My laptop is my trusted companion. He (and I just randomly assigned a gender, it could as well be a girl) goes everywhere with me. I type in the train in the morning to work, in airports and airplanes, coffee shops and even at the spa. When an idea pops in my head, I have to get it down or lose it. 

Yet, I also have a  real notebook I use to scribble down random ideas. There has been nights where I woke up with a startle, thrilled that I just found that perfect sentence I had been looking for on one of my stories. Those I capture in my notebook. I also add random song titles I want to use in upcoming chapters.

Yet, what I use it for the most are immediate impressions of my surroundings. I hear a cool name, visit a memorable place or just meet a person whose characteristics are just spot on for one of my future characters - all these things get added to my notebook. 

The other day, when I traveled through the UK (Northern Wales, to be exact), looking for a beach for my beloved pug (please see Day 7 for picture), I asked a cop for directions. He had the most unique eyes I had ever seen. Those details are the ones I capture on paper, and sooner or later, you will read about this cute guy with marble eyes in one of my stories.