Historic Tool for Thinking Deeply + Writing Better: Common Place Books

www.sofiawren.com What do John Locke, Virginia Woolf, Oscar Wilde, Leonardo Da Vinci, Thoreau, and Octavia Butler all have in common?
How do you develop thoughts and writing that are so good they continue to live on after you?
These great thinkers of the past used a commonplace book.
This is a form of collecting material together: information, quotes, or other passages, like your own encyclopedia.
It can be stark with just facts or quotes, or you can include your thoughts.
Historically people would reread it, add notes, and even rearrange the material in different notebooks.
It moved around.
You make one common place for things that were previously scattered all over the place.
Watch to learn more.
* This video is taken from episode 52 from ‪@AndreaHylenWriter‬ 's podcast series. Watch the series on her channel:
/ @andreahylenwriter
Andrea Hylen is the founder of The Incubator: An online coworking space for women creatives. andreahylen.com/the-incubator/
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Search for other conversations with Andrea Hylen and Sofia Wren on ‪@AndreaHylenWriter‬ 's channel:
Episode 47: How Digital Organization Relates to Putting Yourself First
Episode 36: Creativity Tip: Conscious Deletion - A conversation with Sofia Wren
Episode 25: Cultivating a Writing Practice - A conversation with Sofia Wren
Episode 24: Meet Sofia Wren - Writer and Teacher
MORE LINKS FOR ANDREA
Author Page on Amazon: www.amazon.com/Andrea-Hylen/e...
Website: www.andreahylen.com/
Link to Carving a New Path on Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/3p9mPdc...
Link to Carving a New Path Podcast on iTunes: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
FROM ANDREA:
This podcast is filled with stories and tools and resources to help you reflect on the life you are living while opening to new possibilities. Most of us were raised in a society that encourages productivity and do, do, do. I started this podcast in 2020 which was the beginning of global events that encouraged us to take time to pause, make changes and heal, to ask questions and listen for the answers. Exploring change and carving new paths is an invitation to listen to your inner guidance. The conversations and guests on this podcast have listened to their inner voice and birthed new ways of being in the world.

[@thepostgradyear]

lots of great lines in this video!

[@sofiawren]

@@thepostgradyear thank you! Appreciate you stopping by

[@sofiawren]

@@thepostgradyear btw I like that you talk about using a commonplace binder on your channel, I definitely prefer that personally to a book where I can’t move the pages around. And I also get why you keep many of them off screen

[@thepostgradyear]

@@sofiawren I appreciate you stopping by, replying, and interacting with so much stuff! The offscreen comment makes it clear you actually watched at least part of the most recent long video omg 🤯

[@sofiawren]

@@thepostgradyear haha yup :)

[@taryntyler1258]

I feel BookTube could be considered a modern form of a commonplace book. Just a space where people record and talk about what they read.

[@sofiawren]

@@taryntyler1258 that’s true! It has definitely been a common place for many people and things. Having made videos for like ten years I really enjoy having them to look back on, which is part of why I keep making them :)