How 5 of Noted's Readers Create With Notes
Noted's Anniversary Edition: Part 3
We’re over two months into Noted’s third year, so it’s time for another edition of our Anniversary Post! As you might remember, when I put out a call for readers to share their note-taking practices, I got such an overwhelming response, I split the post into installments. (Check out Part 1 and Part 2.)
Here is Part III—on how readers use their notes towards creative ends: for books, an art exhibit, a screenplay, and a Substack post.
If there is a secret to creativity, it is in creators’ notes: that’s where much of the magic happens. So, let’s look at how six of Noted’s readers have used their notes to sustain creative projects.
I. Creating Illustrated Books
I love a blank notebook because it’s filled with so much possibility. And, I’m always excited to see how visual artists approach an empty page. Meaghan and Tim’s illustrated notes did not disappoint.
1) ’s “First and Last Stop”
As an author and illustrator, Meaghan relies on notebooks at every stage of the process. As she explains:
They are the first and last stop for any story I write.
Meaghan begins with her “ideas notebook.”
As ideas develop,
stories graduate to their own notebook - devoted only to the one, single project. I draw and doodle and paint on the pages, each illustration relates to whatever idea I am working through, the act of drawing lets my mind wander as I decide on the words. I write notes and brainstorm, research and world-build and even write full-on prose.
Here are some notes Meaghan kept while writing The Bear House.
Because books take a long time from beginning to end, the notebooks are active for YEARS. These are some of the nicest pages. Others are ugly. Or scribbled. But all of them contribute to the final project that finds the reader!
Read more about Meaghan’s process and see more of her delightful notes at
.2)
Tim loves to travel, and he always brings along a Moleskine notebook to fill while abroad. He’s completed over 70 travel notebooks:
These notebooks contain stories from Tim’s travels as well as illustrations of scenes. He explains,
Since 2004 I have been lucky enough to travel extensively overseas and note books have always been a part of the adventure.
Tim shared images from a book he created while vacationing in Cancun, Mexico. I particularly admire how he collaged receipts for beer and snacks onto the page.
Tim describes his fellow sunbathers with humor:
Our first day on the beach and some fellow guests are already becoming familiar to us, thus earning their own appellations. Mr and Mrs Birmingham who were here but a short while. Mr and Mrs Atlantic City, Mrs AC was always first to stake out her sun lounger with Prussian determination.
Download Tim’s entire Mexican sketchbook here and read more of Tim’s work at
.II. Creating a Play
Writing a play feels daunting to me because there are so many moving parts. So, I was very interested to see Jennifer Luster’s notes. She invites us inside the process for creating a play about a bunch of villainous armadillos.
3) Jennifer Luster’s “Scooby-Doo” Method
Jennifer shared her process After she has written out several scenes, she’ll
type out a bulleted outline of the elements the scene will contain-- leaving plenty of open space.
After the outline, Jennifer often embarks on more research. She explains:
From listening to James Patterson’s Masterclass, I learned that if you are stuck on a project, you need to do more research. I took Patterson's advice to heart and researched the habits of the armadillo (the villain in my story), and the ideas started to develop.
As she nears the end of her script, she’ll work on tying up loose ends by creating a “Scooby Doo” list:
When I needed to tie up loose ends at the end of my play but not in a kindergartenish way--ala Scooby Doo, Where are You?, I made a list of all the unresolved issues and used it as a guide to write bits of dialogue with no owner—to be edited later.
Learn more about Jennifer’s work on her website.
III. Creating an Art Exhibit
Much like creating a script, creating an art exhibit involves a great deal of coordination. What starts out on a notebook page transforms over time into a multi-dimensional art piece. Consider B.A. Lampman’s process:
4) ’s Art from Journals
Canadian artist, B.A. Lampman shared the notes she took while preparing for an art exhibit called Life’s Work: A Visual Memoir. Here’s how Lampman describes it:
[The show] dealt with my mother’s Lewy Body dementia, and my relationship with her. The show incorporated paintings, drawings, large-scale graphic memoir pieces, and an installation. I’d never created such a large-scale project before, and note-taking was instrumental in getting me there.
B.A. began sketching thoughts and isolating themes in her idea books:
My note-taking method, if I have one, is organic: I jot down ideas as they come to me, and with each subsequent page they’ll naturally become more defined and developed.
Some of her notes began to coalesce into cartoon strips illustrating her mother’s “Amazing hallucinations”:
When I reviewed the notebooks I’d used for Life’s Work: A Visual Memoir, I was amazed to see how they’d taken me from awkward beginnings to a fully-developed exhibit. Not every note bore fruit, but every idea I entertained was important.
This is what the exhibit ended up looking like:
Explore the rest of B.A.’s installation, Life’s Work: A Visual Memoir and see more of her notes at
.IV. Creating a Substack
Of course, sustaining a Substack publication takes dedication and many notes. From mind-maps, to lists, to drafts, to design sketches—those of us who publish on Substack take on the role of writer, designer, and publicist.
5) ’s “Tangible Record”
Candace Rose Rardon shares illustrated essays every week. Her posts begin in her “ideas notebooks.” She explains,
I’ve been using the same kind of notebook for years. It’s made by a Hong Kong-based company called Joytop, and I’ve filled more than 25 of them now. I literally call it my ideas notebook, and I love having a tangible record of how my stories and projects have evolved.
…when I got the idea for my own newsletter, the first thing I did was reach for my notebook. I started mind-mapping the themes I wanted to write about — and looking back at all the hastily drawn circles and arrows now, I can still feel the excitement of that moment, as a new project took shape.
When Candace first started brainstorming for her newsletter,
, she created a mind map of what she might include:
In her first, magical essay, Rardon tells the story of her life through cups of tea:
When I set out to create my first illustrated essay, “Home is a Cup of Tea,” I turned to my notebook to help me lay out its narrative arc, as well as the motif of tea woven through the story.
Read the essay Candace created from these notes here.
Notes on Creative Notes
Create an Idea Book: B.A. and Meaghan start drafting ideas in a notebook designed to capture early ideas. I also loved Candace’s mind-map as an early-stage way to capture ideas.
Start Outlining: If you’ve got lots of ideas floating around, a great entry into organization is to create an outline with lots of space for additions (as Jennifer does).
There are many ways to create visually exciting notes: from mind-mapping and charts (like Candace’s), to cartoon strips (like B.A.’s) to collages (like Tim’s).
I hope this post offered you some new practices to expand the way you create with notes!
Noted is fueled by you. Your ❤️’s and comments inspire me. As always, I’d love to know your thoughts: which of these methods inspired you? What practices would you like to borrow?
Yours in Note-Taking,
I love this series. Thanks Jillian for sharing these with us.
What a cornucopia of beautiful notebooks (and beautifully inventive notebookers)! I think I've shared this idea with you before, Jillian: Wouldn't it be fun to create a course or challenge where participants are prompted to try out a different notebooking style every day or week or month, as a way of expanding their own ways of thinking? I'd sign on for sure!