Writers' tools: a good chair

Time to talk chairs. Seems mundane, I know, but it matters. You can't write long in a bad chair.

"Oh, poo! Don't bore me with talk about chairs!" you say, oblivious to the issue on which you sit. If you plan to be a writer, you're going to spend an awful lot of time sitting in a chair. So why not get one that will help you write? A comfortable chair lets you forget your body so you can concentrate on what you're writing. That's the goal, and if a mere chair can help you get there, the matter deserves your attention.

I don't spend a zillion dollars on chairs. I got the one in the photo a couple of years ago for about $200 online. I'm not going to recommend the site because the instructions make no sense and they include a large part that has nothing to do with the chair. That's enough to kill a recommendation from me. Still, I love the chair.

It adjusts every which-what way: height, angle of seat, angle of back, arms in or out, or forward or back. It's a shape-shifter. Yet it's rigid once you fix it in a certain position. In other words, you don't lean back and find the chair leaning along with you. It's rigid in form factor -- but soft to the touch. I can't believe how happy I am with this chair and I say this after using it every day for more than a year. It's still soft and comfortable, and it's child's play to find the perfect angle and height for typing, browsing the net, or sitting at a table.

There's only one drawback to the chair. In the summer, leather chairs get hot. The heat build-up drove me nuts last year as I was writing Xmas Carol. So I saved my pennies and bought another one this past fall. This summer when one chair gets hot I'll be able to switch to the other, and let the first one cool off. I know it's almost rude to talk about such basic things but this counts. Now I can write for hours without discomfort. It's not a minor point.

If you're a writer or want to be one, think about the basics and do everything you can to remove barriers to your writing. Get a good chair, keyboard, pen, pad, notebook, computer, writing program, etc. And then, with nothing in your way and a clear view ahead, write your heart out.

Inks of many colors

Doodling notebook and a few inks.

I love ink, fountain pens and color. Luckily, I get to use all three in my work. That's my doodling notebook on the left. At night, I write with all fourteen of my fountain pens on Clairefontaine paper in a Levenger notebook. I just write nonsense, happy to be playing with a pen. I doodle, journalize and generally live-blog my life. Add a little music and I'm a happy guy.

Writing with a fountain pen calms me. When I first pick up the pen, my hand is shaky from clicking and typing all day. But as I write I become entranced by the act of printing. Each letter is a tiny artwork; it's more like drawing than writing. Within a few lines, my hand is rock steady and when I'm done with the 14th pen, I feel I've had a very nice time.

I have over 50 bottles of ink, a color for every mood. It's a simple matter to switch the ink in a fountain pen: just dump one and load another. The real game involves matching the right ink to the right pen. You may find that an ink that worked very well in your Sailor pen, looks fuzzy and unclear or doesn't flow well in your Parker pen. It's like you're using a different ink. Fountain-pen writing is all about matching ink to pen. If things don't go well with an ink in one pen, try it in another or perhaps in a pen with a different nib size.

As for the inks, I'm partial to Noodler's and Diamine inks. J. Herbin also has some lovely colors (and a few duds, at least in my pens) and I like the Private Reserve brand. (Their Orange Crush is fun.) But in one area, there's no competition -- Aurora Black is the only black, always darker than you expect, free-flowing and a pleasure to use. And an Aurora-inked pen never seems to dry out. So black is covered.

I adore one of the J. Herbin inks: Violette Pensee. It's the exact same color as old mimeograph "ink". If you're old enough to remember this precursor to photocopying, you'll recall that the print was a bright, lovely shade of lavender. And of course you had to sniff the paper -- it had a heady, wonderful smell that seemed capable of getting you high. If you're old enough, when you first use Violette Pensee ink you won't be able to stop yourself from sniffing the paper. Alas, the scent you expect is not there, but the ink is exactly the same shade.

I also have a love affair going on with Noodler's Blue. Its shading (the change from dark to light evident in the stroke of some inks) ranges from turquoise to a pleasant, medium-dark blue. It's my favorite blue with the exception of Baystate Blue, another Noodler's color. It's the most vibrant shade of blue you've ever seen but it stains everything it touches. Since it behaves so badly, it's not practical to use. Goes right through the paper, too. Did I forget to mention that? But what a color!

There are some great greens, too. Lierre Sauvage, another J. Herbin ink, is a particular favorite. It's a bright medium-green, a sort of shamrock color, though darker and more forceful. It's greener than green has a right to be and it cheers me every time I write with it. I also like Noodler's Gruene Cactus, which is a lighter and brighter green than Lierre Sauvage.

And why not perk things up with an orange ink? Diamine Pumpkin is a fun orange ink with lovely shading. It's a bit browner than a straight orange. And if you want straight orange, you can't do better than Diamine Orange. It's a very orange orange.

I could go on and on about the inks I love but this have to do for now. As for links to the inks, since stores are in and out of stock all the time, it's best to just Google the ink name. I buy them from anyone who has them. You'll also find a bunch of my ink reviews on Amazon, if that's interesting.

Ink makes me happy. Writing with fountain pens makes me happy. What about you? I figure if you got this far in my post, you're probably a stationery addict just like me. Hey, there are worse things to be. Got a favorite ink or pen? Tell me about it.  

Stationery freaks of the world, unite!

Writers' tools: a timer

Okay, so maybe this is a tool for writers who live alone. But since that describes me, I have to list a timer among my most essential tools for writing. I couldn't write without one.

When I write, I am lost. I don't know what room I'm in, what country, or even who I am. So it's easy to lose track of all sorts of things, especially cooking. My trusty timer saves me every day. I just set it and I can allow myself to drift away in a flurry of words. And then, before I know it, it calls me back.  "Check the beans!" it yells, or "Walk the dog!" (The dog is in another house; there are no visual cues when it's time to take her out. We don't want to forget the doggie.)

Every writer should have a timer, even those who live with others. Surely the other people leave at some point, no?. A timer frees you to write. Get one.

Writers' tools: a name book

One skill every fiction writer needs is the ability to name characters. The right name can bring a character to life. It should sound fresh and perfect -- and that's not an easy combination to dream up.

My naming skills are fairly pathetic. Just ask my pets. I once had two cockatiels named Chuck and Corky. Those were the best names I could come up with. What can I say? I also had a white one once and called him Blanche. Not bad, what with the gay connotations. But that's about the best I ever did with a pet name. (Full disclosure: I once had a cherry-headed conure named Tallu, and that was a great name. Unfortunately, someone else suggested it; I get no credit.)

So when I started writing fiction and realized I had to come up with names for my characters, I might have felt inadequate. But inadequacy isn't my style. In the first two books, I named characters as they appeared in my sentences. I just typed the first name that occurred to me and that was that. With the exception of one change necessary for clarity, I have never renamed a character. Oddly, in those two books I don't think I did too badly. I like the characters' names that I stumbled upon.

But by the time I wrote the third book, Xmas Carol, I had devised a technique for naming characters. The thing is, I love names. I smile and enthuse over them all the time. In my opinion, names are the best part of TV newscasts. I often marvel at the names that fly across my screen. Some are simply stunning and it's hard to believe they didn't emanate from central casting. They're actually the names were born with!  One night, as I relished yet another fabulous name in a newscast, a simple idea occurred to me.

Thus began the era of my name book, and it has served me well. What I do is this: each time I hear a great name, I write it into a small, staple-bound Rhodia notebook (image above; I get them at WritersBloc, the best stationery store ever). I don't write down entire names, mind you -- my intention is not to kidnap people's identities and stuff them into my books. I only take half a name.

If I hear a first name I like, I write it in the left column of a page in the name book. If it's a last name, it goes on the right. I don't combine them; I just collect separate piles of first and last names. Then, when it's time to name a character, I pull my name book out and mix and match from the two lists.

I have come up with the coolest names this way. I'm especially fond of the unlikely combinations that result when I mix nationalities. It's a joy to play with this tool, which turns a common writer's burden into a naming festival. It's fun, it's easy and it works.

How do you name your characters?

Keep a tape recorder by your bed

How many great ideas occurred to people as they were falling asleep and were lost forever when they couldn't recall them in the morning?

The first time this happened to me, I thought, "Oh, I can remember that," and promptly fell asleep, losing my idea for all time. It drove me nuts the next day. I could still feel it but it was just out of reach. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't latch onto it.

As writers, our ideas are our lifeblood so losing them is a real tragedy. After seeing too many ideas disappear into the mist, I became determined to find a way to capture them. The next day, I bought a handheld digital recorder at Amazon and it has lived on my night table ever since.

Has it saved me? Many times! It is so great to wake up, vaguely remembering the outline of an idea, and then be able to pick up the tape recorder and play back my thoughts. And there it is: that great idea -- saved!

This came up last night when I had a wonderful notion about the ending for a short story I've been planning to write. I love the concept of the story but I had hit a brick wall with the ending. Nothing seemed to work. Well, it came to me last night just as I was drifting away and I managed to reach for the recorder and mumble my idea into it before slipping into unconsciousness. Now I can write that story! 

Pads and notebooks are great but if you're like me, when you're falling asleep you don't want to turn on the light and sit up to write an idea down. It's so easy to push a button in the dark, speak my piece and drift off to sleep.

Save your ideas. Figure out systems to record them. And then write, write, write.

Five notebooks

I keep five notebooks for recording story ideas. Could I write all my ideas in one book? Yes, but I work on several books at once so that would only make it harder to find a specific note. For this reason, I use a number of notebooks.  That's a photo of my current workbooks above.

There is a separate notebook for each book I'm currently writing. One is for Xmas Carol, which I'm still working on. (The book is out to readers at this time and I got a great call this morning from a reader who just reached the climax. Lookin' good!) The Xmas Carol notebook is the large blue-green one on the right end.

A second is for Ink, which Is also a current project. It's the medium-sized yellow notebook. I've got another book just for new story ideas. It lists idea after idea, and this is where I go when I want to write a new short story. I can't tell you how happy I am about the ideas in this book. There's good writing ahead! The book for new ideas is the medium-sized avocado notebook.

I also have a large black notebook for the third book of The Worlds Trilogy. The story isn't written, nor is the plot set in stone. It too is a work in progress, though it's only in the planning (i.e., thinking) stage.

And finally, I have a small copper notebook to carry on my infrequent forays into the world, dog forbid an idea occur to me and I find myself unprepared to record it.

Each notebook you see above is a Clairefontaine Basics notebook. The paper is unbeatable and is so friendly to fountain pens, which I always use when writing by hand. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have leather covers handmade for these notebooks at Renaissance Art. It's not as expensive as you might think.

(Note: they don't make perfect items, instead producing friendly, unique covers with all sorts of imperfections. I love them. Each is like an old friend, wrinkled here and there. In other words: perfectionists beware. Me, I think I've bought about 10 of their covers and I'm perfectly happy.)

This is my arsenal. Whatever idea occurs to me, no matter which book it concerns, I have a place where I can record it. This is very helpful when I sit down to write the book or story.

On the other hand, I also notice that each thing I write down in these notebooks essentially transfers the idea permanently to my brain. I can go to the computer the next day and start writing, often without looking at my notes. I think this says something about how the brain works. Perhaps by writing the words manually, they go directly into secure storage in the brain.  It's as if my contact with the idea is more intimate when I print it in a notebook by hand. I'm just musing here but it seems that way to me.

Write your ideas down in an organized way. Trust yourself. Know that your ideas are good and worth recording. This way, when you want to write something, you won't find yourself saying, 'But what will I write about?"

Works for me. What works for you?

Seeing the next scene

The paper I use for scene books

I need to see a scene clearly in my head -- or at least see the beginning clearly -- before I can write it. If I can see it in my mind, I can create it on paper. All I have to do is go to the computer and begin.

On the other hand, when things are going poorly and my writing slows to a crawl and stops, it's always because I can't see the next scene. I know where the book is going but I'm not clear on the exact steps needed to take it from here to there. I'll say it again: I can't see the next scene. Stops me dead, as it should.

That's when I reach for my scene book. I put my writing aside for a day or two (okay, even longer) and focus only on visualizing the next few scenes.  (Why stop with one, right?  When I'm dead in the water, I try to nail down four to seven new scenes before I resume writing. Then I can really get on a roll.)

For my scene book I use an annotation-ruled notebook, the kind pictured above, that has a quarter column down the left side and ruled lines on the right.  (I've only seen them at Levenger, though surely they're available from others.)  This is where I carve out the details of upcoming scenes.

In the left column I write a title -- anything that will clearly tell me what scene this is. For instance, "Harry insults Nigel ".  On the right I list the components of the scene, using words and phrases that will bring the idea to life in my brain when I next look at them.  As I've said elsewhere, snatches of dialogue are always good to get a scene up and moving, and I often include dialogue in a scene summary.  Sometimes I write the beginning of the scene, just as it will appear in the book.  If the words occur to me, I may as well get them down.  This is of course a great help when I sit down to write the scene at the computer -- it's already going when I start.  But mostly the scene book contains brief notes that swiftly summarize a scene idea.

Good, I've got one scene laid out. It's in my scene book and that makes me feel so secure. I know that when I look at what I've written, I will be able to write the scene  Time to move on to the next one and go through the same process, writing down the result in my trusty scene book. 

(Not that it's necessary but I use a different ink color for every scene idea. It makes them distinct so that I can tell right away where one ends and another begins. I find this makes it easier to scan the notes later, and I suspect that scanning through my scene book would be a murkier affair if everything was in blue-black ink. Plus, I love color and always work it into my day. Hey, I'm a hippie. Sue me.) 

A scene book with four or five (or seven!) scenes laid out is the greatest asset I could have as a writer. The notes act as guideposts, easing me into the process of writing.  With a fleshed-out scene book at my side, I'm unstoppable.

Try it -- or perhaps you have other secrets you'd like to share in the comments.  This one works for me.

Drink espresso and open Scrivener

 

This is an image from Scrivener 2.0, the best writing software in the world.  For years it was only available for Mac users, and I understand the latest version, which just came out a week or two ago, only runs on the latest Mac O/S, not earlier versions.  If you're on a PC, the good news is they're coming out with a PC version this month, I believe.

That's my motto in the title: "Drink espresso and open Scrivener".  It's the only thing I have to do to start writing.  Truly.  Even on days when I feel useless and I'm convinced I can't write, if I make myself that cup of espresso and click on the Scrivener icon, I'm soon writing.  (I suspect there's magic involved.)

It's a great program, very fluid.  It lets you write how you want, turning the text into clay that you can move around at will.  It's simple to try different scene orders, and then see them as one block of text.  This can be eye-opening (and I've permanently changed the order of scenes like this; it was so easy).

Or you can view a selection of scenes as one large block of text (say, all the scenes with a particular character in them).  This is surprisingly refreshing -- for me, it opened doors that I would have never noticed.  It's one of the best features of the program.  But there's so much more.

You can view your work as titles and summaries on a corkboard, or look at it as files within a chapter structure.  One of the most heroic features is that it saves every few seconds without the writer having to do anything.  This rescued me during several electrical outages.  I didn't lose one word!  It's a writer's best friend.

And when you're done, you can output it any way you want.  It will help you create the manuscript you need for submissions, and you can also output it to ePub, Kindle and other formats.  This is tremendously helpful to me when I give my stuff out to readers.  We have three Sony Readers in the family and I use all of them to give copies of the book to readers.   It's simple and it saves paper.  (My last manuscript was over 400 pages.)

This is my primary writing tool.  If it sounds interesting, you can download a version immediately from Literature and Latte and it's only 45 bucks.  A bargain at any price, as I'm sure you'll agree if you try it.  Plus Keith, the designer, is highly available by email to answer any questions you may have when you actually use it.  He's a pleasure to deal with.  (And no, though both our names are Keith, I have no connection with the product other than using it.)

Tools of the trade.  This is one of them.

OCD or talent?

I thought I'd start with an image today.  This is where it all begins (well, after it finds a way into my mind).

This is my table-desk.  (I have another desk with my Mac computer on it.  I do my actual writing on the Mac but spend an awful lot of time beforehand, hashing out the story components in my great Clairefontaine basic notebooks.  That's one of them with a great leather cover from renaissance-art.com -- and never mind the Levenger Circas; this is an old photo.  I've tossed them.  More later about the tools I use for work.)  This is where the initial magic happens, where the story turns into actual scenes.

Back to OCD.  I have always had sentences running through my mind.  It's what my brain does: it makes sentences.  A couple of shrinks told me I have OCD but I always ignored this.  I didn't do the typical OCD things: worrying about whether I'd locked the door, or shut the gas.  It wasn't that way at all.  I was just a bit particular, I thought.

It took me a ridiculously long time to notice that what was happening in my head wasn't normal.  For one thing, in recent years (before I began writing fiction) I found myself spending hours and hours and hours making up nonsensical names.  Not one of those names was memorable enough to write down.  They all just flitted through my mind, endlessly, tiringly, uselessly.

The other thing my brain did was write emails that I'd never send.  Uproariously funny emails (some of which I did send, but not many) they were, and they made me laugh.  This began to compete with the name-making nonsense in my head.  I thought, "This is OCD.  I'm insane."

And then I read an article about Gore Vidal.  It mentioned that someone asked him what he did for a living, and he said, "I make sentences."  I thought, "Hey, that's what I do.  Maybe I'm not nuts."  And that was the day that I first considered directing this enormous, useless, mental energy in a sensible direction.  Instead of thinking about nothing and letting it run riot in my mind, I began to write.

And the voices quieted down!  I stopped making names in my head unless I needed to create one for a character.  Name-making has lost its veneer of insanity.  I just do it, and out pops a name.  No big deal.

Now, on days when I write fiction, my brain is quiet at night -- except for new ideas that sometimes pop out, and which I write down for the next day's work.  If I have OCD, it's now working for me. 

And just think: it only took me 60 years to figure this out.