GUEST BLOG: A Small Notebook Obsession by Debra Sennefelder Plus Giveaway!

This month I’m celebrating the release of BEAUTY AND THE DECEASED, the fourth book in the Resale Boutique Mystery series. This is also the month where I begin thinking about the upcoming new year. I start browsing new planners and wonder if I’ll stay with the same brand I’ve been using or try something different. I also start thinking about the goals I’d like to achieve in the new year. In addition to using a planner, I also use notebooks. I just love a good notebook. Show of hands who’s with me.

Over the summer, I was browsing in Barnes & Noble with the thought I’d leave with a haul of books. It was the kind of day where all I wanted were books and coffee. So, I was a little surprised that I left with only one item – a notebook. This little notebook had one inspiring word on the cover – Write.

The inspiration word, size, thickness, and narrow lines had me heading to the checkout with the notebook in hand.

Leaving Barnes & Noble, I didn’t have an idea of what I’d used this new notebook for, and I still don’t. It’s currently tucked on a bookshelf, just waiting for the right project.

Writers use notebooks for brainstorming, plot ideas, characters, backstory, jotting down random thoughts. I’ve used notebooks for all those things, plus I’ve used them for online courses I’ve taken. Over the summer, I took a marketing course and used my daisy-covered notebook for that class. I continued to use it to keep track of the actions I was taking in my marketing. I have another one for goal setting. And there’s a smaller notebook I use to keep on top of my running to-do list. The one I’m writing in every day is my red gratitude journal.

When I was writing BEAUTY AND THE DECEASED, I used my pink notebook to jot down ideas and keep track of characters and any research notes. Becky Quinn, Kelly’s cousin, was the owner of a cosmetics company. She also had a connection to a beauty influencer. I spent time online reading about cosmetics companies and visiting many Instagram accounts of beauty influencers. I also learned about style subscription boxes from YouTube videos. We meet Kelly’s newest client in the book, who has a slight addiction to those style boxes. It’s a good thing for Kelly because there’s a lot of clothing to consign. I typically don’t return to the notebooks I’ve used while brainstorming a novel because the information I keep in the notebook is transferred to a Word document. It is double the work, but I enjoy writing all those notes that I eventually weave into a novel by hand. I guess it’s my process.

My stack of notebooks makes me a very happy author. Are you crazy about notebooks too? I’d love to know.