Writing Tools

What follows today is a little discussion of writing books and a few of my observations and a recent discovery I wanted to share.  It's offered up for your perusal or refusal.  But seemed like a good topic for discussion.

Like most writers I'm a bit particular about what I use in my writing process.  Sure, I take notes on just about anything, and have recorded small sketches and lines on just about anything -- from the back of receipts to napkins.  But a certain point I like recording these in a journal of some kind and am known to almost always carry one with me wherever I go.  I feel naked without something to write with and something to write on.

My first requirement is that my journal pages be blank.  I hate lined pages.  I've always used blank pages in my journals.  I'm sure it initially had something to do with not wanting to be constrained by lines, or wanting to break past school writing bond.  My first serious writing took place after college and during grad school so perhaps it was a way of differentiating my scholarly writing.  In any case the literal blank page feels more open and less obstructed by someone else's designs (even if it's a machine's automatic line drawing).  Sky's the limit and that seems a good thing for writing down your thoughts.

In any case, looking for a journal with blank pages immediately narrows the focus as it seems 80% of the blank journals out there are lined.

For about 12 years I carried a large writing journal with me with a lovely hand-tooled leather cover.  I'd buy replacement refills and number the journals when they were filled.  This worked for those years after college and in grad school as I usually had a backpack with me at all times.  I still own have all these volumes and they serve as a sort of diary/journal from those years.  A lot of the material is pretty scary and certainly not worth reading aloud but some of it provides me a nice glimpse into my thought process during those years.  That period covers my time in grad school, my process of coming out of the closet, and dealing with my life as a writer, my search for love, writing music and political reflection.  A lot of different stuff in those pages.  The practice secured in me a lasting belief in the importance of carrying a recording medium with me where ever I go.

But the size of those journals became a bit of a hindrance and I spent a few years trying out different sizes and formats for a journal.  A few years ago I finally settled on a small pocket-sized Moleskine and was pretty happy with it.

Then about three years ago my good artist friend Frederick turned me on to sketch journaling (also known as "The Gospel of Danny Gregory") and I found a need for a journal with paper that had more tooth.  I make little sketches and then usually color them in with watercolor and goache.  (I've been absolutely horrible about posting these sketches but there are a few old examples on my sketch page like the one at right).  The moleskine blank journals didn't cut it for me.  The paper was too thin so the pages would buckle horribly.  I then tried the moleskine watercolor books and while the pages are great for watercolor, they're also quite heavy and feel too substantial for writing notes on.  [It's funny, but using heavy watercolor bond for writing feels like a "waste" of a precious resource -- but those are my own hangups.]  I do carry a larger sized watercolor (reporter's type) pad that Pete gave me for Christmas and it's handy for larger subjects when the urge hits. But it was getting to the point that I was carrying a bag with a bunch of little books in it.  The large watercolor pad, a small pocket sketchbook, and my small pocket journal.  Too much!  I feel split apart, like my work is in different places.  Not good.  My friend Kim has commented a few times about all the stuff I bring along in my manpurse.

A few months back Frederick tutored me in doing some coptic binding and I made a small combination watercolor/writing book I could carry around with me.  But my use of too many odd pages and again the weight of watercolor bond sort of made the thing unmanageable.

Anyway, the other day I stopped into the last remaining Mom & Pop art store in Washington, Sullivan's Art Store on Wisconsin Avenue (sadly, they have no website, so I can just give the address for you locals).  The store is clear across on the other side of town, so I only visit when an errand brings me in the vicinity.  There in this tiny, jam-packed store I found a new series of sketch books by a company I'd never even heard of before. 

Hand+Book Journal Company has these great books for sale and they're just lovely.  The books are cloth bound and unlike Moleskine's sole black color, these come in some great colors like "cadmium green," "ultramarine blue," and "vermilion red" as well as an "ivory black."  They're quite handsome.

They are similar to Moleskines but this isn't really a problem for me as Moleskine is only a trademarked name for a type of book that existed decades before.  According to wikipedia:

The modern Moleskine is fashioned after (queer travel writer) Bruce Chatwin's descriptions of the notebooks he used and is not a direct descendant of the original moleskine. Chatwin used similar notebooks constantly throughout his travels, and wrote about them glowingly. His original source of notebooks dried up in 1986, when his Paris stationer informed him that the last moleskine manufacturer, a small family-run firm of Tours, had discontinued production that year after the death of the owner.

Although Moleskine srl claims their notebook has been used by well-known artists and writers, such as Picasso, Matisse, and Hemingway, the brand Moleskine was officially registered only in 1996. Francesco Franceschi, head of Modo & Modo's marketing department, was quoted as saying, "It's an exaggeration. It's marketing, not science. It's not the absolute truth."

So much for marketing.  Anyway, back to the books at hand... 

Like the popular Moleskines, the Hand+Book journals have an elastic band enclosure and also feature a small back pocket.  But whereas the Moleskine pocket is made of paper and splits open after serious use (this has happened a number of times for me to messy, papers-all-over-the-floor results), the Hand+book has a little clear plastic pocket that closes up tight.  Also the elastic strap is very heavy duty and has a transparent strip running through it.  It's a nifty design. 

What's more the paper itself is hefty enough for a light color wash without being chunky thick like the Moleskine watercolor pages.  Also the paper itself is white and not creme colored like Moleskines, so that's also a big plus.  It makes the pages just right for both sketch and note-taking, poem writing.  Add to all this the fact that the Hand+Book has more than double the number of pages compared with the moleskine sketchbooks and you can see the advantages start racking up.

Sullivan's only had them in three sizes, but a quick search online shows Hand+books come in three sizes in three formats.  Basically they have two pocket sizes (3.5"x5.5") in either vertical or horizontal (which they call "landscape") formats" and larger versions (8¼"× 5½") of both vertical and horizontal formats. 

But there's also a cool square-shaped book that's 5½" × 5½".  I couldn't resist picking one of those up in what they called "vermilion red."  I'm intrigued at sketching in that shape.  We'll see.

The best feature may be that these far superior books are considerably cheaper than moleskines.  They're 7 bucks each compared with the moleskine's usual $10 to $15 price.

So, if you're in the market for a new journal/sketch book, check these out. They're a vast improvement on moleskines.  After comparing both I think the only thing going for moleskines are their trendiness.  Needless to say, I think I've found the combo writing/sketch book I'd been searching for.

Hope this is of help to some of you.  I'd love to hear about your own favorite writing tools.

Oh and if you're really into these hand+book journals you can purchase them online at (in no particular order but the first ones are the cheapest):

• Dick Blick
• Cheap Joe's
• Binders Art Supply
• fine arts store (overpriced)
• Amazon (way overpriced)

A few more blog reviews about these journals are at:

http://www.notebookism.com/2006/10/travelogue_seri.html
http://ducly.wordpress.com/2007/03/30/handbook-journal-co/

Comments

[Miss T]

Oh wow, thank you! I haven't tried those. I do use Moleskines for some things, but much as I love them I've found the paper quality to be uneven--my fountain pens are fine on some of the pages and bleed horribly on others, within the same book. And they definitely buckle when you start pasting things in, etc. I start a new journal for each project I'm working on, often with a special ink, so I'm always looking for the next best thing. Right now I've got a Moleskine going (smallish, thin, brown cover) with Noodler's Habanero ink and one of my favorite Sheaffer fountain pens. [pen geek]

[Dan Vera]

Oooh... I'm definitely intrigued about the Noodler's Habanero ink. What color would that be? Red? Orange? Just thinking habanero as the pepper. If it's Habanero as the city, I'm guessing tobacco brown? Mm.... I might have to start a post about pen geekdom. Or maybe you should start one and I'll comment.