Yesterday I went shopping with my sister. She needed to pick up something from a department store, I really didn’t need anything. But somehow, I ended up leaving with more than she did. (Funny how that happens, isn’t it?)

Well, before you start rolling your eyes and wondering what any of that has to do with writing, let me just move it along.

As we were waiting in the line, I noticed there was a box filled with notebooks in various colors and designs and anyone who knows me well knows I can’t resist a giant box of stationary.

So, as I’m browsing the books, one leaps out at me. The color screamed at me and from the woman on the cover, I could envision clearly the character who’s story would be told within it. Immediately I snatched it up and clung to it like life itself.

My sister, being well aware of this little fetish of mine, only giggled. Then her eyes got big and as I followed her gaze, I found the next one which would grace my collection. Only this one was larger than your average 8.5”x11” notebook and it had my current story’s heroine emblazoned on the cover.

Still you might be asking what any of this has to do with writing (apart from the obvious). Let me tell you something amazing that happened when I got them both home…

They inspired me to write. Like a madwoman.

In the current novel (by the way, I have an interesting announcement about it coming up), there is a character I introduced late in the game and then suddenly realized she played a larger role than I originally thought. When I had this epiphany, I decided that I would go back and map out her story so I could get to know her better.

After the first few paragraphs, it fizzled for a while. I had the basic idea of who she was, but it wasn’t quite enough to make her more than a cardboard cutout character and thus, everything sort of stalled.

When I picked up the red notebook, however, her story suddenly smacked me upside the head. Not only did I delve more into the character’s psyche, but it ended up developing into its own self-contained short story of a pivotal point in her life: how she came to be who she is.

My point is, never underestimate the inspirational powers of a notebook. Like the perfect song, it can help push you forward when you believe you can go no further.

Up next…The Power of the Pen.

(I hadn’t intended on writing anything about the pen, that was just a cute closing line, but as I think more about it, I do believe I’ll write about the pen too because I can be insanely picky when it comes to my writing tools.)