For morning pages, an A5 notebook should have at least 90 sheets, heavy paper (around 90 g/m² if you use a rollerball or quill pen) and a binding that allows it to open flat. Clairefontaine and Rhodia excel on paper; Leuchtturm1917 under construction; Muji and Oxford in price-use ratio. The worst thing you can buy is a notebook that is too pretty.
Why A5 is the default size
The A5 measures 148 by 210 millimeters: half a sheet of paper. With medium handwriting there is room for about two hundred words per side. The three pages requested by Julia Cameron are equivalent, in A5, to about six hundred words, which is approximately what a person writes by hand in twenty-five or thirty minutes.
That's the fit that makes the A5 the most used format: it fits in any bag, holds on your lap, and its surface isn't intimidating. A blank A4 at seven in the morning can feel like an exam.
Cameron never specified size. He spoke of three handwritten pages. In A4 there are quite a few more words, and in a page quite a few less. If you compare your experience with that of others, it is worth remembering that you are not writing the same thing. Our article is about that decision. A4 vs A5.
That said: almost everyone ends up in A5, and whoever strays away from it usually comes back.
The four criteria that really matter
Paper weight. It is the decisive variable whether you write with a gel pen, fine-tip marker or fountain pen. Below 80 grams per square meter, the ink bleeds through and the back side becomes unusable. Between 90 and 100 grams, almost nothing passes through.
Flat opening. A self-closing notebook forces you to hold it with your left hand while you write with your right. In a half-hour session, that's minor but constant torture. Sewn and ring bindings open flat; Not many cheap glued ones.
Number of sheets. At three pages a day, a 96-sheet notebook lasts about two months. One of 250, almost six. Changing notebooks every eight weeks is a small friction that breaks the habit for many people.
Enough ugliness. It is the counterintuitive criterion and perhaps the most important. An expensive notebook activates the interior censor: If the object is precious, what you write should be up to par. And morning pages don't measure up to anything, by definition.
The families of A5 notebooks, compared
Clairefontaine. 90 gram French paper, satin, extraordinarily pleasant with liquid ink. Zero transfer with pen. Cheap school notebooks with better paper than many luxury notebooks. It is the most rational option if you write with a fountain pen.
Rhodia. Same parent company as Clairefontaine, with equivalent quality paper and an industrial aesthetic with an orange or black cover. Sewn models open flat. Medium-high price but justified by the paper.
Leuchtturm1917. The German notebook that popularized bullet journaling. Paper around 80 grams, numbered pages, index, two bookmarks, back pocket. Impeccable construction. With very wet fountain pens there may be some transfer.
Moleskine. The best known and, for writing with liquid ink, the most disappointing: thin paper, frequent transfer. With a conventional ballpoint pen it works well. You pay for the brand and the elastic band.
Muji. Sober notebooks, no visible brand, decent paper and low price. The default option for those who accept the principle of sufficient ugliness.
Oxford and Miquelrius. Large surface stationery, cheap, many sheets, flat opening in spiral models. The paper is correct for a pen. They last for months and are not worth spending.
Stifflex and similar. Flexible cover, intermediate formats, variable quality. They are worth a look if you are bothered by the hardcover stiffness on your knees.
Recycled paper notebooks. Pleasant texture, grammage often insufficient for liquid ink. Good choice if you write with pencil or ballpoint pen.
What to buy based on how you write
If you write with a regular ballpoint pen: Any large A5 notebook will do. Don't spend more than five euros. The only noticeable improvement will be more leaves.
If you write with a gel or roller pen: look for 90 grams. Clairefontaine or Rhodia. The difference between writing on good paper and bad paper with this kind of nib is enormous and can be seen in the speed of the hand.
If you write with a fountain pen: Clairefontaine, Rhodia or Tomoe River if you want to get into serious hobbyist territory. No other material decision will give you so much pleasure for so little money.
If you write with pencil: You don't care about the weight and you care about the texture. Highly glossy paper does not grip graphite. A rough school notebook will be better. About this election goes pen vs pencil.
And if you still don't know what to use: start with whatever you have in a drawer. The perfect material is the most elegant excuse not to start tomorrow.
Expensive mistakes that almost everyone makes
Buy the notebook before you get into the habit. The correct order is the other way around: write thirty days in any notebook and then reward perseverance with good paper.
Choose heavy hardcover. Whether you make pages in bed or on a train, every gram counts. The hard cover protects an object that, in the case of morning pages, does not aspire to last.
Find drawing paper. The thick watercolor paper makes the notebook huge and expensive. You are not drawing; You are emptying your head at full speed.
Buy three notebooks at once. A month of pages changes what you want from a notebook. Buy one, spend it all and decide later.
Keep them as relics. Cameron suggests not rereading them for weeks and, for some, even burn them. A notebook intended for the bonfire does not need to cost twenty-five euros.
The short recommendation
If you want only one answer: an A5 sewn notebook made of 90 gram paper, with at least 96 sheets, soft cover and without any inspirational phrase printed on the cover. Clairefontaine delivers on all of that and costs less than two coffees a month prorated over the year.
If you care about the habit more than the paper, grab the cheapest notebook from the nearest stationery store today and write tomorrow morning. Paper quality has never rescued anyone from a creative block.
What he does do is open the notebook three hundred mornings in a row. That is what the whole method is about, and it is summarized in What are they and how to do morning pages. If you want the complete overview of material, we also have the general guide to notebooks and that of recommended notebooks.
Transparency note: This article does not contain affiliate links and does not recommend specific stores. Ratings are based on the public characteristics of the paper and the common experience documented by handwriting communities.