A (paper) notebook and a pen
This morning, I went out without my netbook. This is rare. The only times I don’t carry my netbook with me when I go out is when I don’t plan to write outside. But this morning, I made a conscious decision to carry only a paper notebook and pen.
I’ve been writing quite a bit by hand this past month. I think it’s because of this B5 spiral bound notebook that I bought early in the month. Size-wise, it’s smaller than A4 but larger than A5. A5 has been my preferred size for many years; I find A4 to be too big and conspicuous. I also prefer spiral bound notebooks because they open flat, but the problem with A5 spiral bound is my hand hits the spiral spine too soon. So I decided to try the B5 size, and find that it suits me. So I’ve been writing by hand quite a bit this month, usually 3 pages at a time.
This morning, I wrote 4 pages after breakfast at Wendy’s in JayaOne, while waiting for my car to be washed. I felt comfortable taking out the notebook and opening it on the table to write. This morning’s writing was sparked off by something I read in a book that just arrived from Better World Books a few days ago – Writers and Their Notebooks, edited by Diana M Raab. This picture commemorates the writing session:
I usually can’t write by hand for long, due to my lupus. But I haven’t felt much pain writing by hand in the B5 notebook. Part of the reason is the notebook itself. The other is the pen – I use a Pilot G-2 0.7 which glides across the surface of the notebook and doesn’t get in the way of the writing. My handwriting’s not great, but I’ve learned not to let it bother me; what’s important is getting the words down.
