tools of the trade

there is something about a fresh notebook that makes me feel like anything is possible. inspired by my new favorite notebook (seen above), here are a few of my favorite writing tools of the moment.

1. rhodia notebook: i am kind of a stationery, office supply freak. i need my tools to be functional and beautiful. i found the perfect system. it had notepads, filing, project management tools, templates, everything. and of course, as soon as i invested in this system, it was promptly discontinued. i was down to my last notepad and really, really tried to convince myself to just get the 3 pack at office depot. i couldn’t do it. a sad notepad just makes a things-to-do list even more depressing. luckily, my favorite local stationer scriptura hipped me to the rhodia. now, i owned a tiny one in the past, but didn’t know that the rhodia was made in the same factory as the fancy french clairefontaine notebooks. that’s why i love to shop with people who love what they do. i like the construction orange of the cover. it makes what i do feel more solid, somehow. i also like that it has a cover. i write in mechanical pencil, so i hate the uncovered notebooks because the front page gets all grimy and smudged. and the paper is as smooth as silk and designed not to smudge.
2. outlines. yes, outlines plural. that is one of many. i make maps, spreadsheets, keep character dossiers. it is kinda crazy. you can see a bit of another one here. although my outlines are crazy detailed, i always go off course. this is fine, but there is something about being able to hold these pieces of paper in my hand that calms me. my security blanket, i guess.
3. scrivener. i used to make index cards for all my plot points and spread them out on the floor. i would then clip the associated manuscript pages to the index cards. this quickly became unruly. i discovered a computer program a few years ago that is great for organizing creative projects. it even has a virtual corkboard, so it feels like what i used before. this week i have put several years worth of drafts into scrivener. it is a wonderful, wonderful tool.
4. freedom. this is a little program that disables your wi-fi connection for up to 8 hours. at first i thought it was silly. i should just have willpower! i don’t use the internet that much! i only use it for research when i’m writing! i started using macfreedom last year and it only took one session for me to see how unfocused i was with the internet on. definitely the best $10 spent.

i could go on and on, but what are your favorite tools?

fess up friday

the writing is a process edition…

so. i think i’m finally learning what a writing process truly is. for the longest time i thought when people said a “writing process” they meant the actual tasks of the thing as in i write my first drafts longhand in college ruled composition notebooks in .5 mechanical pencil. i type those pages up and edit them in red pen. i draw charts and graphs. i use scivener to outline. i do character sketches after the first draft. at some point there is no longer a “draft” but something more akin to quilt pieces, pieces of story that i pull from to make a whole. i have certain music to write to. i like to write in the same place. i don’t write after dark.

but what i am discovering is that there is also a process to the emotion of writing. different stages make me feel a different way. i feel anxious and hesitant when i am about to come to an ending, be it chapter or draft. there is a completely different type of anxiety at the beginning of a thing. there is the cloudy haze that i walk through when i am piecing things together, when i know that the meaning is close, but slippery and difficult to catch. there is the delicious euphoria when things catch aholt that feels like it will overwhelm me. that some of the best parts of this process don’t feel that way.

enough of the touchy-feely. on to the business for the week:

saturday, august 9
0 hours writing (but hours doing project work for $)

sunday, august 10
4.5 hours

monday, august 11
5 hours

tuesday, august 12
3 hours

wednesday, august 13
4.5 hours

thursday, august 14
3 hours

friday, august 15
4 hours

total this week: 24 hours
total to date: 277