Michelle Haseltine: I am Safe and Free

I write in notebooks. As a kid, I didn’t love dolls and teddy bears...I loved books and notebooks.

My life as a notebook writer began on Saturday November 5,1983.

Ever since that first notebook, I’ve always kept a notebook. The kind of notebook has changed: spiral notebook, hardbound, lines, no lines. 

Ever since that first notebook, I’ve always kept a notebook. The kind of notebook has changed: spiral notebook, hardbound, lines, no lines. 

Today I prefer using a sketchbook for my notebook. The utensils I use to write have progressed from pencils to pens to fancy pens. What hasn’t changed is how my notebook is an extension of me. It travels with me. It’s the place that feels like home. No matter where I am in the world, when I open the pages of my notebook, I am safe and free. 

The most important thing about writing in a notebook is permission. Give yourself permission to allow your notebook what you need it to be. Make up your own rules. The audience is YOU and only YOU. Sometimes you’ll share your notebook pages with someone else, but for me that’s the exception, not the rule. I write for me. The words fall out and I allow it. I scribble. I cross out. I make giant messes of some pages, while others are works of art. It’s me. It’s all me. Problems get untangled in my notebook, ideas are born and nurtured, and memories are cherished on the pages. 

Here are my rules for keeping a notebook. 

1. Write the date, day and time for every entry. 

2. Use lots of color and find pens that fit me and my mood! 

3. If what I’m writing could be hurtful to someone else, be aware of how it’s written. My audience is me, but I think about what would happen if I lost my notebook. I don’t curse and I don’t call anyone names. When I’m mad...I write about how I feel instead of what someone else has done! 

4. Have fun! 

5. Open my notebook everyday. I find if I open it, I will usually jot something down. Making a rule of writing everyday is too much (for me) and then I feel guilty...NO FEELING GUILTY. Maybe that should be rule number six. 

6. No guilt!

Writing in a notebook may take practice if you aren’t used to it. Make it a habit. Start with noticing and make lists. Sketch and doodle. Write a poem. The important thing about notebook writing is that you begin.

Try this: Find a spot you enjoy spending time and bring your notebook. Sit. Watch. Listen. Jot down whatever you notice. Make a list. Sketch. Use your surroundings to inspire a piece of writing. After ten minutes, stand up and walk to another spot. Start all over again. Notice things. Write them down. Live life as a writer. Michelle Haseltine is in her twentieth year of education. Currently spending her days with sixth graders in Loudoun County, VA reading and writing. Michelle is a Teacher-Consultant with the Northern Virginia Writing Project and continues to search for the book she’s destined to write. She can be found at Twitter as @mhaseltine or @haseltineclass and at her blog One Grateful Teacher.

In honor of Michelle's notebook keeping, Sharing Our Notebooks is offering a giveaway to a commenter on this post...a giveaway of an unlined sketchbook, just as Michelle likes to use. Please leave a comment by Wednesday, September 15, 2015 to be entered into this drawing.