So, I’m that crazy person who always has a pen (or three) on hand at all times. I also carry a notepad, but I’m especially vigilant of my pens since I can easily jot down words and ideas on receipts, napkins, beer labels… really anything I can get my hands on if my notepad is too big for my purse, which it often is. You never know when inspiration will “strike” (although, in my case inspiration taunts me by merely wisp-ing by, like when you share an elevator with someone and can sort of smell their shampoo). Indeed, many authors make this a habit, some of them hording their doodles away in hidden lock boxes.

Author Patrick deWitt, of recent The Sisters Brothers fame, wrote a hilarious guest blog for Powell’s called ‘Bad Ideas, or Ideas Which, for Whatever Reason Will Not Be Used‘ where he shares some tidbits from his notebooks including snippets of conversations, interesting facts,  short story ideas and random plans. My favorite being a convo he recorded with the quote:

  • “He was one of those touchy-feel types, I could tell right off. Kept talking about his special oatmeal.”

Even though none of the notes he shared have spawned a story or project for him, most of them are quite funny just to read and chuckle over. Encouraged by his willingness to share some of his not-so precious creative material (and my desire to do more writerly things on HBB), I decided to go through my own notebooks and dig out a few strange scribbles. Some of these I can’t even remember what they were in reference to. Note to self: take better notes!! I’ll write down dialogue, character ideas, story ideas, interesting words or anything that grabs me. What’s in your notebooks? Please feel free to share with us! I’ll go first:

  • Podagee chicken crosses the road  (This sounds like the start of a bad joke… not sure where I was going with this.)
  • Cheese toast (That’s it, just cheese toast.)
  • What if there were a SPAM man, like an ice cream man? (Maybe I was hungry at the time.)
  • The life story of the man who invented cotton candy (I wonder how he got the idea for it. Did he lose his true love and sense of self when he became inexplicably rich because of his invention?)
  • Man sitting at tiki themed bar is impaled by a hanging canoe that falls due to poor wiring (I must have been in a bad mood when I thought of this.)
  • Dandelions & Daffodils: The Social Hierarchy of a Meadow (Personification at its worst.)
  • Hypochondriac woman has narcoleptic dog (I fear for them, really.)
  • Kerfuffle- noun. British for disturbance or fuss (Because it’s fun to say, and people don’t use it enough.)
  • “When you like somebody proximity is a good thing regardless of how they feel about you.” (I’m pretty sure this quote is from an episode of Dawson’s Creek *shame* –Pacey&Joey 4eva!)
  • Delinquent oysters ( ???? I did mention I was crazy, right?)

The Post-it pad next to my bed undoubtedly has some fascinating things on it, if I could only read what was written. And for some reason, a few of my random notes are slightly adult in material (backwards sexual alphabet?- no clue) but regardless of how weird or insignificant these bits and pieces may seem, they all add up to something great. A writer’s notebook is like an arsenal, and the more varied the better! So come on, show me the guns… what have you got hidden in your notebook?