People might might assume writers don’t have “writing gear,” but they do. Some writers require applications like Evernote and Scrivener. Others work best with only a yellow notepad, pens, and highlighters.
My own gear, at least on a daily basis, is relatively simple and dependent upon the assignment and surrounding context. I don’t always have my laptop with me, but I always have a notebook in my purse. If I don’t have my notebook, I scrounge up a piece of loose paper: a crumpled receipt, begging from the person sitting next to me in church. (Emily Dickinson, you’ve trained me well.)
Poetry starts in the realm of pencil and journal whereas blog posts begin in an empty Word or Google document. Books often encircle the workspace, a sort of sentinel keeping guard or providing guidance.
Lengthier works use a combination of notebook, pen, and laptop. I need notes on paper when working on a case study, white paper, or thought leadership article. I’m not sure why. It could be researching and writing in the age of notecards, but I think the reason lies deeper. My brain better connects things when I write by hand. While I’ve trained myself to write under and in almost any circumstances, I know how I write best, so I use that method over the others.
What my gear comes down to, though, is largely a sense of “satisfaction.” Richard Hugo says to use whichever tools make a person “feel good putting words on paper.” Sometimes, that’s my MacBook Air. Other times, it’s pen and paper or pencil and paper, depending on what’s being written and what tools I have available. I use whatever makes it easier to get the first word, line, and paragraph onto paper or screen.
My gear may not work for another writer, but writing never works like that. No creative work does. Everyone has to find his or her own way. They can learn from other people’s processes—it’s a good way to learn what gives “satisfaction”—however, there are no shortcuts. A person’s writing gear matters, but how and why they use it matters more.
Image: Almost Brilliant (Creative Commons)