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Why You Should Keep an Ugly Notebook
Writers need a place to play with ideas
I used to have a love-hate relationship with notebooks.
I loved scrolling through social media to see the beautiful sketchbooks and notebooks of writers and artists. I hated seeing my chicken scratch handwriting and awkward doodles. “Real” artists and writers had stunning notebooks. I made ugly notebooks.
Gradually, I came to understand that my ugly notebooks were part of my creative process. My notebooks are not content-ready masterpieces like the ones I gawk at online. My notebooks are extremely rough drafts. They’re a physical space where I think on the page.
When you commit to keeping an ugly notebook, you get to stop worrying about what other people will think about your work and use that energy to write and draw things that interest you.
The best writing and the most intriguing art always come from a place of curiosity.
My notebooks are not art. Instead, they are a place where I practice my art. They are a place where I experiment and play, and a place where I dump ideas for safekeeping until I can decide what to do with them. Most importantly, my ugly notebooks are a place to keep my observations and narrow my focus.
