Journal For Poets - The Secret Life of Journals For Poets

https://lestallion.com/collections/journal-notebook-for-poets

Have you ever jotted down a brilliant verse on a napkin, only to lose it forever? Or felt the frustration of ink bleeding through flimsy paper just as inspiration strikes? These seemingly minor annoyances can significantly disrupt the delicate flow of creative writing.

Today we dive deep into something deceptively simple yet profoundly important for poets and creative writers: the humble journal. Using Lestallion's thoughtfully designed notebooks as our example, we explore how purpose-driven features transform an ordinary notebook into what could rightfully be called an "artistic companion" on your creative journey.

We unpack the tangible benefits of high-quality paper (that magical 120 GSM thickness that prevents bleed-through), sturdy bindings that withstand constant use, and organizational elements like page numbers and tables of contents that acknowledge the non-linear nature of creative thought. These aren't just convenient features—they're solutions to common frustrations that can derail your creative process.

The conversation extends beyond mere functionality to explore how the physical connection to a well-crafted journal creates a ritual space for creativity to flourish. We share stories of writers whose relationship with their journals became transformative, providing not just organization but confidence and creative liberation. The tactile experience of pen gliding across quality paper, the ability to trace your evolution as a writer, the satisfaction of an enduring archive of your creative journey—these are elements digital alternatives simply cannot replicate.

Whether you're already filling notebooks with sonnets or just beginning to explore verse, understanding the intentional design behind a quality poetry journal might just transform your relationship with your own creative process. What kind of notebook features would best support your unique way of expressing yourself? It's a question worth reflecting on as you develop your craft.

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LeStallion offers premium PU leather journal notebooks for writing, dedicated to all those who are pursuing their dreams and goals, or nurturing their personal development and mental health.

For More Info on LeStallion, check out:
https://lestallion.com/

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Deep Dive.
Today, we're focusing on a toolthat's really fundamental for
many creative people, poetsespecially the journal but its
significance often kind ofunexamined.
So for you, our listener, wholikes getting straight to the
point efficiently, think of thisas your direct route,

(00:20):
understanding why a reallythoughtfully designed notebook
can be such a powerful ally, foryou know poetic expression.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Exactly, and we're going beyond.
Just like paper and binding,here we're looking at the
purpose driven design.
You mentioned Lestallion andthey're a good example of
companies who clearly putthought into what poets actually
need their materials.
They give a compellingrationale for the features they
include and that's what we wantto explore.
What takes a journal from justbeing, you know, pages.

(00:48):
Right, just pages To beingtruly integral to a poet's
creative life.

Speaker 1 (00:52):
Okay, so let's unpack this idea A dedicated poetry
journal.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (00:56):
Lestallion really emphasizes establishing a
personal, consistent space.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
A sort of haven for those first sparks, the raw
stuff, the emotion that oftenstarts a poem.
It's more than just writing itdown.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
Definitely, it's about cultivating a relationship
almost with your own process ina specific place.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
Right.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
Think about the alternative.
We've all done it.
Flashes of insight on, I don'tknow, the back of a receipt.

Speaker 1 (01:19):
Oh yeah, or a random note on your phone.
You can never find again.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
Exactly, or verses lost in some endless digital
scroll.
A dedicated journal gives you atangible anchor for that
evolving work.
It lets you trace how ideasdevelop, look back at earlier
drafts, see your own progress.
Lestallion calls it an artisticcompanion.

Speaker 1 (01:40):
I like that Artistic companion.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
Yeah, I think that really captures it A trusted
confidant for your creativejourney.
It's private.
Consistent Ideas can just growthere safely.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
It does capture it.
And building on thatpracticality, Lestallion points
out common frustrations poetsface right.
Yeah, Things a good journal canfix.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
Like those brilliant ideas, just vanishing Poof.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
Or the mess of notes everywhere.
I remember my grandfather.
He loved writing poetry, alwayssearching for that napkin.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
Oh, totally, we all have a story like that.
It's a familiar pain.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
And it's not just about losing things the actual
quality of what you're writingon, yeah, that can make a huge
difference.
It can either help or wellhinder the experience.
How Well hinder the experience?

Speaker 1 (02:21):
How so.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
Well, lestallion brings up cheap paper.
You know where the ink justbleeds right through Ugh yes,
especially with certain pens.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
Exactly.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
Especially, if you like, using fountain pens that
smooth flow.
The way the ink looks, it's allkind of ruined by bad paper.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
Right.
So this is where specificLestallion features come in.
They talk about using thick 120GSM paper.
Explain GSM for us quickly.

Speaker 2 (02:44):
Sure, it's grams per square meter, basically how
heavy and thick the paper is.
Higher number, thicker paper,gotcha.
So 120 GSM is pretty robust.

Speaker 1 (02:54):
It means less bleed through, less ghosting on the
other side and that detail showsthey're thinking about the
experience of writing,especially for people who care
about their tools, like fountainpen users.

Speaker 2 (03:03):
Absolutely, and it's not just the paper itself.
Think about features likenumbered pages and a table of
contents.
Lestallion includes those.

Speaker 1 (03:11):
Okay, yeah, how does that help a poet specifically?

Speaker 2 (03:14):
Well, creative writing isn't always linear, is
it?
You jump around.
You might write a stanza today,another related one next week,
true, trying to find thatspecific bit later.
Without page numbers, it can bea nightmare.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
Tell me about it.
Been there.

Speaker 2 (03:29):
So these features help you navigate your own work
easily.
Super important for revision,for refining things.
Oh, and they mention a backpocket too for tucking in those
loose notes.
So even if you do jot somethingon a napkin, you can keep it
with the main journal.
Smart yeah, keeps it allconnected.

Speaker 1 (03:45):
Okay, so, pulling from Lestallion's approach, what
are the absolute essentials fora good poetry journal?

Speaker 2 (03:52):
Well, first, definitely that thick,
high-quality paper we talkedabout.
It needs to handle differentpens inks without being
distracting.

Speaker 1 (04:00):
Right, no bleed through.

Speaker 2 (04:01):
Second, a strong binding.
This thing is meant to lastright, it's holding your
creative journey.
It needs to stand up to beingopened, closed, carried around.

Speaker 1 (04:11):
Makes perfect sense.
You want it to feel reliable,substantial, precisely.

Speaker 2 (04:15):
Then there's the aesthetic side.
Lestallion seems to get thatpoets often appreciate.
You know, beauty, craftsmanship.

Speaker 1 (04:22):
Look and feel matter.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
Yeah, the journal itself can be inspiring.
And finally, a durableprotective cover to keep
everything safe over time.

Speaker 1 (04:30):
And Lestallion's stuff, like their faux leather
covers, the soft binding, theelastic band.
They seem designed with allthat in mind.

Speaker 2 (04:38):
Exactly.
It's not just utilitarian.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
It's about creating an object that feels special,
that encourages you to engagemore deeply let's dig into that
idea more, how specific featurestell a story, but the poet's
needs great way to put it.

Speaker 2 (04:50):
Let's go back to those thick, smooth pages.
It's more than just stoppingink bleed, it's um tactile the
feel of it yeah, I remember afriend, mark, who's really into
vintage fountain pens.
He used to say the feeling ofthe nib just gliding smoothly.
It was almost meditative forhim.

Speaker 1 (05:06):
Oh, Using a journal with rough, thin paper.
It would just irritate him,break his focus.
So that thick paper respectsthat physical connection to
writing.

Speaker 2 (05:17):
I can totally see that and the number of pages.
Table of contents.
You mentioned organization.

Speaker 1 (05:21):
Right, it signals an intention to revisit to refine.
I remember years ago, workingon some fiction, I scribbled
this killer plot twist idea.

Speaker 2 (05:29):
I'm sure Somewhere.
Oh no, spent hours diggingthrough random notebooks.
If I had had one index journal,oh Lestallion.
Putting those in shows theyunderstand.
Poetry often involves lookingback, connecting dots across
different sessions.

Speaker 1 (05:44):
Exactly.
And the durable cover, strong,binding.
That speaks to longevity.
The journal as an archive.

Speaker 2 (05:50):
Like an heirloom.

Speaker 1 (05:51):
Kind of Think of old diaries.
Maybe the cover's worn butinside are years of thoughts.
A good poetry journal is likethat for your creative work.
It preserves the journey.

Speaker 2 (06:00):
So Lestallion focusing on cover quality
suggests they get that desirefor something that lasts.

Speaker 1 (06:05):
I think so.
They seem to understand itneeds to endure.

Speaker 2 (06:07):
They also offer options, right Lined pages or
dashed guides.

Speaker 1 (06:11):
To me that says accessibility, Catering to
different styles.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
Definitely Someone just starting out with poetry or
maybe experimenting with, say,sonnets or specific forms.
Those subtle guides can give abit of structure without feeling
too rigid.
I remember my younger sister,when she first started
journaling, was intimidated by atotally blank page.

Speaker 1 (06:32):
I get that Faint lines just made her feel more
confident, more organized, sothose options are thoughtful.

Speaker 2 (06:37):
That's a great point, and Lestallion actually
includes a story, a fictionalone, about a poet named Fon.

Speaker 1 (06:43):
Oh, yeah, tell us about Fawn.

Speaker 2 (06:45):
Well the story goes.
Fawn initially really struggledCapturing fleeting emotions,
getting her thoughts structuredpoetically.
It was hard for her, but thenshe started using a Listallian
journal, specifically one withthe lined pages and dashed
guides they mentioned, and shefound that structure actually
freed her up.
Somehow she could write moreexpressively.
Over time she saw her ownimprovement, got better at

(07:08):
articulating things andeventually that built her
confidence enough to actuallyshare her work.

Speaker 1 (07:14):
That's a fantastic illustration the right tool
helping overcome hurdles.
It wasn't just any notebook, itwas the features meeting her
specific needs.

Speaker 2 (07:22):
Precisely.
It shows how design canfacilitate that creative
liberation and Lestallion.
Also briefly touches on poetryprompts.

Speaker 1 (07:31):
Creative sparks right .

Speaker 2 (07:32):
Yeah, and it's easy to see how a structured journal
is the perfect place to explorethose.
A prompt about an emotion, adream, whatever.

Speaker 1 (07:40):
You have a dedicated space to work it out.

Speaker 2 (07:42):
Exactly, and keep all those responses together
organized for later.

Speaker 1 (07:46):
They also mentioned some effective journaling
strategies.

Speaker 2 (07:49):
Just briefly, yeah, Things like daily free writing
focusing on themes,experimenting with different
poetic forms, even mixing artand poetry on the page.

Speaker 1 (07:57):
So the journal isn't just passive.

Speaker 2 (07:59):
Not at all.
They clearly see it as anactive tool in a poet's ongoing
practice, a space forexploration, revision, growth.

Speaker 1 (08:06):
Okay, let's try and synthesize this.
What are the main takeawaysfrom looking at the why behind a
dedicated poetry journal, usingLestallion as our example?

Speaker 2 (08:16):
I think the key insight is that a
well-thought-out journal, goodpaper, strong, binding, helpful
organization it really doesbecome more than just a notebook
.

Speaker 1 (08:26):
It transcends the basic function.

Speaker 2 (08:28):
Right.
It becomes an active partner,it helps you organize, it
deepens the connection to theact of writing itself and it
serves as this lasting archiveof your creative evolution.

Speaker 1 (08:39):
And for you, listening, someone who values
getting insightful knowledge,efficiently understanding the
reason behind these featuresthat can really inform your own
creative work whether you'rewriting sonnets already or just
starting to explore a verseseeing the value in a dedicated,
well-designed space that couldbe genuinely transformative.

Speaker 2 (08:59):
Which leads to a final thought, really a question
for you to consider.
How might that consistent,physical act of writing in your
own dedicated space, how mightthat deepen your connection to
your own thoughts, your ownideas?

Speaker 1 (09:10):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (09:10):
And thinking about it .
What kind of creative companion, what specific features in a
journal would best support yourunique way of expressing
yourself?
What notebook elements wouldactually serve you best?
Something worth reflecting on.