Coffee, Notebooks and Pens

Um, yeah, these three are what most writers survive on. There are other necessities as well. Some romantic notions about addictions and nonsense like alcohol or grass. We will talk about it later, in another post. But, right now, it’s coffee, notebook and pen time.

How many vices do you have? What do you absolutely need to set your creativity free? What do you sip while writing?

Yesterday, I sat before the computer with a large bowl of ice cream. I thought I would pamper myself. It’s been long, you know, I paid any attention to myself. A lie. Anyway. I am born with genetic defects and by now everyone who knows me agrees on this. United in agreement. Separated in disagreement. That did not come out too well, did that? Anyway.

Ok, so ice cream. Sadly the bowl full of creamy chocolate fudge did not help me do anything out of ordinary. And it got me thinking. Lately, everything gets me thinking. Curious, don’t you think so? No one would call me a philosopher. I am not. I am rather a twisted personality who speaks her mind out. Have lost a lot of friends that way. But, who cares? You cannot take my truth, you don’t deserve my lies.

Hey lies take a lot of hard work. You gotta think it. You gotta test drive it. You gotta deliver it in proper tone and word. Hard, hard work. Not for everyone lol.

Whatever.

So, when ice cream failed. Thank God it did. Or, else I would have kept gobbling on ice cream only. What that would have done to my weight loss plan, I only shiver to imagine. But, it failed. When it did, I brewed a mug full of strong coffee and came back to writing. And viola, words came pouring out. I finished a very crucial part of my current project.

 

Coffee is a great vice of mine. I need it when I am writing. To be frank I need a lot of it. Mug after mug disappear when my fingers are flying on the keyboard. And I need it strong though I prefer it with milk and sugar. It is like fuel that keeps me going. Without coffee I find myself going adrift. You might have this thing for tea. But, coffee and writing have some special bonding, like eyes and sight or some other crap like that. So much for metaphor.

Ah…notebooks. This is my favorite vice. I buy notebooks like my life depends on it. I need to have a notebook at my fingertip does not matter where I am. Currently, I am carrying a soft cover, red notebook with ruled pages. It is portable and easy to handle. This is my self-improvement journal. Here I plan. I praise myself for sticking to plans. And bash myself if I fail to do it. It works.

I have a creative journal. This one is for story and title prompts. There is a reading journal. Here I review the books I read. You will find an abundance of John Grisham and John Sandford book review here. There is a project journal. This I use to record information about my ongoing projects. I have an idea journal which I use for recording blog post ideas. I also keep a journal for recording positive thought. There is one journal a brown hard covered one. It is expensive. I bought it on a whim (that I do a lot). This is the blank journal. Meaning, I cannot bring myself to use it. It sits beside the computer and stares at me. And I stare back.

Pens? Yeah, I have a lot of pens, ink pen, gel pen, ball points, fountain pens (though I cannot use them), use and throw and many other that I cannot use. But, every time I end up using pencil. I think fast and I need a pen that can match the speed of my mind. This is the reason, I am more comfortable with the keyboards.  

Think I am crazy? Well, maybe a little. A lot in fact. Then again you gotta be crazy to be creative. There is no creativity without insanity. This is another topic worth writing about. And surely, I would explore it next.

Till then…be yourself.