Pen & Paper

Hi,

I just joined and since I can see no other post (indexing issue? or is the community that recent? ;) I thought maybe I could post something.

I’m nearing my 60s and I’ve been using pen and paper most of my life. From school—even it was already on its way out back in the early 70s kids were still taught handwriting using a fountain pen, at least here in France—up to this very day.

Privacy is is one of the two reasons I still use pen and paper instead of any of the many apps and services I have tested and learned to use. The second reason being the… satisfaction handwriting brings me. I’m considered a decent typist (I got my first Apple computer in the very early 80s, and a few years before that I was quite happily writing shitty stories on my grand-dad’s already old Olympia SG1 typewriter, a wonderful machine on which I learned to type… and to stain my fingers, playing with the ink ribbon :p) but nothing beats the simple joy of writing in silent, hand on paper. Early in the morning (most of the time, I like to write between 4AM and 8AM while my spouse is still sleeping and while the city around us is still quiet)

I draft most of what I write longhand, using loose leafs (I prefer the flexibility of being able to move the sheets as I see fit, that’s also why in the 90s I was so obsessed with Filofax) and either a (mechanical) pencil or a fountain pen—those two device are friendly rivals in smoothness (depending the paper) and, unlike most ballpoint pens, require no effort at all to write, the hand doesn’t need to press hard quite the contrary, which helps write longer & with less fatigue.

I also journal longhand. I have been doing so since I was a (not that happy) little boy.

Talking journaling, I’m the admin at !journaling@sh.itjust.works which has been on a bit of a pause but the place is open and do welcome people willing to post content, tips and tricks, questions, suggestions,… The community is open to both analog and digital journaling, btw.

But my main use of pen and paper is my Zettelkasten, aka an endless pile of index card (A6) that I keep organized and indexed. It’s the place where I store all my reading notes (I read a lot, and always take notes while doing so), all the references, quotes, ideas and any type of content (text, images,...) I want to be able to quickly refer to later on when I work on one of my own projects.

Lhumann, the dude that formalized this concept of Zettelkasten (which is in reality much older than that word, people have been using it for centuries) described his Zettel as his second brain. And he was right. That thing is not just a passive pile of cards. It’s smart and it can often be surprisingly… stimulating to browse through it. Just flipping through a bunch of cards will often bring unexpected ideas. It’s a true partner with whom one can have a meaningful discussion, like when one is reading a book, a good book I mean.

Here is the two most important tips I can think of for anyone wanting to give it a try:

1. Keep it simple. The key to a Zettel is the numbering/indexing. So keep the numbering simple (it can always evolve later on if you feel the need to). Also, don’t try to anticipate all categories, projects, whatever you think you may one day need. Start with what you actually need now (say in regard to a specific writing project/research you're working on) and let your Zettel grow by itself as you go along. It’s one of the things that make it so powerful: it will grow with you. And, yes, this also means some part of it will not grow that much if at all, and some may even become stale, and you need to be fine with that.
2. There is no need to spend a fortune on fancy materials, a nice fountain pens, a large pack of expensive index cards and luxurious storage boxes. Start with what you already have.

• Index cards: I use the back of old letters, recycled invoices, whatever decent paper I can get my hands on that I can cut to size (one A4 sheet makes four A6 cards, and it’s easy to cut of them using a massicot).
  Index cards are sturdier, that's true but they’re also (a lot more expensive and) thicker and if you start really using your Zettel you will quickly realize space in your storage box quickly becomes an issue. Also, most of the times those cards will be neatly stored in that storage box or laid flat on your desk, they don’t need to be that sturdy because they’re not, say, library cards.
• Storage boxes: I made my own out of… cardboard that I cut and assemble. If anyone is interested, I may post a short guide on my blog explaining how I do that but it's really simple (one only needs some spare thick cardboard from a delivery package, white glue and a cutter/hobby knife) and it’s really sturdy. Before that, I used to use old...shoe boxes.

Edit: typos and a missing sentence.