the things you love.
Currently Inked
Colorverse Office Blue - Kaweco liliput fireblue 14K M ‘journaler’ - Probably one of my favorite combos and it’s funny to me when I default to such a simple combo since I adore fancy, complicated inks too. But you know, sometimes basics is better. I highly recommend that Colorverse Office Series, I’ve tried all of them except the permanent ones, and they are a solid group of classic ink colors.
Ferris Wheel Press Ambrosia Indulgence - Kaweco liliput copper M stub - This ink is a rich red-burgundy with gold shimmer. It has a lot of character. I have a couple inks that are similar such as Wearingeul 1984 (that one has red shimmer) and Diamine Bah Humbug (also has red shimmer and is a little more burgundy). Red inks in this range are fun because they can be both extra fancy and serious at the same time.
Colorverse Apollo 11 - Kaweco Art Sport Tiger’s Eye 14K B - Another favorite blue that I pulled out. This was from the First Moon Landing set that Colorverse put out a few years ago and it’s probably my favorite limited edition. This is a navy leaning just a little blurple. This ink just makes me feel cozy.
Ferris Wheel Press Festival Grove - Kaweco Art Sport Terrazzo B ‘imperial’ - Greens in this color range have absolutely gotten my attention. I suppose I would call them earthy olive greens? This one has copper shimmer too which adds another layer of fun. I have a feeling I will be revisiting this ink again in the future. It’s a good one.