My Favourite Notebooks for Writing

This probably won’t come as a surprise, but I love stationery.

I’m talking Amy Santiago levels of love. Pens, notebooks, highlighters, washi tape, pastel-coloured post-it-notes — if it falls under the category of ‘Office Supplies’, I’ve probably lusted after it at some point. While other children got excited about back to school shopping for clothes, I was the one flipping through the Grand & Toy catalogue, weighing the pros and cons of a 0.5 vs. 0.7 mechanical pencil. On trips to visit my family in London in the summers, my first port of call was WHSmith, where I went nuts for these things called ink eradicators, which we didn’t get in Toronto. Nothing, and I mean nothing, was more satisfying to me than buying a new Lisa Frank notebook (side note: really wish they would bring these back) or putting page dividers in a fresh Hilroy 3-ring binder.

*Just a few of the many Moleskines I’ve used over the years*

In a world that’s increasingly digital, I still prefer to write things down instead of typing them out in a phone app. Juggling a career as an author with working in the tech world means I spend a ridiculous amount of time in front of a laptop, and I often find my brain needs a break from all the screens (I’m sure everyone stuck at home doing Zoom meeting after Zoom meeting can relate to this!)

That’s where notebooks come in. One of my favourite things to do when we were allowed to go out was to find an independent cafe, order a coffee and lose myself in a notebook. There is something about putting pen to paper that gets my creative juices flowing in a way typing never does.

*Yup, I have these in almost every colour.*

Of course, the bulk of my novels are written on my laptop. I know a few authors who write their books out in full on A4 legal pads and then use the transferring to a computer part as their first edit. For me, I’ve found a good balance between using my notebooks to help me brainstorm and get un-stuck and my smartphone and laptop to actually get the work in readable format for my agent and editors.

I want to highlight my favourite ‘analogue’ tools I use an author, starting with notebooks. I have stacks and stacks of notebooks. They carry the tiny seeds that, over the years, have grown into full-length works. It’s very rewarding and humbling to look through them and see how a few sentences turned into an entire theatrical play, or how one interesting piece of information I’d scribbled down became a book with a publishing deal. I’ve tried so many different kinds of notebooks over the years and the following are the ones I keep coming back to:

Moleskine Notebooks:

*Photo Credit: Official Moleskine Website*

Moleskines are the stereotypical favourite of every writer, artist and tech entrepreneur out there, but there’s a good reason why. It’s really hard to find the same level of quality, variety and consistency in other notebook brands. Here’s exactly what I love about them:

Excellent paper quality: The paper is good. It’s smooth, not flimsy, and it’s weighty enough that you can write on it with heavy ink without fear of it bleeding to the other side.
Lined or unlined: I’m partial to lined notebooks, but whatever your preference, there is likely a Moleskine available for you. I’ve even seen ones where one page is lined and the facing page is blank. They also have ones with the small dots, so if bullet journalling is your thing, try them out.
Ribbon marker: The Classic Collection Moleskine books come with a ribbon marker so you don’t lose your place. (Note: this feature isn’t available in the ‘Cahier’ books I listed below.
Flat-laying: My biggest pet peeve with notebooks are ones that don’t lay flat on the table as you write. I’ve been gifted some gorgeous notebooks over the years but I never end up using them because I have to keep one hand on the actual book, spreading it out so it doesn’t collapse inward. It’s too much of a hassle. Moleskines aren’t perfect in this regard, but they are so much better than many others.
Range of sizes: I love that Moleskines come in so many different sizes. I’ve bought the really small ones and tucked them into my purse. I have also bought the 3-pack of different coloured notebooks (known as the ‘Cahier’ style in the Journal range) and those also fit into my bag. What I like about the 3-packs are they’re a bit lighter than the books from the Classic Collection.
Different colours: Look, this may seem like a silly thing, but when you’re 5 years deep into re-writing the same novel (I speak from personal experience), the slightest bit of colour can do wonders for your mood. I either get the pastel or the bright shades of Moleskine books (this is another reason why I love the 3-pack — you don’t have to stick with one colour for too long — although I’m not sure they do varying colours by pack anymore.)

My personal picks for Moleskine notebooks:

There are 2 notebooks I keep re-purchasing from the Moleskine collection:

The Classic Collection Notebook in size Large (8 x 5.25 inches). It costs $24.00 USD.
The 3-pack Cahier style from the Journal Collection, size Large (8 x 5.25 inches). A 3-pack costs $18.00 USD.

Moleskines aren’t cheap but one way to save some money is to buy them on sale. On their website, they have a ‘Last Pieces’ section and you can usually find some good deals. I have also seen them on sale at many local book and office supply shops.

(Please note that I linked directly to the Moleskine website in my links above and that all links and pricing were accurate at the time of posting. However, you can find Moleskine notebooks for purchase at your local stationery or book store as well if you don’t want to buy directly from their website!)

Muji Notebooks:

I love Muji. I’ve been buying their notebooks and pens since before they expanded worldwide and were just one store in London, I think on Tottenham Court Road. I would go there during summer breaks and stock up on stationery (again, please see the note above about back to school shopping). Now they have stores globally but haven’t lost the commitment to minimalism and high quality products, especially given the price point. Here’s what I love about Muji notebooks:

Excellent value for money: Notebooks start at $2.00 (CDN). True, they are small and slim, but you can buy packs. Even the most expensive notebook when I checked was less than $10 (CDN).
Excellent paper quality: The paper Muji uses in its notebooks is high quality. I’ve never had a problem with gel pens bleeding through and the paper is also really smooth and pleasant to write on.
Flat-laying: Muji notebooks lie really flat. It’s partly because they’re thin, but it’s really pleasant to write in them because I’m never fighting with the spine to stay open.
Range of sizes: As with the Moleskines, Muji notebooks come in many different sizes. They don’t really have a lot of big ones, but the smaller ones are perfect for tucking into a purse or hand luggage. I personally love these for travelling. Every bit of extra weight counts and these are almost as light as air.
Lined or un-lined: Muji notebooks come in different styles. Some are lined, some are blank and they also have grid options.

My personal picks for Muji notebooks:

The Muji notebook I keep re-purchasing is:

The Open-Flat Lined Notebook in the A5 size (about 8.2 x 5.6 inches). I prefer black but they come in other colours and are also available in B6 (7 x 5 inches), B5 (10 x 7 inches) and A6 (5.8 x 4.1 inches). The A5 costs $6.90 (CDN).

(Please note that I linked directly to the Muji website in my links above and that all links and pricing were accurate at the time of posting.)

Mumuso Notebooks:

Apologies to anyone outside Canada since I don’t think this place ships internationally. Mumuso is an Asian goods and lifestyle store in Canada and a place I sometimes get notebooks from. Here’s why I love them:

Price: Starting at $3.99 and topping out at a whopping $5.99 (all figures CDN), can you really go wrong? That’s less than the cost of a latte. Yes, I know that the fact that they’re so cheap is suspect — but I don’t buy these often (maybe 2 a year).
Paper Quality: Very little bleeding on these pages, and they can handle highlighting and writing in gel ink.
Flat-laying: If you end up buying any notebooks from Mumuso, look for the ones that say they are ‘stitched’. I find these ones tend to lay pretty flat.
Good size: These notebooks fit nicely into my purse. Plus, they have a soft but protective cover, so tend to do well in my bags where I seem to keep everything but the kitchen sink.

My personal picks for Mumuso Notebooks:

The selection of products changes all the time on the Mumuso website. I also find they have more items inside the actual store, but with things being shut right now, it’s not possible to browse. If you do order online, I would recommend any notebook that says it is stitched, as it will probably lay fairly flat.