deeply enjoyed this essay on keeping a notebook, from Elisa Gabbert’s The Word Pretty

Writer’s habits don't just emerge, we cultivate them—it's first aspirational, then superstitious. Years ago, in graduate school, I noticed how certain poet friends would casually, but with intent, remove a small notebook from their jacket pocket or bag and jot something down. I noticed it the way you notice how someone smokes the glamour in the gesture, and how it isn't personal but referential; it aligns one with a tradition. I started keeping notebooks so I could be a writer who keeps a notebook.