Breathing In, Breathing Out: Keeping a Writer's Notebook

by Ralph Fletcher

Keeping a notebook may be the single best way to survive as a writer. It encourages a greater sensitivity to your world, inside and out. It serves as a haven for new ideas until they are strong and mature enough to face the harsh light of rational judgment. It gives you a quiet place to catch your breath and begin writing. Breathing In, Breathing Out is a book for the writer in each one of us, however lost, however buried. Ralph Fletcher takes a probing look into the nature of a writer's notebook, examining what it is, how writers use it, and what makes it tick. You will discover why writers like Naomi Shihab Nye and Dorothy Allison consider their notebooks so important to the work they create. You will also read snippets from Fletcher's notebook, where he reveals the "displayed self" of a writer whose innermost workings he knows best.

To Fletcher, keeping a writer's notebook is as natural an activity as breathing so he has organized his book in a way that illuminates two basic aspects of the process. Breathing In refers to the way the notebook can serve as a receptacle for selected insights, lines, images, dreams, and fragments of conversations. In this way it helps you pay closer attention to your world. Breathing Out is intended to suggest the notebook as an ideal place to use what you have collected and spark your own original writing.

This book is for new writers as well as those who may have once loved to write but have lost the spark along the way. It will help you find a natural rhythm for using a notebook and in the process start living the life of a writer.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Teaching, Education, Research, Poetry, Professional Development

112 pages, Paperback

First published November 18, 1996

About the author

Ralph Fletcher is a friend of young writers and readers as well as writing teachers. He has written or co-authored many books for writing teachers includng Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide, Teaching the Qualities of Writing, Lessons for the Writer's Notebook, Boy Writers: Reclaiming Their Voices, and Pyrotechnics on the Page: Playful Craft That Sparks Writing. Ralph has worked with teachers around the U.S. and abroad, helping them find wiser ways of teaching writing.

Ralph's many books for students include picture books (Twilight Comes Twice, Hello Harvest Moon, and The Sandman), novels (Fig Pudding, Flying Solo, and Spider Boy), poetry (A Writing Kind of Day and Moving Day), and a memoir, Marshfield Dreams: When I Was a Kid. His novel Uncle Daddy was awarded the Christopher medal in 2002. He has also written a popular series of books for young writers including Poetry Matters, Live Writing, and A Writer's Notebook. Ralph lives with his family in New Hampshire. He is a strong environmentalist who believes we all must work together to live in a more sustainable way. His other passions include travel, good food, dark chocolate, growing orchids, and sports.

Reviews

[Shannon Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although it wasn't what I expected (thought it was about teaching students to be writers) it really resonated with me. Everything that Ralph talked about is practical for students as well. In fact, I gathered lots of little gems from this book. :)

Not only did I walk away with more of a structure in my mind of how to help my 6th graders use a writer's notebook, but I gained quite a bit of inspiration for my own writing.

He mentioned a quotation from another writer about "language angels". I can just imagine these little angels floating around dispensing words and ideas and thoughts as inspiration for writers. :)

Fabulous book!

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this inspiring. As a hopeful budding writer, I found this useful and eloquent. I have a better understanding of how to use my own notebook, and ideas to help me reach further, dig deeper.

[Eliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book! Even though I put it on my pedagogical texts shelf, it is more focused on the theory and reasoning behind writer's notebooks for writers. I could see using parts of this text when introducing the purpose of notebooks for my high school English students. Fletcher does not specifically write for teachers but for writers who are taking up a writer's notebook.

[Miss Lilli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was motivating. As I result, I asked other authors questions about writer's journals, researched apps that people use for writing, etc. I decided to start a journal. So far I have one entry. It is MY journal, so I make the rules for it.

[Kaycee Monnens · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very helpful resource and a great read!

[Paul Pease · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. Inspiring in many ways. Love his metaphors for a notebook though

[Nicole alphAbet · Rating 2 out of 5]

This just wasn’t very useful in starting a notebook as a writer. I felt the jr. version was a stronger read.

[Bwags75 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A time capsule from the mid 90s. The message is write.

[Kate Mixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, quick read on how and why to keep a writer's notebook. Very helpful for me and full of both practical tips and theoretical musings.

[Larissa Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

[First Glance]
Approaching this book, I made special concessions to its age. Written in 1996, this book was guaranteed to use a different style and voice than modern writing guides; after all, it's over two decades old!

That said, it surprised me that the book is labeled for ages 5-17 on Amazon. Skimming through the pages, I wouldn't think of it being aimed any earlier than middle or high school. Maybe a teacher could translate it for easier use?

[Positive Bits]
As someone who uses a digital journal (outside of this blog) to ramble on and on, Fletcher's ideas about how to develop a writer's notebook validate my own practices. It's one thing to know a process works for you; it's another to have someone else give you multiple examples of famous authors who do the same process for the same reasons.

I've always had a hard time at conceptualizing a writer's notebook as a whole. I have Pinterest boards with writing quotes and story prompts, but they're separate from my Google Drive folder of story ideas and scene snippets. While I prefer a digitized "notebook", Fletcher's explanations and examples left me intrigued enough to consider switching (at least in part) to a physical notebook.

The sections break the idea of a writer's notebook into manageable pieces. I appreciate how often he reminds us to play with words until they come naturally, especially in the beginning.

Fletcher's personal samples of older writings are painful... and yet painfully familiar! We all stumble through writing while we find our voice. One of the challenges (and joys) of looking at our older writings is finding the recyclable ideas among the rubbish.

[Less Enjoyable Bits]
I didn't connect to Fletcher's voice. From the start, I struggled to make myself read more than a handful of pages at a time. For such a short book, it took me two (2!) whole months to finally get to the end.

Fletcher is clearly a poet. We often get caught up in metaphors and imagery when it's less than helpful. I feel like many of his chapters were weighed down by odd amounts of poetic prose and awkward word choice.

He turned me off when he started complaining about writing prompts and those who swear by them. It felt too much like writer's elitism, like he's just too good for such trivial writing exercises. (To be fair, Fletcher moved past that later in the same section, but the impression lingered.)

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This author was mentioned in What You Know by Heart.

I read this in hopes of it helping me with my teaching. I want to encourage my students to keep writer's notebooks. I really wound up with a lot of insight into myself. Almost all of the writer's notebook tips that he recommends, I used to do in notebooks in high school or college. It was validating for me to hear that these are the same things "real" writers do, but also sad because I don't do these things anymore.

In the end, I am left with some basics to bring to my students about how to keep a writer's notebook. I can then merge this with the other writing book I'm reading, What You Know by Heart to get some good curriculum lessons, such as not having to stick to the truth or to look for reoccurring ideas.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful. Keeping a journal is not as simple, or easy as it may seem; especially if you are prone, such as I am, to be overly critical of yourself. "I must rewrite that last passage," I mutter to myself, forgetting that I am keeping a journal not writing an essay for The Atlantic. Fletcher's book is a balm of sorts, as he gently reminds you why writers keep a notebook, how writers keep a notebook, and, ultimately, the joy and wisdom of keeping a writer's notebook. This is a short, albeit, thoughtful and wise guide on how best to keep a notebook with plenty of practical ideas. Also, this book helps one understand how to connect with and nurture one's inner life. I am very grateful to have read this book so early in the year.

[K.A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished reading the book and it was inspiring. I'm also reading three or four other books on writing, but this one was the shortest and the one I read at night before bed.

Fletcher depicts the simplicity of writing in a notebook using his own examples as evidence, examples that I both related to and hated. I did not like his poetry and some of his notebook entries made no sense, but that was his point. That the notebook's purpose is not to share with others but a jumping board for better writing.

[Mbuick88 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned the true importance of keeping a writer's notebook. I've been very bad at trying to journal or write thoughts down and then rereading them. This book helped me learn that it's okay to just write down small things or even the large things. Rereading also helps me go back to some piece that was unfinished and possibly use it in another piece or make it a solo venture. Writing anything, no matter how damaging, can be cathartic to my soul.

[The Reading Countess · Rating 5 out of 5]

ANYTHING by Ralph Fletcher is golden. Breathing In, Breathing Out is no exception. Less than 100 pages, this quick read is crammed with ideas and inspiration for novice writers, writers who have lost their itch, teachers, and even homeschooling parents. In particular, I loved the quotes and metaphors-I plan to try many of them out in my own notebook and with my class next year.
Highly recommended!

[Rebecca Schwarz · Rating 4 out of 5]

File under inspirational. This book is brief with lots of quotes and poetry, both by the author and others. I do keep a journal for my writing but this was a great reminder that I could be using it even more and even more broadly. Noting down broken and half-formed impressions as well as scenes and story outlines. I think I'll be using my journal even more now and perhaps it will show in my writing as well.

[Peggy Otto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fletcher skillfully intersperses musings on a writing life with samplings from his own writer's notebook in a short, lyrical piece of prose. If you can finish this book without feeling the itch to write some musings and observations of your own, then language is probably not your craft of choice. It's a great choice for reading in a writing group or as a place to start when forming a new writing group.

[Dana Berglund · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really great professional book that was useful to me as a teacher of writing as well as a person who likes to write. I'm not endeavoring to become a published writer, but it still was motivating to me, and not directed only to "serious" writers who are on a mission to get published. It's also for folks like me.

[John McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as part of a group of writers, Deadwood Writers. We wanted to grow in our writing, both in practice and for ideas. This book by Ralph Fletcher was of enormous help. It's a short book, but a thoughtful read. Follow his ideas with each progressive chapter, you'll find your writing quality increase.

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of gems in this book -- and lots of straightforward commentary on the idea of writing as a choice and an act, not something that freely flows from ourselves. A noted writer shares his thoughts, and also encourages you to share your own. Will be using some of this with my students in the near future!

[Kit · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

I read this for class, but I picked it out of a list of fiction theory books to review.

I definitely enjoyed the perspective of keeping a writer's journal and writing in it every day. The writing was accessible and easy to get through. I did find it a bit repetitive but otherwise it was a solid book.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

My writing class teacher requested that we select a book to read about writing. I read this book twice. Once because it was interesting and easy to read. Twice because he has some real gems that I didn't want to forget. I made notes in my writer's notebook.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent description of a writer's notebook, this book has everything a beginning writer needs to keep a writer's notebook. It made me feel better about my own writing. I recommend it to anyone getting started.

[Christi · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far, this book reiterates everything I've felt and thought and taught about journal writing. The reminder is both appreciated and new-ish enough that my students will get excerpts and exercises from this book.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every summer I claim I going to write, but something else always gets in the way. This book is getting me back in the mood. Maybe I'll try some ideas with the students this year. I'll try to share some of the examples used in the book....

[Peter Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but entertaining and insightful book about the centrality of keeping a notebook to the writing life. I enjoyed the authors own notebook struggles - particularly the wish to keep it neat and tidy which never lasts.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short, easy-to-read book and poetically-written book is for anyone who enjoys writing. Through anecdotes, his writing, and the writing of others, Fletcher explains why and how to keep a writers notebook.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love anything written by Ralph Fletcher-he writes in a way that makes you feel like he's right there in the room with you. His passion for writing is so inspiring. This is a great introduction to using a writer's notebook.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an extremely fast, easy read. It only took me a couple of hours to finish. What I liked the most about this resource were his references to the notebooks of accomplished writers. This has given me a nice idea of what my own writer's notebook will look like.

[Sirpa Grierson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic on the writing process.