I like to write in longhand often. Today, I’m cracking open a new Moleskine. As much as I love Moleskines, I think I might soon have to switch to cheap notebooks—not so much because of the cost, but because of the pressure I feel to write perfect stuff in a Moleskine.
I learned a lot from finishing NaNoWriMo, but the most important thing was to loosen up and write crap. I was surprised that a good deal of that frenzied garbage I thought I was writing turned out to be brilliant—or at least useable.
My 30-day novel (51,000 words of drug-tripping parallel-universe sci-fi) lit up my mind more than I’d expected. The sheer speed of a 30-day book (my last book, an epic at 148,000 words, took years) forced me to shut off my inner editor and just enjoy writing.
So, I’m looking at this fresh Moleskine today. I vow to scribble, blotch, and dogear this thing. OCD tendencies have no place in notes and early drafts. Rules are (sing along!): make it messy and make it fun—no editing until it’s done.
