The Commonplace Book; A Miscellany of New Ideas…Writing advice from OCA tutor and novelist Nina Milton

Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves or we know where we can get information upon it...Samuel Johnson

Johnson was quite right (which is just as well, because he generally did think he was right!); if you know where to get the information you need, your research is halfway done. Which is where a keeping a file of miscellaneous items comes in, because sometimes (quite often, really), writers don’t know what they’ll need to know or even what they’ll want to write about until it jumps out at them.

Think about this. I was skimming through the Sunday supplements one afternoon (not necessarily on Sunday of course...) and was absorbed by an article on genetic history....the story of people who’d discovered that they have ancestors that don’t belong to the cultural, social, national or even racial group they always imagined they were part of. I cut it out, for no better reason than it was interesting, and as a writer, I keep things that are interesting. I put it into my miscellany file.

Months later, I came across it and started to write a story about this subject. I researched it closely, battled on,  finished it, submitted it, and, a year on, saw it published as a novel for 9+ children called Just My Luck. 

Thank you - Miscellany File!

In Johnson’s time, such a collections were called 'commonplace books'.  In his dictionary of 1805, he defines a commonplace book as a "book in which things to be remembered are ranged under general heads." He also lists a verb "to commonplace" which means "to reduce to general heads." 

Commonplace books have been used since the Middle Ages – the phrase translates from the Latin, locus communis, loosely meaning ‘a wise proverb’. John Milton’s commonplace book was a vast collection of sayings. Over hundreds of years, the term expanded to include collections with a common theme. Often these were scrapbooks filled with items: quotes, puzzles, letters, poems, even prayers. However, I don’t recommend actually using a scrapbook, because cuttings often include articles that run over both sides of a page, and ‘sticking them in’ will become a problem. A writer’s commonplace, or miscellany, will contain all the visual or written material that catches their interest and which might be useful, or might excite the imagination. 

I’m pretty sure Johnson had a commonplace book, full of miscellanies, if this quote from him is anything to go by...If it rained knowledge I'd hold out my hand, but I would not give myself the trouble to go in quest of it...

Sometimes, the right information drops into your hand, and when that happens you’ve got your Miscellany File to store it in until further need.My Miscellany File is a store of incidental items that a writer might find useful, informative or inspiring in time to come...a collection of  ‘miscellaneous’ cuttings…pages from magazines or printouts from the internet...photos, postcards, business cards, pamphlets, maps, CDs & DVDs. Collecting incidental items is what a miscellany file is all about. 

The file will probably start out as an envelope of cuttings, but even with the occasional ‘weeding out’, the collection will eventually grow large enough to be moved into its own box folder or office drawer. Mine is in a shoe box with the word Amblers on the side.

It's a store of incidental items that a writer might find useful, informative or inspiring in time to come...a collection of  ‘miscellaneous’ cuttings…pages from magazines or printouts from the internet...photos, postcards, business cards, pamphlets, maps, CDs & DVDs. Collecting incidental items is what a miscellany file is all about. 

A Miscellany File is useful in two main respects:

Sparks of inspiration – save anything and everything that might get you writing

Research material - if you know what you are interested in writing about, search out cuttings on specific subjects. If you don’t know what you’re planning to write, keep things that attract your attention.

Get into the habit of collecting ideas in this way, and leaving them in the file for however long it takes for them to brew-up into something you might want to write about – this might be days or years.

What you are dong is nourishing your imagination. A writer never knows what will spark off an idea that later becomes a poem, or a novel, or a letter to an editor. As this happens, a certain section might start to grow, as you look out for things of interest that, for instance, might fuel your research into a specific subject.

The file will probably start out as an envelope of cuttings, but even with the occasional ‘weeding out’, the collection will eventually grow large enough to be moved into its own box folder or office drawer. Mine is in a shoe box with the word Amblers on the side.

An Exercise to Try:

Choose a receptacle;

Go for cornered, rather than rounded, receptacles:

•  shoe box
• empty drawer
• ring plan or box file
• cardboard or plastic container
• Or you can buy an attractive box or basket
• If you’d like to extend your collection to the world wide web, try EverNote

Start your collection by rifling through things you’ve stored haphazardly around your house. Seek out:

• Photographs
• Newspapers and magazine
• Postcards
• Flyers
• Letters from friends
• Tokens of memories 
• Collect them together and spend a happy hour reading or meditating on this collection. You might also like to examine ideas that spring from the following:
• Music 
• Sketchbooks
• Pinterest

In the following week, try to extend your collection:

• Pick up some interesting reading at the magazine counter next time you are out
• This coming Sunday buy copies of newspapers with a supplement
• Drop an email/chat to your friends – alert them especially to the things you might like to collect

 Make notes about all the ideas that spin off from this early collection

Don’t stop to consider if each idea will ever be used. At this stage, just write down all the ideas 

Feel free to start a dedicated notebook if you wish. You could keep it inside the commonplace book.

Write clearly, because you may not return to read these notes for some time – you can also transfer your notes to a computer file.

Brewing ideas in your Commonplace Book

As your collection grows, you can start writing about it, as well as using it to write.  You might find yourself making notes in your writing diary about the subject matter, sources and collection methods you might employ.

Regularly browse through the growing collection and allow your thoughts to pour into your notebook, using freewriting; let them go where they will, remembering that if the avenue you’ve pursued dries up, you can return to the commonplace book for fresh inspiration.

You won’t want to be inspired by everything you’ve collected all at once! But this collection of ideas is like letting beer brew. An idea might form in days or years. The habit of reading through the collection regularly will help this along. What you are doing is nourishing your imagination. A writer never knows what will spark off an idea that later becomes a poem, or a story, or an article.

Exercise

Take one item you have already ‘collected’

 Place it before you on your desk. Read the words. Gaze into any illustrations. Listen to any audio recordings

Allow your mind to both focus intently and to wander where it will

Freewrite!