My Essential Daily Writing Survival Kit
I thought I would share a list of the essential things that I always keep to hand at my desk during the writing day.
No 1. REFERENCE BOOKS
I always keep my Oxford Rule Dictionaries at the desk. They have saved me so many times when I've had questions concerning formatting, punctuation or grammar, I find I often forget the rules, or realise I never knew, or properly understood the rules, in the first place!
There is also an edition in the set compiled specifically for Writers and Editors, - a thoroughly recommended purchase!
I also surround myself with books pertinent to the thing I'm working on. They might be other kinds of Dictionaries, or works of Non-Fiction on a given theme, or a novel by your favourite author. You never know when you might need to invent a plot device, create an anecdote/bit of backstory … or you might seek inspiration from another writer, or need to get into a certain frame of mind before writing - books are your friends! Other writers are your friends! Truthfully, there is comfort to be found in surrounding yourself with good material.
No 2. POWER THESAURUS
The Power Thesaurus is an online Thesaurus, and, as the title suggests, it's more of a professional level resource than other online Thesauruses available as I understand it. I know in using one I’m breaking Stephen King's famous rule,
“Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.”
What can I say? I guess we would agree that some words are more right than others. I have always found the humble Thesaurus has served me marvellous well. The truth is, I use a Thesaurus all the time, (sorry Stephen) does that make me a bad writer? Discuss …😆
You can find the Power Thesaurus here … great online tool!
No 3. NOVEL NOTES
(- Usually in a Stalogy 365 B6 sized Notebook)
My Novel Notes … more like My Life Notes! This is really where all my research, all my brainstorming, and all my plot devising happens. Every question that needs answering, every random idea I have for a brief moment or scene, goes in here, - details both great and small, that I need to make sure I remember to include in the novel at some stage on the long journey.
( - Oh, one thing, Plot Outlines, more in-depth World-Building descriptions, and Character Profiles specifically do not go in a book … I always do them on the computer, so I can get writing down quickly and move stuff around more easily.)
No 4. ADDITIONAL NOTES
I keep several other additional notebooks that serve different functions. I used to try to do everything in one - just didn't work! 🤷 Now I separate every function. I have Reading Lists to keep track of everything I want to read. Reading logs to keep a note of everything I've read - if you would like to see an example of those notes, they can be found in a previous blog here …
http://robyn-hunt.squarespace.com/new-blog/2019/6/13/reading-roundups
I also keep a dedicated Novel Glossary where I keep a note of interesting words, concepts and mythology that I feel might help me along on my writing journey. As a writer you are probably going to use a lot of notebooks, enjoy collecting and foraging for wonders!
No 6. DAILY PLANNER/JOURNALS
While the often all-consuming feverish act of creativity is going on, you somehow have to keep track of the rest of your life, if you are anything like me, everything other than writing could easily go out the window. A good old fashioned Planner is where I like to track my appointments and goals, including a daily word count to help create a visual record of completed work.
I also like to keep a journal of the places I have been to and interesting points of history. Firstly, it makes a nice record to keep, but also you never know when a landscape or place could be used for a story, I have always found it an excellent practice to describe the places I have seen in words.
No 6. SCRIBBLE PAD
At the end of the day, I always like to break down what I need to achieve for the following day. The aim is to view the work in bite-size manageable pieces and not to panic about the enormity of the whole.
Scribble pads are also great for making quick, messy notes if you need to remember something, Or even doodling if you get stuck momentarily. Worth keeping one to hand!
No 7. APPS
A Productivity Timer
When I feel things are going a bit slow or am not making the amount of progress I’d like. I turn on my timer on my phone for a given amount of time - you can usually configure them however you want. This forces me to confront the hurdle that's stopping me from progressing - sometimes, all it takes is a sentence and you might be happily on your way again. If all you achieve in that block of twenty-five minutes is that next sentence that unlocks the next page or paragraph, then it’s time well spent. The app can also be used to help you to hit your preferred word count for the day or create a visual chart of your progress. In short, it’s a simple, versatile and useful little tool.
Spotify
Now, in all likelihood, you don’t need me to draw your attention to Spotify, its wonders and versatility - or assert how we’d probably all die without it! 😁
I’m a newcomer to the App, so I’ve really loved discovering the app’s features and just having every piece of music I've probably ever loved in my life, all in the one place - whilst discovering new music all the time! I love how well you can organise everything into Playlists.
As such this does create opportunities for Writers. Again, I won’t have been the first person to suggest this - but you can use music to create lists that reflect the overall mood, theme of your novel, or define a character. I have often used music to help evoke a particular emotion or memory whilst writing a specific scene
Sometimes I listen to music when I’m writing, sometimes it helps you ignore the imposing silence, and helps you to confront the difficult task ahead. Equally, sometimes, I literally can’t listen to music when I’m writing at all, particularly when I’m writing dialogue, or when I’m not sure what’s happening in a scene, or when I really need to concentrate … - chances are, if I'm happily listening to music while writing, I’m already very familiar with the material and comfortable in what I’m doing - so yes definite caveats there … but again, another tool to be utilised.
Google Keep Notes / Note Taking App for Phone
For all my ye olde fashioned paper notebooks I still depend upon keeping a note app on my phone for times when I just don’t have my notebook and pen with me, ideas/fleeting thoughts can literally show up at any time and if you don’t track of them, no matter how obscure or seemingly insignificant the appear, you may lose them forever and the consequences of that may be much greater than you realise - so please be sure to catch your thoughts whenever, wherever. I especially like Google Keep Notes because it’s safely linked to your account and gets backed up. It also displays really nicely on the phone and has great functionality.
So there we are … that’s it … my essential daily writing survival kit. Though I didn’t mention Tea, or how I like to take a moment every now and then to acknowledge all the Writers who are chained to the desk like I am or who have been here before me and no doubt struggled as I have. I like to acknowledge the love and respect I have for each of them and their endeavour, I like to think about all those books that have taught and comforted me down the years.
I hope you found this a little insightful, if not useful. Do you have any essential items that I’ve not thought of or mentioned? Please feel free to comment down below, would be lovely to hear about your own strategies.