National Stationery Week, Day 2

I lied to you yesterday: today is not Pen & Ink Day, but Notepad Day.

I have a love-hate relationship with notepads.  I accumulate them without really trying, to the point where I had to start using them because I had developed a hefty pile that had no chance of ever diminishing.  I am, or at least was, primarily a laptop kind of person who carried all their plotlines in their head.

This is all well and good until you start becoming ancient and decrepit, like me.  I figured there might be a problem when I forgot the name of AU!Alex's sister.  (For the record, and before I forget again, it's Melia.)  That's when the ever-growing stack of notebooks starts to look like a good idea.

They have another purpose too, one I wouldn't have believed a couple of years ago: I actually use them for plotting.  Whether it's just a list of prompts I'm using for chapters, like the Unravel AUs, or full-blown semi-detailed plots as I've done for the still-untitled Kirill stories, they've turned out to be remarkably handy and I'm now starting to get through them.  Well, some of them.  There's nine around me at the minute that are unused, three of which are likely to stay that way forever.  *cough*BeautifulPaperblanksbooks*cough*

No, those serve another purpose: my ridiculous 'artistic' photography.  The thing with Paperblanks notebooks (such as the filigree ones to the right) is that they are stupidly beautiful and make for a variety of stunning photos, even in the amateur hands of people like myself.  Combined with other items, such as jewelry from my favourite online store, and you can end up with some surprisingly lovely pictures.

I daren't actually use those though.  I'd need to be sure of both a fantastic idea and the sudden ability to write neatly and coherently.  I just like looking at them and trying not to think about the price.

No, the ones I use for writing usually come from The Works.  They're still attractive, but they aren't so expensive that I'd panic about messing them up... which is quite handy, because my notes are always anything but clear, or even sometimes legible.  They're usually written in my favourite atyouSpica pens with different colours for different sections.  Plots, for example, are in purple; notes are orange.  Pre-considered sections are green, while new ones are red.

The book at the front on the left with the pink handwriting (solely my Kuretake Zig Cocoiro letter pen with brush nib) is for my book review notes when I read, although sorely neglected at the minute.  The book at the back contains the first draft of the story I wrote for National Stationery Week.  Everything else is, unusually for me, plot-related for several different stories.

Tomorrow: Pen & Ink Day, for real this time!