Many, many notebooks.

I looked around my office the other day and wondered if I really have a problem. There are 6 notebooks in my line of sight right now that I've been using, and I think there are at least 2 more in my bedroom.

What the WHAT? Maybe it's a bit extreme or strange, but it's how I've been operating lately.

First off, I know some people buy fancy notebooks and pens, and spend a small fortune on their stationery. That's cool, but I don't. Luxury notebooks are for high-class ideas, and I need to scribble and jot down random thoughts and total junk if need be.

My best friend used to work at a ton of sales conventions, and some of the fantastic swag they'd be handing out like crazy were notebooks and pens. So I now have a massive stack of strange notebooks with odd software and TV company logos on them. They're amazing! Plus an entire drawer full of promo pens.

But sometimes I just need to whip through endless pages and make a total mess. I bought a five-pack of college ruled spiral notebooks and used washi tape to stick gorgeous photos from a home design magazine on the front. Fancy enough!

That big book follows me around to jot down ideas for whatever I'm currently working on, whatever is coming up next, and random ideas.

I have a little green notebook that lives beside my bed for writing down my dreams when I remember them. I've always been an extremely vivid dreamer, and some of my nighttime mental wanderings are just beyond belief.

Then there is a nice faux leather black notebook that is my diary sort of journal. I fill out one page about whatever is on my mind. It's my little venting space. I try to do that several times a week.

Next up is my day planner. It's just a nice lined notebook that lies flat. The left side of the spread is for notes, and on the right, I draw 7 sections for the days of the week. Tasks that MUST be done that day in the left column, tasks for around that day on the right. I usually add some washi tape and stickers to spice it up a bit.

A huge wiro bound ladybug-covered notebook is my book word count tracker. At the end of every day, I write down the total of each book I've worked on. Usually, it's only one, but occasionally it's been as many as three. Hey, sometimes a scene for a new project pops into my head and it must be written right this second, even if I don't quite know the character names yet!

Then there is a scripting journal, a random charts journal, my everything journal from 3 months ago, and a tiny ideas book.

So I ask again… Is that too many?