---
name: "Jack London on keeping a notebook"
subtitle: "Slap into it every stray thought"
date: 2026-07-04
shortlist: true
link: "https://quoteinvestigator.com/2026/06/27/keep-notebook/"
linkText: "quoteinvestigator.com"
source: "Quote Investigator"
topics: [quotes]
tags: [writing, creativity, advice]
description: "Jack London's advice to carry a notebook everywhere and capture every stray thought, verified back to his own 1903 essay."
---

"Keep a notebook. Travel with it, eat with it, sleep with it. Slap into it every stray thought that flutters up into your brain." Quote Investigator traces the line to Jack London's own 1903 essay "Getting into Print" in The Editor, later corroborated by his widow Charmian's 1921 biography — verified against the original trade-press source, not a floating meme.