The blog of photographer Kim Ayres

Somewhere to store them

I have numerous notebooks and an even greater number of scraps of paper with thoughts and ideas scribbled on them. Each collection of words hastily written in case I forgot them; desperately recorded to remind me later of that moment of insight.

Some of them are barely a few words; some are a few paragraphs; some are quotes that created an explosion in my head when I read them; some were written 20 years ago; some were written more recently; some are more or less complete; most are starting points waiting to be fleshed out and developed.

Unfortunately, they induce a sense of guilty responsibility. I can't throw them out - each one was written with the hope and expectation it would prove useful - and yet, they pile up, cluttering desktops, shelves and any number of random spaces.

But with all that's been going on in my life recently, I feel a need to offload them.

My solution is to place them online - probably one a day on average - so I can search through them with ease if I want to, without having to trawl through semi-legible scribbles in an assortment of piles.

Whether I ever will is less important than the feeling that I could, should the fancy take me.

So a week ago, I put together a new blog called "Somewhere to store them"

Feel free to have a nose around, and if anything here triggers ideas for you, then good for you. Probably. Unless you have the same problem as me...

7 comments

Anonymous said...

thank you for sharing!

neena maiya (guyana gyal) said...

I have the same problem...only thing is, I don't want to put 'em online, they're all ideas for books I have in my head.

I store my notebooks in a big bin with a cover. Then I saw something on tv that Eminem says he does...he stores all the scraps with scribbles in a box. So simple I should've thought of that!

But I wish there's some place online that I can store my scribbles but only I can see 'em.

Kim Ayres said...

Theanne - you're welcome :)

GG - that's relatively simple if you have a googlemail account. You could then use the Google Docs option and store them all in documents online that only you can access :)

PR said...

Very cool idea, and thanks for sharing. I'm not old enough to have 20 years of scribbles, but I defo need to sort something out, papers are flaffing about everywhere! :)

Universal Gibberish

neena maiya (guyana gyal) said...

Yes, yes, I have a gmail account, and I've seen the google docs. thing, but all along I'd thought it's for sharing.

Wow, Kim. Thanks! Somehow, I knew you'd know :-)

Ruby said...

I could never do that as I am so visual that the cues from the paper, pen used, shape, color, etc is nearly for me to be able to re-grab the thought process! so I am jealous. I've withheld being free with the habit for that simple reason - I'm so visual that the discomfort of those papers cluttering around puts a negative spin on it all. I've tried notebooks for different types of ideas.. moleskins, basically, but it gets confusing and awkward. I will buy an ipad with an app someday or perfect the tiny notebook method and wear cargo pockets everywhere. ;)

I'll be looking at your ideas, though! :) are questions allowed?

Kim Ayres said...

Anna - you're better off dealing with it now, than waiting 20 years... :)

GG - glad to be of help :)

Ruth - questions are not only allowed, they're welcomed :)

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