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Swapping out my old prompt notebook for a digital folder felt wrong at first

I used to keep this beat up spiral notebook where I'd scribble every story idea or character quirk on napkins or random pages. There was something about the physical act of writing it down that made the ideas stick in my head better, like they had room to breathe. Last year I switched to a Google Doc folder because I got tired of losing pages, but man, the digital version just feels flat. I find myself typing faster and not really thinking through the hook of a prompt before I move on. With the notebook, I'd sit at my kitchen table in Des Moines and cross out bad lines until something clicked. The folder makes it too easy to never commit. Has anyone else noticed their creativity dip after going all digital for prompts?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamie_white15d ago

I read somewhere that your brain processes handwriting differently than typing, like it forces you to slow down and actually shape the idea. Your line about the notebook making ideas "have room to breathe" is exactly how I felt when I switched back to paper for prompts. I still use digital for organizing finished stuff, but the rough ideas feel stiffer when I skip the notebook. It's weird how a physical tool can change how you think through a hook or a character trait.

eric72315d ago

Wait, you're in Des Moines too? No way. I've been writing prompts from a coffee shop on Ingersoll for three years now and I thought I was the only one still doing notebooks in this city. @jamie_white nailed it about handwriting slowing you down. I switched to a Notes app for a month and my ideas went from full paragraphs to just "ghost buys a car" with no context. The physical act of scratching out a bad sentence feels like I'm actually fighting with the idea instead of just hitting backspace. Now I keep a pocket Moleskine in my jacket and type up the good ones later, but the spark always happens on paper first.

kelly_west7421h ago

Wrote a prompt about a vampire barista on a napkin once, then my dog ate it... took me a week to remember the original idea but the rewritten version was way better somehow.