One of the best features of the Guide here at H2G2 is its capacity for recording daily life. The original vision had researchers roaming the world of 'life, the universe, and everything' and writing as they went. Unfortunately, it is difficult for many people to write to the guide away from a desk. Not everyone can afford a wireless laptop computer. How, then, may a researcher write about something as he/she experiences it?

This is a user's guide to something called a Guide workbook. The workbook is one way for researchers to record 'life, the universe, and everything' as it happens to them.

What Is a Guide Workbook?

Simply put, a Guide workbook is an organized notebook for researching Guide entries. To make one, all you need are:

• A spiral-bound notebook. This researcher prefers one that is 27.9 by 21.5cm¹, with 100 or 120 sheets of college-rule recycled paper.
• A favourite ballpoint pen. This researcher prefers a black BiC Cristal®.

Once the materials are in place you can begin formatting your Guide workbook. The first step is to mark out a table of contents. In order to determine how many pages² to set aside, divide the number of sheets³ by the number of lines on a page. The result should be an approximation of how many pages the table of contents needs.⁴ For example, a 100-sheet college-ruled notebook with 32 lines per page should have three pages set aside for the table of contents.

Write 'Table of Contents' on the top line of the first page. Number the pages of the table of contents with small Roman numerals on the top or bottom outside edge of the page. Then begin to number the rest of the pages with Arabic numerals. Don't worry about numbering to the end of the workbook - you can add numbered pages as you write entries.

Using a Guide Workbook

Now you are ready to write your first entry in the workbook! Begin on the first Arabic-numbered left-hand page. This way, if you use two pages you can see your whole article at once by opening the workbook flat. Always starting an entry on a left-hand page may leave some blank pages; these extra pages may be used for short, review-like entries such as, 'The Casa de Amigos restaurant in Searcy, Arkansas, USA has no tea'.

Formatting an Entry

1. Write a title for the entry across the top line of the the page.
2. Date the entry in the left-hand margin using the H2G2 accepted format: 19 April, 2005.
3. Write 'ENTRY:' above the title. For reference, add the ID number (aka 'A123456') when you eventually post the entry on H2G2.
4. Add the entry and the number of its first page to the table of contents.

What to Write

Besides being in line with the Writing Guidelines, you can write about anything and everything! However, a Guide workbook is best used when writing about locations or current events. Having one on hand will permit the researcher to make direct, organized observations rather than depending on memory or print resources. To this end, feel free to take fragmented notes, outline an entry, draft a paragraph, or sketch a scene to help you remember it later. In each situation, your thoughts are collected and accessible.

To get in the habit of writing time- or place-dependent entries, try the one of the following for your first workbook entry:

• Write about the building you were in or near at 11.00 AM today. Give its relative location, what happens inside of it, and any pet names for the structure. Try and find what sets it apart from other buildings you could have been in or near at 11.00 AM.
• Write about the place where you spend the most time in the month of August. Make sure to include whatever history you know of, recreation, local culture and the best way to get to and from the location. Of course, food is always worth mentioning.
• Record the exact time and date, down to the minute. Then write everything that happens to you for a whole minute. After all, if you don't record it, that minute may be lost to history forever!

The Guide workbook system should make it easy to organize research on the fly, and encourage the sort of entries that are true to Douglas Adams' vision for H2G2. Until everybody gets a wireless laptop computer, anyway.