The January Commonplace Book Club (CBC) Begins Tonight!
and a few tips to get you started
It’s almost January 1st, which means that our Commonplace Book Club (CBC) is about to begin! You can read more about the club here.
I’ve assembled some tips to get you started. If you still have questions after reading this post, put them in the comments or ask in our chat.
I’m very excited to start the new year together by building a gloriously collaborative commonplace book!
How does the CBC work?
There will be a new thread for each day in January. I will post my quote the night before so the thread is available for early-birds and international participants. In other words, our January 1st thread is available today (December 31st) for those of you who want to get a head start!
Where can I find the CBC?
The CBC takes place on Noted’s subscriber chat. Click the “Join chat” link below:
How do I post to the CBC chat?
You’ll see an image of my quote for the first day of the CBC. Click on the replies to add your own. Here’s what it looked like for our warm-up round:
At the bottom of the thread, you’ll find the following box for your reply. You could add a picture of your quote, type your quote, or both:
How do I respond to other people’s quotes?
The social aspect of our club makes it especially fun! Here’s how you can heart or comment on others’ posts.
On the app: add a heart (or other emoji) to quotes you like by clicking on the image. This will also give you the option to “Reply” to the quote. It will look like this:
On the web: if a post has already been hearted, you can double click on the heart. Or, you can add your own emoji by clicking on this icon:
Click the arrow if you’d like to reply to a quote.
What kind of quote should I add?
The short answer: Anything you’d like! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: there is no wrong way to keep a commonplace book.
The longer answer: The CBC should be fun and useful for all of us. So, it’s worth spending some time thinking about what you’d like the club to do for you.
For my January CBC practice, I’ve decided to focus on Seneca’s letters—reading one a day and writing out my favorite lines in my commonplace book.
You can set out on a similarly structured CBC journey, or you can add quotes in whatever way feels right to you. Here are some ideas:
pull quotes from previous commonplace books
share quotes from whatever you happen to be reading
revisit favorite books and write out your favorite lines
quotes need not come from books—for example, you can write out phrases you overhear
you might also come up with your own quotes—lots of authors have done this in their commonplace books
Do I have to post my quotes?
Of course not! You’re welcome to silently follow along in your own commonplace book.
Who can join the CBC?
The CBC is a perk for paid subscribers. Now’s a great time to upgrade since we’re at the end of Noted’s winter sale.1
So, head over to the chat—> read through other people’s quotes (don’t forget to ♡ the ones you love)—>then leave a quote of your own!
See you on the chat,
I believe that education and community are for everyone. As always, if you can’t swing the subscription fee right now, send me a message via email (notedbee@gmail.com—use the subject “Upgrade Comp”) and I’ll comp you for the next few months so you can join in the fun. In return, I ask that you post to our chat at least once.
Hi Jillian,
Commenting on your recent post about Jack Kerouac, where you note "great writing days are often followed by not-so-great writing days, as though the mind needs to rest."
This immediately brought to my mind what Thoreau said in The Journal 1837-1861. Unfortunately, I have to paraphrase because I could not find the quote anywhere but...
Our creativity and art are not earthly attributes, they are heavenly. Do not expect them to be as steady as a stream, as water follows gravity down toward the Earth. Expect for there to be an ebb and flow like the ocean as it is impacted by the heavens, the moon's pull. Low tide will soon be replaced by high tide, which will come to fill the tidal pools and unearth beautiful shells.
I use this as conciliation for when I have no inspiration and don't feel like writing.
Cheers!
I really like that you do these things. And that even if I don't get to finish the whole thing I can start, and each time you do this, get deeper into the process. I did start The Hilery Mantel quote club, and I just couldn't finish reading her book. However, I loved watching Wolf Hall over the Christmas holiday, even more so, because of my relationship with the author through your group. This time I am going to have a go at this Commonplace Book. I appreciate your work. Happy New Year xx