Notebook System Update and Thoughts

 I brought my thinking book with me to work today. It's a heavy little booger. But I like having it with me. It got me thinking about everything I'm using and want to use for my writing--notebooks, software, apps, ma brain...lol

I would love to have it all in one place, but that's impossible, of course. I need different things to function in different ways. I made a list in the thinking book of everything I've currently got going, which then led me to start this blog post. So, here goes:

I have two A5 ring binders, one I bought from Amazon that has skinny rings and a Moterm I got from Jaime that has bigger rings. I was using the skinny one as kind of an all-in-one writing binder, but I decided to move the reference materials and workbooks to the Moterm since it has more room. I'm thinking about resetting the skinny one as either a series bible or some other form of story note-keeping.

Next is my A5 Vera Bradley spiral notebook. It's currently housing the few actual story notes I have at the moment. I stuffed them into the pocket, and I have one page written in the notebook itself. I love that notebook bc it's light and thin. The only downside is it's a little too easy to tear the pages out. They're perforated a little too well. So it's best suited for temporary notes.

Then there's the thinking book, which I'm kind of struggling with. I love the size (B6), I love the pockets of the Moterm cover, and I love the Stalogy paper. What I don't love is how heavy it is altogether. And there's the fact that the way I have it set up, it's not strictly for writing. It's for ALL things that require deep thinking. Home projects, health, finances, planning, all areas of my life. The whole point of it is to use it for brainstorming, brain dumping, mind maps, sketches, anything and everything. But I haven't been using it bc it's so dang heavy. It usually sits on my desk at home...and lately I only sit at my desk when I'm working from home or on Google Meet with Ronal, my law student that I tutor on the side. I did manage to get into it last night while I was sitting there working, which got me thinking about bringing it with me today since yesterday I ended up watching YouTube even after updating my planner. I didn't feel like writing at the time, which is the case most of the time lately, and I want to change that.

On my way to work this morning, I was thinking about the story in general and whether I want to add back a couple of characters I took out. I'm feeling like I might want to add at least one of them back, if not both. I jotted down the note in my Vera Bradley for now, but I thought I might journal about it in my thinking book, too. It's something I really want to dive deep into.

But anyway, back to the list. Now I'm moving on to software and websites, starting with this blog. This is also obviously where I journal about writing, but it's usually in a general sense, not related to my WIP directly. Recently I started using Ellipsus, which is a dedicated writing site that's like a cross between Scrivener and Google Docs. It's pretty cool. I'm still debating whether I want to switch my actual writing projects over to either Google Docs or Ellipsus. Which brings me to...

Word and OneNote. The Microslop products I have been relying on for years. The problem is they still function pretty much the way I need them to. BUT I hate the AI crap that's been shoved into them. I hate what Microsoft has done and is doing to its customers. Even though I get Office 365 for free thru work, I'm in a moral quandary over whether to keep using it for my writing.

And the irony is not lost on me--here I am blogging on Blogger, which is another Google product, and I am toying with using Google Docs. Meanwhile Google has fundamentally ruined its main search engine by insisting on turning it into Gemini full stop. UGH! People are out here screaming at how useless and unreliable the AI crap is, yet Google refuses to go back. It's so stupid!!!

But yeah, I'm still willing to blog here, and I'm still thinking about switching to Google Docs. BUT this also leads me to wonder if I should just stick with Word and OneNote anyway since I'm already entrenched. The programs themselves don't give me that much trouble. I have turned off Copilot everywhere possible. And I'm only half-signed in on Office at the moment. Just discovered that when I peeked at Word to see if Copilot is active there. And it doesn't appear to be, so...hmm.

I'm really just trying to figure out what I need and where I want to go from here. Bottom line, I need a place to house WIP notes, a place to journal about it specifically (not just writing in general), and a place to do the actual writing. Eventually I could use a place to house printed drafts and scenes. I have a few ideas in mind for that. But thinking about that is also making me think about possibly incorporating one of my bigger notebooks or binders now. And maybe consolidating my existing stuff into one of those...it's overwhelming to think about.

My biggest issue is I want to use ALL the things. I want to use what I have. But I have so much! It's hard to figure out what would work best for me.

Here's my reality: At work I have Windows 11 and access to a printer. At home I have Windows 10 and a broken printer that's only good for scanning now. The Windows 10 computers work perfectly fine, other than being slow. I can always print things here, but I don't want to abuse the privilege by printing a ton of stuff at one time. So I eventually will need to upgrade my home stuff. Right now it's not an emergency, and even if it were, I'm broke, so it's not an option.

One thing I'm mulling over is the fact that paper notebooks don't need electricity or internet to function. Upgrading a notebook just means decorating it, adding pockets, and using colored pens and markers! I got that covered for sure! lol

So what if I really went old school? What if I go completely analog and start handwriting everything again? It's SO tempting. The only thing deterring me from it is the possibility of killing my hand with cramps. If not for that, I would so do it in a heartbeat!

Ugh, I'm feeling so frustrated right now bc I am physically exhausted. I know by the time I get home, I'm going to want to crash. But I really REALLY want to fucking write! Here's hoping maybe I can push past it and figure this shit out. Wish me luck.

For now, I think I'm done here. Got about 30 minutes left here at work, then I'll be off to go deal with life. Need to pay my rent if I can. Got laundry to sort and dishes to do. But maybe, just maybe, I won't get lost in YouTube like I normally do. Fingers crossed. 🤞🤞