Notebooks, Erle Stanley Gardner, and Accidental Creative

I’ve been re-reading Secrets of the World’s Best-Selling Writer: The Storytelling Techniques of Erle Stanley Gardner this week, tracking down a quote I wanted to use for my thesis.

It’s an incredibly intriguing book–Gardner is, after all, best known for creating Perry Mason, but was also known as the king of the pulps for a time, including a year-long stint where he maintained 13 different series characters.

What’s really intriguing is that Secrets isn’t actually written by Gardner–instead, it’s an assemblage put together by two other authors using the vast archives of his notebooks, correspondence, and other resources archived at a university library. This means there’s less “this is how you do it” advice, and more glimpses into the ongoing development of the writer for whom writing did’t come naturally. Gardner taught himself to write using a lot of diligent study and stress-testing of ideas, and recorded a lot of it in his dairies and notebooks.

One of the quotes that has stuck with me, courtesy of his notes from a correspondence course on playwriting:

To have the plot instinct is a great blessing for the writer. Lacking this, however, the most valuable asset he can possess is the note book habit. Carry one with you constantly. Jot down everything that may be of help in framing and developing a plot, as well as in creating a dramatic scene for a story…

The rule of jotting down your thought on the instant does not apply merely to ideas that come as inspirations, or thoughts suggested by what you read or see, but it applies especially to ideas that come to you at the tie you give yourself up to concentrated thinking on play-production.

Secrets of the World’s Best-Selling Writer: The Storytelling Techniques of Erle Stanley Gardner

This is, going by the details that follow in the book, exactly what Gardner did.

What’s intriguing about this is the way it syncs up with a lot of the advice in Todd Henry’s Accidental Creative, which doesn’t necessarily advocate for carrying a notebook constantly, but does advocate for engaging in active reading that involves copious note-taking and setting aside dedicated time to ponder a particular problem or idea.

What’s really intriguing about Henry is the way he puts a frame around these activities. For example, when reading, he suggests a short series of questions to ask yourself and take notes about:

• Are there any patterns in what you’re reading that are similar to something else you’re working on? (My friend Kathleen Jennings, upon reading Accidental Creative, took this a step further by forcing herself to draw connections and patterns to current projects, just to see what emerged)
• What do you find surprising about what you’re experiencing?
• What do you like about what you’re experiencing and why?
• What do you dislike about what you’re experiencing?

I’m relatively bad at remembering to do this (despite the fact that the first step largely what I’m going here), although I do tend to set aside some dedicated study time where I actively take notes. Reading about Gardner’s approach has convinced me it may be worth taking things a step further–I’ve taken to packaging a small pocket notebook alongside my phone (aka my primary reading device, especially for non-fiction), in addition to incorporating any online reading into the bullet journal beside my computer.

It’s stepped up my notetaking game considerably–particularly when it comes to online content, which now involves a lot more thought about what I’m reading rather than just flicking through and bookmarking stuff that may seem useful.