Lawyer by trade, writer by passion – it’s safe to say I spend a lot of time behind a keyboard typing away or on a hiking trail scribbling notes into whatever I happen to have in my pocket.
I’m constantly jotting down notes for my next story or blog post. Many ideas get lost, stuffed away in some random notebook I happened to grab that day, only to be forgotten for untold months.
I’ve lost many ideas this way, only to be rediscovered at a later date. Sometimes, it feels like Christmas morning when I read over a gem of an idea that had slipped my mind. Other times, I cringe and wonder what the heck I was thinking that day.
I’m sure we’ve all had those writer’s moments. Hey, that’s how you get better at your craft!
My commute to the office is a good 45 minutes through rural areas with not much to look at. Plenty of time to craft a story on my way to work!
That’s where my muse speaks to me and gives me ideas to write later on and throughout the day. I scribble random character and plot notes hoping to capture the thought until I get home.
I then grab my notes and take a hike through the woods or the nearly abandoned hiking track down the road from my house to gather my thoughts and develop my characters more. That’s when I really dig in and get to work. I put my headphones on and put on the perfect music for world building. I’m usually writing a post-apocalyptic story or expanding a screenplay and have a playlist especially for those rare moments all to myself. It’s one of the few times I get to let my imagination take over.
9 times out of 10, I grab the wrong notebook and end up toting around a dissertation on a legal issue I was working on at the office! I then start over with my writing and try to begin where I left off. Usually, I end up wasting a good amount of time without my notes to guide me, so I turn the session into a workout and hurry home to a houseful of screaming children to locate my book notes and try to get a few paragraphs complete. Not the best way to write a novel!
I decided I needed to have one notebook or binder that stored all of my book ideas in one place. I grabbed a few clear binders from the store and stuffed it with paper, but I really wanted something rugged and tough. I am an outdoorsman for goodness sake and usually lug my book notes deep into some pretty hairy terrain. I wanted something that was going to last, not like those journals that had a pre-set number of pages, but something I could refill when I got to the end. I write a ton of notes every day and could easily blaze through a leather-bound journal quickly.
I was randomly scrolling through Instagram with my @ApocalypseGuys account, as I often do, and saw exactly what I never knew I needed, but always knew I wanted – the perfect leather binder for my writing notes! This thing was not only beautiful, but quite functional and rugged.
I’ve used binders made from faux leather in the past. You know, the ones they hand out at conventions and team building programs. They were hard, didn’t bend and were no fun to carry around. Plus, they usually have someone else’s logo.
I wanted something more like a notebook. I like to roll my notebooks in my hand while I pace back and forth and you can’t do that with most leather binders you find in stores. That’s the first things that drew me to the Murdy No. 1 leather binder from MurdyCreative.
The company was founded by Colin Murdy, they’re made to accommodate three hole punched, letter sized paper and bound with screw posts.
These things can hold anywhere from 1 page to 150 pages! When you run out of paper, you just refill. Murdy’s mission was to create a quality product that will last a lifetime. I think he hit his goal with these! Simple design, made from high quality materials. Perfect for hiking and walking around puffing a cigar while jotting notes as I’ve been known to do in the community.
Not only can you choose the type of leather they bind your work with such as chestnut, espresso, shale, merlot and onyx, but you can also get them to engrave the cover. They have pre-engraved designs to choose from. I considered getting the ApocalypseGuys logo on one, but decided to wait and go with a classic leather.
Over time, each of these leather notebooks will have their own unique look. Each time you touch it and bring it outside in the sunlight and weather, the oils from your hands and the elements change the way it looks. If you’ve had leather jackets before, you know what I mean. Each peace shows the unique markings from the cow skin used to make it. Leather truly is a timeless and unique medium that can last a long time if you take care of it.
Sure, in essence, it’s a strap of leather that you bind your paper in, but it’s more than that to me. I’m the type of writer that needs to get into character, so to speak. If you’ve read previous posts, you know I use hats to prepare my imagination to create. The moment I put on my wide brimmed, felt hat that resembles Indiana Jones, I’m ready to write. Same with these leather-bound notebooks. The moment I touch them, it’s time to create! Hard to explain, but everyone has their own quirks and ways to get their mindset ready.
Cool thing about these leather notebooks is they look nice enough for me to use at my real job as an attorney. However, I don’t, because I’m always terrified that I’ll leave it somewhere and someone will flip page by page and read my innermost thoughts. Heck, maybe they would have better luck finishing this post-apocalyptic series I’ve been writing for what seems like forever.
Ok, enough of my rambling. I discovered this really cool product and wanted to share it with our readers. Christmas is coming soon if you celebrate it and these leather notebooks would make a great gift for someone. Heck, treat yo self!
Read the reviews for this fine leather binder from Murdy Creative on Amazon and decide if it’s something you could benefit from.
Let us know what you think about these in the comments!
Jerome is an avid outdoorsman who moonlights as an attorney when he’s not creating the world’s greatest online content.