I love notebooks. I keep three ongoing at all times. When I started out, I used one. It served me well then, and at the end of the year that notebook went into my income tax records. Then I evolved.

Today I keep one for my business side of writing which incorporates ideas, phone calls, resources to check out, advertising, speaking engagements, and things to do by the end of the week. A weekly calendar sits near it, a week at a glance.

I keep another notebook for the novel in progress. Ideas, dialogue snippets, plot twists, red herrings that I need to bring around, when I read that notebook, there are no other distractions from just that story. Often I throw those away, though admittedly, I keep them around for a year or two after the book comes out. Sentimental reasons, I guess.

The third one, however, holds two things only. One is names I like. I’ve published 12 novels, written two more that will be published in the near future, and plan several more, and finding unique and applicable names without repetition or confusion becomes challenging. The majority of that notebook, however, consists of phrases that resonated so precisely, beautifully, intelligently, in my head upon reading them, that I had to write them down. The showing instead of telling phrases we so desperately try to teach ourselves to write.

Phrases like:

“Only the flare of color in her cheeks hinted at what she was thinking.”
“Her expression a propped up haughtiness which the fear in her blue eyes denied.”
“He stepped loud against the silence.”
“The bushes had their June clothes on.”

Some of my favorite phrasing comes from mystery noir. Back then they loved making a phrase lovely while also making it dark. Those thrill me.

That is my notebook of talent. Occasionally I just sit and read it, letting it “seep in and pool.” Some have asked if I’m afraid of plagiarizing these phrases. I say no, because you do not accidentally plagiarize. You choose to cheat or you choose not to. These phrases are to make me stop and sink deeper into my own wording.

You know those phrases that make you go back and read them again. Why not write them down to snare that little thrill over and over and make you even more excited about writing your own work?