The Writer's Curse of Notebooks

This is something I’ve observed over the last five years or so.

Writers are cursed.

No, I’m not playing dramatic romanticist, preaching that writers are cursed to have other people living inside their heads, sometimes psychopathic serial killers. While that’s true — though a serial killer has never lived in my head, at least not long enough to worry me — I’m talking about an entirely different curse, one more common and much less harmful, not to mention slightly hilarious.

We are cursed with notebooks. Or I am, anyway. For Christmas, birthdays, congratulations, get well soon, Easter, even as a departing gift or a souvenir from a long trip, I receive notebooks from my friends and family.

Maybe because they know I write and have no idea of anything else I might enjoy — though I’m not fond of receiving gifts in general — I’ve been given enough notebooks over the years that I could probably start selling them.

You see, as a vague rule, I write on my computer. Poetry and brainstorms are usually the only things that make their way onto the creamy, lined pages of those gifts. Out of the dozens of notebooks I own, to my knowledge, only three or four of them are close to being filled. Containing illegible scribbles, half-written poems, scraped ideas for other novels, character sketches, rough drawings of maps and places, and lists of things to do/write about, these funny little notebooks have made themselves home. They’re sprawled out all over my desk, on counters, tucked in day-bags for writing at the beach, left in the car, stuffed under couch cushions…

I don’t think I could live without this delightful curse.

Here’s an example of one of my more intelligible note-scribbles:

To do:

Meet Mund.Emp., Phb+Ph, feast, children, cult., mgic.

–> Ph teach A to dance –> P.T. = ?!?

So, while that makes perfect sense to me, it’s probably about as clear as mud for the rest of you. My sister nearly died of laughter when I showed it to her.

Thank you, my friends and relatives, for burdening me with even more stuff to write on when I’m away from the computer. Thank you for the Alice in Wonderland themed notebooks, the cuddly-cat booklets, the romancing notepads, and the customized Libby-styled bundles of paper.

Do you have the curse? Have piles and piles of half-touched or un-touched notebooks from well-wishing friends?

This is just a sampling of the notebooks I’ve received over the years. Aren’t they beautiful?

Happy Canada Day Weekend!

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