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I Love Writing... Accessories!
spcmnspff
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
You're like me. You like to write, you want to write, but sometimes it's difficult to feel motivated and actually sit down to it. Or perhaps you'll get into a good rhythm for a while... but then, like all things, it peters out.
Enter the writing accessory -- that thing you've gotten your hands on that somehow reinvigorates your writing process. It could be that new felt pen, that vintage typewriter, that special kind of lamp, that magical bottle of whiskey that always seems to have one last wonderful drop in it...
So let's go, an ode to writing accessories! Maybe someone out there has stumbled across something that someone else could use (as in, something material, not as in will-power, which is the greatest writing accessory of all, and which I have little of).
The Corkboard
I've exhausted my capacity to sit down and come up with new material on a computer, a typewriter, and with pen and paper. But carrying around little cards that I can fill anywhere, and then tack up on the corkboard at home, has revolutionized everything! I scribble down little scenes and paragraphs and notes and then tack them up on the corkboard above my desk. Now my unfinished writing is constantly staring me in the face, whispering, Come on, you milksop, make me part of something! In two weeks I've filled the corkboard with scribbled notes, some of which have already made the jump into actual ongoing work! Being able to move scenes around and stare at them from various angles has also been useful, or at least interesting.
Advantage: Girls are very impressed by a corkboard filled with wild scribbled notes. They assume you are a detective.
Disadvantage: Thumbtacks are sharp and now they litter the floor around my desk.
Enter the writing accessory -- that thing you've gotten your hands on that somehow reinvigorates your writing process. It could be that new felt pen, that vintage typewriter, that special kind of lamp, that magical bottle of whiskey that always seems to have one last wonderful drop in it...
So let's go, an ode to writing accessories! Maybe someone out there has stumbled across something that someone else could use (as in, something material, not as in will-power, which is the greatest writing accessory of all, and which I have little of).
The Corkboard
I've exhausted my capacity to sit down and come up with new material on a computer, a typewriter, and with pen and paper. But carrying around little cards that I can fill anywhere, and then tack up on the corkboard at home, has revolutionized everything! I scribble down little scenes and paragraphs and notes and then tack them up on the corkboard above my desk. Now my unfinished writing is constantly staring me in the face, whispering, Come on, you milksop, make me part of something! In two weeks I've filled the corkboard with scribbled notes, some of which have already made the jump into actual ongoing work! Being able to move scenes around and stare at them from various angles has also been useful, or at least interesting.
Advantage: Girls are very impressed by a corkboard filled with wild scribbled notes. They assume you are a detective.
Disadvantage: Thumbtacks are sharp and now they litter the floor around my desk.
spcmnspff on
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Uh, can we just say cool as hell? I was in the doldrums for a while after finishing writing a novel. I kept starting stories and not being able to finish them, not finding my groove. I know the answer is to just power through it, but I couldn't.
I decided to splurge on a fancy new keyboard to replace the old, blocky Dell keyboard that came with the computer. I don't believe changing a keyboard or a pen can really change your writing in any way that matters, but what I DO believe is that spending upwards of $70 on something and telling yourself it's for writing is a powerful motivator to force words out.
Advantage: It has illuminated keys! It's extremely thin, I take it with me now when I go out of town and only bring my netbook, thus making my life a lot easier.
Disadvantge: One day I am sure the illumination will die out and I will be so sad.
Also, can I do two in a row? Because I could not live without my Circa notebook. It's a nice one with replaceable pages and dividers. Every time I start a new book I replace all of the pages in the notebook. When I finish a book, I get to take out all of my pages of notes and put them in a folder so I can hang onto them like the next showcase of A&E's Hoarders.
I'm old school and I love putting minor notes on the cards to keep track of character names, and specific details of characters who only show up occasionally to keep the straight. I guess it's a facet of spcmnspff's tool, but whatever.
Advantage: Cheap, don't take up much space. Works when the power is out.
Disadvantage: Easy to lose and ruin.
{Twitter, Everybody's doing it. }{My Rambling Blog}
Plus, using OneNote means I can throw in pictures, links, or whatever.
Use OneNote, Magell! You won't go back!
Now then, one relic of the past I can't do without and preach about often...
Post-it Notes
Do you use Post-It Notes to do your plotting (if you don't fly by the seat of your pants in novel writing)? You SHOULD! Whether you're writing the first draft or the last draft, post-its are my go-to for fixing any plotting problem.
If I am unsure about the flow of something, I will take a portion of the novel and write the key scenes of it. Each key scene is summarized on a little post-it. The post-its then go on a wall in an arc in the order I have them on. Then, I rearrange them or add in new post-its, sometimes even take some out, and see if the flow of the arc is improved.
Advantages: It's an awesome way for me to actually visualize the flow/pacing. I can see how many things are leading up to the climax and whether it needs more tension. It helps me decide which sequence of events will be the most entertaining.
Disadvantages: I do not have the new post-it notes with the super-sticky backs, so mine often fall off the wall.
My tip? Brainstorming to instrumental music. "Journey of the Sorceror", "The Doctor Who theme", and the salvation army band playing "Shinedown" all help me when I am trying to visualize a full universe, or at least a focused fraction of one.
Pros: Acoustic and instrumental music (that AREN'T based on lyric songs) feed the creative part of your brain without distracting the cognitive part with words.
Cons: It can be difficult to track down the right kind of music for your mood or story, and playing it can also be a hassle adjusting volume levels etc.
By the by, I'm new here, this is my first post, so kind of excited.
Writing Excuses is an awesome podcast. I stumbled across it and didn't recognize any of the names, but listened to one and got hooked... then one of them said something that rang a bell, and I looked at the book on my bedside table at the time waiting to be read (the 2nd Mistborn novel) and was like "Oh! That Brandon Sanderson!"
My favorite accessory has got to be a laptop. If I try to write longhand and actually keep up with my thoughts, it's entirely illegible (and I don't manage to keep up anyway). But I like to be comfortable when I write -- a nice comfy armchair is best, my desk chair not so much.
Unfortunately, I'm now saving for a laptop of my very own to replace the one my husband appropriated for work, making it even harder to make myself sit down and actually write anything.
I love to use drawing notebooks to brainstorm. They are usually tall and wide to where my hands feel very loose and roomy. I actually don't have many drawings, just bits of conversation or ideas. I might fill up pages of random characters speaking, or what they might think about something, but it is a great process for me. It mainly works because there is so much room and I don't feel like I must be careful or linear. Things can be larger or smaller, depending on whether or not I find them important or emotional.
Pros: Lots of room, great for multiple purposes, keeps brainstorming as a loose process
Cons: Not compact and can be frustrating to carry everywhere, pencil marks can smear easily on the paper
Sorry about that.
Once upon a time, I prefaced every writing session with a few songs from Once More With Feeling, but I don't need to do that anymore.
Maddie: "I am not!"
Riley: "You're a marsupial!"
Maddie: "I am a placental mammal!"
I love this little device! Record strangers in all kinds of different places/situations and get great ideas for dialog. Record random thoughts wherever you are and then develop them later. Record snippets of text and listen to them to get a sense of what works/sounds natural and what doesn't. Work on your delivery if you ever read poems/excerpts to an audience. Secretly record drunken friends in all their lunacy and blackmail them later.
Pros:
Small, light, versatile, surprisingly good quality (I shelled out $100 for mine, and I think it was worth every cent.).
Cons:
Strangely addicting. Can be embarrassing/painful if you get caught recording a private conversation.