Best Tools for Writing
In the words of Julie Andrews, “These are a few of my favorite [writing] things.”
Gel pens that click and help me with my craft,
A ream of pink paper for all my rough drafts,
Notebooks with spirals shaped just like a spring,
These are a few of my favorite things…
Clearly, I am not a poet, but what can I say? Writers love talking about pens, notebooks, and word processors. So let’s! Here are the tools I rely on to get the job done.
Scrivener
When I started writing a novel last year, it didn’t take long for me to feel overwhelmed keeping everything in a single Word doc. I’d heard of Scrivener and decided to give it a shot, and now, I can’t imagine working on a book-length project without it. It helps me keep information in separate documents, but it’s all within easy reach.
Pilot G-2 07 pens
Up until a holy moment in 2013, my pen of choice was a Pilot Precise V7, which is still a very fine pen indeed. I remember exactly where I was when the Pen Gods graced me with their magic by placing a Pilot G-2 07 in my hand—it was my fiction workshop in college, where I asked a friend if I could borrow his, and I have never looked back. They’re perfect. Their gel ink flows freely, dries quickly, and lasts a long time. The grip is just soft enough. Even the click is satisfying!
My darling Alex, if you’re reading this, I would most definitely prefer a bouquet of G2s to flowers on Valentine’s Day
Pink copy paper
Last year, Chelsea Hodson, author of the magnificent essay collection Tonight I’m Someone Else, posted that she’d started printing her manuscript drafts on pink paper. She said she’d “felt intimidated” by the draft at first, but once she printed it on pink paper, she loved flipping through it.
I was having a similar problem feeling intimidated by a draft of my novel, so I decided to try Chelsea’s pink paper trick by ordering a ream. I couldn’t believe how effective it was right off the bat. Looking at my work on pink pages, I started feeling excited about the project instead of scared of it. There was even something to the act of switching out the white paper in my printer for pink—it helped me claim ownership of my work in a way I hadn’t expected.
I recently asked Chelsea about her beloved pink paper, and she said:
"For me, the pink is a mental switch from the teaching side of myself to my writing side. I spend a lot of time line editing my students' work on white pages, but when I see the pink, I remember it's a different kind of work!”
Bando notebooks
I’m almost as picky about notebooks as I am about pens. I tried being a Moleskine girl for a minute in college, but it wasn’t for me. The perfect notebook, to me, is single-subject, smaller than your average school notebook, and spiral-bound so the pages can fold back easily. Bonus points if the cover’s cute. Bando’s Rough Draft Mini Notebooks check every box. Want proof? I filled five of them over the past year and a half and just ordered five more.
Wrist pillow
If you write long enough, your wrists will start barking. It happened to me, and I was so freaked out by the prospect of carpal tunnel syndrome that I decided to ask my doctor about it. She said, “You know those keyboard wrist pillows that seem like they’d be a total waste of money? They actually work.” I was totally skeptical, but decided to give it a try. And poof! My pain is gone. I went for a floral one because I’m a girly bitch, but you do you. (◕‿◕✿)
Planner for writing gratitude
A few months ago, I wrote about the power in ending writing sessions by writing down three things that went well while writing that day. Doing so has helped me acknowledge progress in my writing, which can be tricky to do otherwise—it’s easy to focus on everything we’re doing wrong instead of recognizing what’s going well.
I like to record these moments of gratitude in a planner rather than a notebook because I like having a space to put each day’s entry. Obviously, I picked out a planner with dogs on it this year!
What are your favorite tools for writing?
“G2 pens.” —Mara (who clearly has excellent taste)
“Notes app, where I log my dreams when I’m half awake and fall back asleep.” —Rona
“Flashcards! Standard size, LINED.” —Rebecca
“Landscape notepads help me experiment with writing shapes!” —Shannon
I’d love to hear about your writing life. Answer my reader questionnaire and I may include your response in future issues of the newsletter! If you’ve provided your answers in the past, I’d love to have you back to answer the new ones I’ve added.
Really Digging This
Here’s what I’ve been reading and loving lately.
Pizza Girl — It was the cover of this novel that originally won me over (how could it not?!), and I’ve had this book in my TBR pile for months now. I think I’d resisted reading it because I doubted that a book with a cover this good could actually be a good book. BUT OH, IT IS A VERY GOOD BOOK. The voice of Jean Kyoung Frazier’s 18-year-old pregnant pizza delivery girl protagonist is sharp and insightful, and her thoughts on grief made me ugly cry.
Sex with Strangers — I was lucky enough to be among the first to read an advanced reader’s copy of my friend Michael Lowenthal’s new collection of short stories, the striking cover of which was just revealed by The Rumpus last week! The book is simultaneously hilarious and heart-breaking, and every page made me think more deeply about the gray areas of sex and sexuality. You can preorder Michael’s new book now (and while you’re at it, you can also read my interview with him for the very first issue of this newsletter).
Ina Garten Fanfiction is back!
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Rebecca Joy and I have composed another installment of our Barefoot Contessa fanfiction series. Is romance in trouble in East Hampton? Find out here!
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Special thanks to Becca Wucker for editing this issue and to Aysha Miskin for designing the Lonely Victories banner.
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“Writing alone can give you a very deep sense of satisfaction and lonely victory.” —Greta Gerwig
So much fun to read!