There are three notebooks in a little cubby in my office, always in reach: a journal, a book of quotes from other people, and a book of quotes from myself.
The journal is the first interesting diary I've ever written (thank Ceiling Cat for psych meds). The book of quotes means I can finally throw away recycle all those pieces of paper I've been collecting for umpteen years. In the third book I write the words I've decided to preserve from what I've written since 1963.
The thing is, I write all this with fountain pens. I have nine of them, inked in different colors, that I use every day. I write everything in multicolor to keep me from zoning out. Each paragraph in my journal is in a new color; I don't have to skip a line.
I belong to the Fountain Pen Network, an online group of FP aficionados. We write millions of words about pens, paper, and ink and how they interact.
My journal is in a composition book designed by John Derian that looks like this.
I'm going through the journals, stories, poetry and squibs I've written over the years and copying excerpts. On Twitter I call it #editingmypapers. It's written in an ordinary composition book that I've covered with these magazine clips.
Front:
Back:
Do you keep a journal? A quote book? A sketchbook? What's it like?