![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/images\/tollbridge.jpg\" "\\"A")
I have a couple empty Moleskine notebooks tucked away in my desk drawer. Within reach, though, I have an almost full Mead notebook. (And several small Mead notebooks scattered about–even in my car.)<\/p>\nI have a couple empty Moleskine notebooks tucked away in my desk drawer. Within reach, though, I have an almost full Mead notebook. (And several small Mead notebooks scattered about–even in my car.)<\/p>\n
*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *<\/p>\n
I have a good friend<\/a> who’s an artist. Years ago, when he read that Mark Schultz<\/a> uses a Windsor Newton Series 7 #3 sable brush<\/a> for inking, my friend decided that’s what he needed to use.<\/p>\n Today, he inks everything with a dip pen, using metal nibs more suited for his style.<\/p>\n *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *<\/p>\n I’ve mentioned before that I’m a big fan of The Nerdist podcast<\/a>. In an episode with — I believe — Rob Zombie<\/a>, host Chris Hardwick<\/a> (a stand up comedian), talked about how he tried Bill Cosby’s writing method for a short time.<\/p>\n It didn’t work for him.<\/p>\n *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *<\/p>\n Many writers fixate on fancy pens and do-it-all software used for writing.\u00a0 I use Paper Mate barrel pens because I can buy a pack when I’m at the grocery store and remember, “Hey, I need a pen,” and most writers I know use basic word processing software (and maybe a cheap notebook for capturing random thoughts and ideas).<\/p>\n *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *<\/p>\n So many people see the tools their heroes use as bridges to the Promised Land — magical cure alls that will make them better writers. Often, though, these writers end up stuck on one side of a gap, unable to cross over because they’re focused on the wrong things.<\/p>\n By all means, if you read about something that works for others and it sounds good for you, give it a try. But if it doesn’t work for you, don’t feel bad. Remember, people have been writing with primitive pens and paper for millennia.<\/p>\n Always do what works for you. Don’t become too infatuated with gear, software, or organizational systems.<\/p>\n Using shiny things doesn’t necessarily mean your writing will shine.<\/p>\n To pull that off, you just need to sit down and write regularly — even if it’s with a stubby pencil on scraps of paper.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I have a couple empty Moleskine notebooks tucked away in my desk drawer. Within reach, though, I have an almost full Mead notebook. (And several small Mead notebooks scattered about–even in my car.) *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 * I have a good friend who’s an artist. Years ago, when he read that Mark Schultz uses a Windsor […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[24,29],"tags":[67],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}