“Always tucked in a pocket of my purse is a Moleskine journal. I try to write every day, no matter what, and I’ve pulled that Moleskine out while waiting for my kids—doctor’s appointments, soccer practices, piano lessons. In my Moleskine, I allow myself the freedom to write anything. No matter the inanity—it has my full permission to go down uncensored. I doodle. I make lists. I describe the waiting rooms, piano lessons, parents in the stands. And if I lose my Moleskine, my name and phone number are displayed, with a reward offered of one billion dollars.”
—Victoria Patterson, author of This Vacant Paradise (Counterpoint, 2011)
Photo credit: Gabriel Mason
Comments
birgitte replied on Permalink
Missing my Moleskine
Hi Victoria!
I too carry (or carried) a little Moleskine. Sadly, last week at my son's talent show, I left it in the gymnasium. No one has returned it to me, in spite of my name being in it and yeah, a billion $ reward. I'm a bit shell shocked. It contained about a year's worth of notes on my novel...of course they were all perfect and poignant and the EXACT thing I needed to write the next blockbuster.
So, note to self: Transcribe my Moleskine notes into a word file periodically so that the only thing I have to worry about is computer crashes and Dropbox dying.
Signed, "Shattered in Seattle"
pdy818 replied on Permalink
Moleskine Obsession
Love the reminder, Victoria. Thanks. Glad to know that I'm not the only one. ;) I too love the Moleskine possibilies. In fact, I just found a lovely Moleskine cover. I have one for my Kindle. http://www.oberondesign.com/moleskine.php
It's pricey, but worth the money, 'cause it will last a lifetime. Just hope that I continue to get a lot of wear out of it.
Pamela
Lia replied on Permalink
Moleskine
Some interesting info on Moleskine, now made mostly in China: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moleskine
BradB replied on Permalink
Wish I had read your
Wish I had read your suggestion about the billion dollar reward before I lost one....
It was like losing a piece of my soul.
jensens replied on Permalink
SmartPen Moleskine
I have the Moleskine scribble habit from way back, too. I love my new SmartPen. I still write in a Moleskine journal (it has special paper for the Smart Pen), but now my handwriting gets translated to text. From there, I can revise or post to my blog. Ain't technology wonderful?!
greg_eye replied on Permalink
Thanks Victoria
This sounds like a wonderful idea....I'm going to try it !
I'm a poet and always have words...ideas swirling around in my head.
Greg
zviasesling@com... replied on Permalink
Moleskin
Always keep a Moleskin and comfortable pen in my shirt pocket. Also name, address and phone in book with offer of reward if found (though not a billion dollars). Love the pocket in the back for clips that inspire new poems.
Tried many things and this is the best.
MrDSmith replied on Permalink
I hate to be the one to
I hate to be the one to burst the ludite bubble, but I converted from Moleskine to smartphone and haven't looked back. There are applications I use to take and save notes, create and edit Word documents, and keep them all safely stored online so I never "lose" any of it.
landwoman replied on Permalink
multiple notebooks
Haven't saved up enough for a smartphone yet. So I have multiple notebooks. One in my regular backpack, one in my easy-on-your-back backpack, and one in my purse. Oh, and one that stays at home. I've already got a big box full of these things, each full of my observations for a year or 3 of my life. So when I'm 84 and have time on my hands, I should have plenty of material.
I'm not a complete Luddite, tho. I'm negotiating a contract on my 2nd book (nonfiction), and I keep a 2nd back-up out there in the ether. Wouldn't want to lose my latest revisions of *Pursued by Conscience: Former Fugitive Katherine Ann Power* in a fire, flood, burglary, hurricane, tornado, tsunami!
jdblair replied on Permalink
Moleskine
My magnificent Moleskines have become an appendage. I have written complete one-act plays in them when I'm away from my computer. They somehow lead to free-form thinking and creativity for me. I'm always amazed at how much they hold in the way of ideas and thoughts...thoughts that would have been lost had I not jotted them down.
Byron replied on Permalink
Love Moleskine + Covers
Hi Victoria,
Like yourself, I also love Moleskine. I take mine with me everywhere I go and don't know what I would do without it!
Lately, I have gotten very into accessories with the purchase of a brand new leather moleskine cover form Molecover ( http://www.molecover.com ).
I have followed these guys 2 years on Twitter, and finally pulled the trigger and bought one of their Moleskine covers. It's natural bound leather adds quite a bit of class and it protect my Moleskine. I love it, and have no regrets in my purchase!
theaveragepoet replied on Permalink
I love my Moleskine. Before
I love my Moleskine. Before my Moleskine era, I never finished a whole journal. Now, I am working on my third Moleskine journal! I am glad to have come upon this wonder of a journal and I hope to continue buying them for the rest of my life.