You're standing in your base, looking at a wall of chests, and you realize you have absolutely no idea what’s in half of them. Or maybe you’re building a massive adventure map and need to leave a cryptic warning for the next player. You need to write things down. Minecraft isn't just about punching trees anymore; it’s about documentation. Honestly, knowing how to craft a book and quill is the difference between a chaotic dirt hut and a functioning empire.
It’s one of those items that feels like it should be simpler than it is. You can’t just slap some paper together and call it a day. Minecraft demands a weirdly specific set of ingredients that usually sends players scrambling into the nearest ocean or hunting down a stray chicken.
Gathering the Ingredients for Your Book and Quill
First off, let’s talk about what you actually need. You aren't just making a book. You're making a tool.
You need exactly one book. You need one feather. And you need one ink sac.
That sounds easy until you realize you’re in a desert biome with no water and no birds. To get that book, you first need three pieces of paper and one piece of leather. Paper comes from sugar cane. You’ll find those tall, green stalks growing right next to water. If you don't see any, start walking along a riverbank. You need three of them.
Leather is the annoying part. You have to find a cow, a llama, or a horse. Cows are your best bet. Give them a whack, and hope they drop the leather. Sometimes they don’t. It’s frustrating. Once you have the three paper and one leather, open your crafting table. Put the three papers in a horizontal row and the leather anywhere else. Boom. You have a book.
Now, the quill part.
Go find a chicken. Any chicken will do. They drop feathers occasionally while they're just walking around, but if you’re in a hurry, you know what you have to do. One feather, check.
The last piece of the puzzle is the ink sac. This requires a trip underwater. Look for squids. They’re the floppy, blue-ish creatures that swim aimlessly in oceans and deep rivers. Kill one, and it’ll usually drop an ink sac. If you’re playing in a version of Minecraft where Glow Squids exist, keep in mind that a Glow Ink Sac won’t work for a standard Book and Quill—that’s for making text glow on signs. Stick to the classic black ink from the regular squids.
Putting It All Together: How to Craft a Book and Quill
Now that your inventory is cluttered with a book, a feather, and an ink sac, head back to your crafting table.
There is no specific "shape" you need to remember for this one. This is a shapeless recipe. You can toss the book, the feather, and the ink sac into the 3x3 grid in any order you want. Put the feather in the top left, the ink sac in the middle, and the book in the bottom right? It works. Pile them all in a corner? Still works.
The result is that purple-ish, enchanted-looking book with a feather sticking out of it.
What Most Players Forget About the Recipe
A lot of people think they need a crafting table for every step of this, but you can actually do the final assembly in your 2x2 player inventory crafting grid. Since it only takes three ingredients, you don't need the full table. This is actually super handy if you’re deep in a cave and realize you need to coordinates-track your way back home.
Actually Using the Book and Quill
Once you have it, right-click (or use your console’s "use" button) to open the interface. It looks like a real book. You can type up to 100 pages. Each page holds about 255 characters.
But here is the catch: don't click "Sign" until you are absolutely finished.
When you just click "Done," the book stays editable. You can come back, fix typos, add new coordinates, or finish your manifesto later. The moment you hit "Sign," you have to give the book a title. Once you confirm that title, the book is finalized. It turns into a "Written Book" and gets a shiny glint like an enchanted item.
You can’t edit it anymore. It’s permanent.
Why the Book and Quill is Better Than a Sign
Signs are great for labeling chests, sure. But they have a tiny character limit. If you’re trying to explain how your complex Redstone sorting system works, a sign is going to fail you.
The Book and Quill allows for "lore." If you’re playing on a multiplayer server like Hermitcraft or just a private one with friends, leaving a signed book in someone’s base is a classic move. It’s also vital for keeping track of "Waypoints." Since Minecraft doesn't have a built-in mini-map (unless you’re using mods like JourneyMap or Xaero’s), writing down the X, Y, and Z coordinates of your Stronghold, your Ancient City, and your Blaze Spawner is the only way to ensure you don't get lost.
Advanced Tricks: Copying Your Work
Did you write a masterpiece? Maybe a set of server rules or a map guide? You don't have to re-type it.
You can actually clone written books. Take your "Written Book" (the signed one) and put it in a crafting table with a "Book and Quill" (the unwritten one). The "Book and Quill" will turn into a copy of the original. You can do this with multiple books at once to create a whole library of the same text.
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The copy will even tell you if it’s an "Original," a "Copy of Original," or a "Copy of a Copy." Keep in mind, you can't make a copy of a "Copy of a Copy." The quality degrades, sort of like a digital VHS tape.
Technical Limitations and Quirks
Minecraft’s text editor is... basic. You can’t use Ctrl+V to paste long strings of text in most versions unless you're on the Java Edition. Bedrock players often have to type everything out manually, which is a massive pain if you're using a controller.
Also, be careful with special characters. Depending on the server or the version you are playing, some symbols might not render correctly, or they might even get censored if the server has a chat filter enabled.
Actionable Next Steps
To get started right now, go find a swamp or a river. It’s the easiest place to find all three ingredients at once. Swamps have sugar cane, chickens often spawn nearby on the grassy edges, and squids are plentiful in the murky water.
- Farm Sugar Cane immediately. Plant it on sand or dirt directly next to water. It grows three blocks high. Don't break the bottom block so it regrows.
- Find a Cow. If you can’t find a cow, remember that Rabbits drop Rabbit Hide. You can craft four Rabbit Hides together to make one piece of Leather. It’s a bit more work, but it’s a solid backup plan.
- Save your Ink. If you’re playing on a server, ink sacs are often a hot commodity for black dye. Don't use all your ink on books if you’re planning on building a black wool skyscraper later.
- Organize your coords. Start a "World Log" book. Write down the coordinates of your spawn point and your main base. You’ll thank yourself when you die 5,000 blocks away and can’t remember where you live.
The Book and Quill is a simple item, but it adds a layer of depth to Minecraft that makes the world feel more permanent. Stop relying on your memory—start writing it down.