Tools of the Trade

Like any craft, there is a certain amount of trial and error that goes into the writing process.  I'm not just talking about finding your voice or establishing a style; I'm talking about the mechanics of it; what each individual author needs - and I don't mean what they like or prefer, absolutely needs in order to work - before the words start to flow.  Here's a small list my own needs.

1) Notebooks.
Try as I might, I cannot first draft on the computer.  It seems counter-productive, since the whole purpose of a first draft is to just get the idea out, to write anything and everything that comes to mind, even if that means that 75% of it ends up being garbage and is jettisoned in later drafts.  However, I've discovered over the years that I actually benefit from being slowed down.  Hand-writing my first drafts allows me to funnel my thoughts and helps give me a clearer idea of where the story is eventually going.  It's hard to explain, but hand-writing the first draft sort of opens up two channels of thoughts in my head: the "what-I'm-writing-now," and the "where-is-this-going-to-go," which has made the plotting of my novels easier and more efficient.  When I try to do the same thing typing, my thoughts just sort of trip over themselves and get hopelessly tangled in the process, and I end up getting nothing accomplished.

When I first-draft now, I do so in a Mead or 5-Star multi-subject notebook (college ruled, of course).  Each new story idea is started in a new subject of a notebook, and if I'm able to fill up that section of the book (roughly 75 pages), then that story graduates to get its own single-subject notebook that continues the plot.  The only drawback to this method is that I've accumulated a lot of notebooks, which becomes cumbersome when I want to write anywhere that's not my house, such as at my favorite coffee shop or when traveling.  Then I have to decide which notebooks I need to bring (it's also reaching the point where I'm beginning to get them mixed up and grab the wrong one, and working on a story outside of its designated notebook is unthinkable), but I couldn't have it any other way.

2) The pen.

To me, having the right kind of pen is essential.  My tool of choice is a Pilot Precise V5 RT free-flowing ink pen.  If I don't have that specific type of pen, or one very close to it, then I don't write. When the closest grocery store stopped carrying them for about a year, I would make special trips to the Target store across town just to pick up a pack.  They're that important.

3) Music
If I don't have my music, I might as well not even bother.  Listening to music while writing has become as essential to me as the pen and paper.  Without music, the creative flow just sort of congeals until it stops altogether.  Almost all of my stories have their own playlist I composed on iTunes, made up from artists, bands, and musical scores and soundtracks, and, unsurprisingly, those tend to be my first choice playlists depending on whatever I'm currently working on.  And if I don't necessarily feel like listening to those, there's always my go-to albums (right now the Akira soundtrack and Florence + the Machine do quite nicely).  And when those don't work, I just put my entire library on shuffle and let my iPod choose for me.

(My other go-to is Halloween sound effects and music.  I can't explain why.  If I'm stuck on a particularly troublesome scene, Night in a Haunted House and Night in a Graveyard does wonders to dislodge it.  It just works.)

There are lots of other factors that help the process as well.  A good cup of tea or a glass of wine is always appreciated by the muse.  And while I always have my headphones on, I more often than not have some terrible horror movie playing in the background while I'm at home.  I think it's because they take 0% concentration while watching.

And, of course, I wouldn't be able to write without my writing buddy by my side.

Even if he does snore.