[skb]

Originally Posted by gmw

I suggest that you give up the idea of directly transcribing notes into your computer; that's not (in my opinion) a good use your time and resources. Instead, concentrate on the best features of each (paper vs computer) and try to merge them.

<my snip>
If you end up writing long drafts on paper then treat them like drafts: don't transcribe so much as edit onto the computer (besides, I always think that editing the first draft is much better on paper). Again you can use scans or photos to allow you to backup your drafts until the editing processing is done.

Scans! This is brilliant! I had never even considered scans (and I'm a geek!).

I think you may've hit the nail on the head with transcribing. I should treat the notes as first drafts (although some are only scratched out thought bubbles).

Originally Posted by gmw

Book#   Section   Subject                  Keywords
  25      Q2      Zombies on the 'net      Comedy, Gory
  25      Q3      Vampires of the Sahara   Movie-script

Have you been reading over my shoulder?

Originally Posted by Rbneader

I used to buy a ton of pens, but finally buckled down and carefully went about working out which one actually fit my hand. It turns out that the most comfortable pen for me is a slim fountain pens, like the vintage Esterbrooks or some of the modern lower cost Pilots and Noodlers. Everyone's hand is different, and you might be buying pens because you haven't found one that actually feels right yet. Having a writing setup that fits your hand can make as big a difference as having clothes that are the right size.

I can talk about the various factors that go into making a pen comfortable if you're interested?

I love fountain pens, but they're usually so...lumpy. I have small hands, so I like to go for slimmer pens. With fine tips. I may think a little too much about pens (I didn't know about Noodlers...oh my, they look so neat. Oh-oh). But comfort matters - especially these days I do more keyboarding than writing and I get tired quicker. So tips for finding the pen "sweet spot" would be welcome, thank you!

Originally Posted by cromag

These days I write with pen and paper for my first drafts or when I want to capture ideas on the run. It's slower for me than keyboarding, so it's a good match for the "thinking it out while writing" approach I use for first drafts. Transcribing to the computer has never bothered me much, but I never simply transcribe -- for me, this constitutes my first edit.

I think you and gmw are really on to something here. I have been (when motivated) transcribing directly. I'm thinking I would be better served to, as you suggest, edit.

You've all given me so much to think about. The labelled notebooks really appeals to me although, I'm not sure I'd be disciplined enough. What I should be doing, at the very least, is keeping the drafts/ideas separate (my current "system" is using headings and I might have three or four snippets of different story plans on one page). Using a page per idea or subject would make the whole scanning thing easier. I think I've been looking at this the wrong way around. A whole new world opens up to me. Wow.

This has been wonderful, thank you, everyone.