I just realized it has been a while since I last talked about my favorite writing tools — and by “a while”, I mean more than seven (7) years. Whew! Suffice to say a lot has changed since then, including the tools and processes I use to write.

I spent a lot of the 2020-on Covid pandemic experimenting with, evaluating, and refining my writing process (in addition to reading, playing Stardew Valley, baking bread, and being depressed), and I learned a lot about what it means to work and live in a creative state. 

It’s important to note that not everyone creates in the same way, and not everyone should create in the same way — it’s one of the reasons every creator’s art is unique! If your tools and processes are different from mine, that is perfect, and I’d love to hear what works for you. I’m sharing mine with you today just in case something clicks, or if you’re ready to try something new. Enjoy!

1. Journal: My daily journaling practice has grown and changed alongside my writing practice, and while I may not be doing Julia Cameron’s “morning pages” for the full 30 minutes/three pages each day, I do appreciate having the space in which to record my personal thoughts, separate from my creative projects. In a way, my journal is its own creative project. I realize that journaling is not for everyone — in fact, about 75% of the writers I talk to don’t find value in it, and that’s okay! (Though if you’d like to learn more about journaling, check out Write Now podcast episode 102: Daily Journaling.) 

2. Idea Notebook: Each project I begin gets a little Moleskine or Field Notes notebook, which I carry with me everywhere, and in which I cram different thoughts, names, images, etc. which feel useful to the project. This generally happens before the project actually begins — while it is in what I call my “stewing” phase — though I do carry these notebooks around with me while I’m writing as well. Is my purse a bottomless void of tiny notebooks? Yes. Is it worth it? For me, yes. 

3. Index Cards/Sticky Notes: When I’m “ready” (which usually means when I’m not ready but just anxious to begin), I take the ideas from my idea notebook and write each one down on an index card. I then shuffle these around into a loose outline for what the project will look like.

4. Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook by Donald Maass: This workbook was recommended to me by good friend Kate Brauning, and really got me out of a tough place while writing Season 2 of Girl In Space. This workbook is intended to refine and improve your current outline or rough draft, and walks you through a series of questions designed to help you strengthen plotlines, increase tension, and create more character depth. I have to admit — the snob that lives in my brain rolled its eyes when I first opened the workbook and saw what appeared to be a ton of extremely basic questions, but I soon found that (as with many things) you get out of this exercise what you put into it. After I completed the workbook (which was really fun and led to some great new insights about my story and characters), I added additional ideas to my pile of index cards. This workbook was a bit of an investment at $20, but for me it was worth it.

5. Pen, looseleaf notebook paper, & binder: Time and frustration have taught me that I write best when I write by hand. I’ve discovered that I need to feel each word out, slowly, to scrape it out in ink over paper. This works for me because when I let my fingers fly over a keyboard, I get ahead of myself, important things get missed, and I have to do double the work (or more) in rewrites. Handwriting on paper also gives me the space I need to not only create but spatially process my work — a computer screen is a frustratingly limited space, unlike, say, my desk and floors, where I can remove tangible pages from my binder and spread them out. (Don’t judge me.) 

6. Sound: For me, focusing (e.g., shutting out distraction) is the most difficult part of writing. Something that has really helped me regain a bit of focus has been controlling my sonic environment — putting my phone into “Do Not Disturb” mode, turning on a free rain app like RainyMood or playing an ambient YouTube video (which also has soothing visuals), and using my noise-canceling headphones.

7. The Anti-Phone: My phone keeps my life on track, but it is also my #1 instrument of distraction and the enemy of my focus, even when I’m using the “Do Not Disturb” feature. When I find myself unconsciously checking my phone for texts and Twitter updates (like, how did my phone even get into my hand?! I don’t remember picking it up!), I use the last remaining scrap of my willpower to turn on the Forest app. Using the principles of the Pomodoro technique, this app has you set a timer (I do 30 minute intervals) and plant a little digital tree — and if you use your phone before the timer is up, the little digital tree dies. It seems silly, but I cannot let those adorable tiny trees die. The Forest app is responsible for most of my 2021-2022 writing progress, no joke. I use it every day. I think it was about $4 when I downloaded it — needless to say, for someone like me, worth it. 

8. Writing Software: As I noted above, I draft my projects by hand, but when I’m ready to edit/polish them, they go into a word processor. This keeps the final draft looking professional, clean, and presentable. For prose projects like books and creative nonfiction pieces, I like to use Google Docs. It’s free and easy to use, and you can access it on your computer, phone, tablet, etc., whether they’re Mac/iOS or PC/Android. And multiple people can access the same document at the same time without anyone having to do a “save as”. For audio drama and TV scripts, I like to use Celtx, which is also free (enter your email and hit “sign up”, then periodically click “Continue using free version” when prompted). Similar to Final Draft (which I’ve also used), it allows you to quickly type and format your script properly (though Final Draft is very not free).

9. Dropbox: I back everything up. Constantly. All the time. Because I’ve lost entire novels before, and it sucks. I started using the free version of Dropbox ages ago and I now have a paid account to keep backups of everything — especially video and audio files (including Write Now and Girl In Space episodes and components), which take up a ton of hard drive space. 

10. Coffee: You probably know that I love this quote by Cory Doctorow: “Write even when the world is chaotic. You don’t need a cigarette, silence, music, a comfortable chair, or inner peace to write. You just need ten minutes and a writing implement.” You probably also know that I love coffee, and I could not make a list of my favorite writing tools without including it. I am a paradox. 

What are your favorite writing tools, and how do they help you?