How I Write

Yesterday, I wrote a post about the surprising significance of the tools we use to accomplish a given task.

Bryan Hernandez wrote this comment:

I started to reply, but then I realized I had a lot to say.  People that take something seriously tend to have a very precise routine and have particular requirements for the way they go about their business: football players wear their pads a certain way, programmers may listen to certain music when they code, basketball players lace their shoes up precisely, and so on.  Especially when performance is desired, people pay close attention to the intricacies of their craft.

So how do I write?

My primary weapon is  a 5×8 Moleskine sketchbook. Hardbound to keep the pages flat.  Thick pages to keep my pen from indenting the following pages.  Elastic strap to keep it closed.  No lines because I do sketches it it as well.

I used to try and use regular, spiral bound notebooks.   That didn’t work. I didn’t keep track of where I put them. Pages got ripped out and bent.  Pages got messed up from writing on the pages on top of them (which is surprisingly annoying.) Because of these things, I didn’t write often.  A regular notebook just wasn’t special, so it felt like my writing wasn’t particularly special.    If you value something, you have to treat it right.

The 5×8 size is versatile size.    Putting little notes doesn’t look awkward–it seems right. But, it’s not a problem to write something longer.  It feels good to fill up some pages sometime.

It also doesn’t take up much space, so I can keep it right on my desk next to my computer mouse.  When an idea comes to me or I have an epiphany, I can quickly and easily write it down and get it out of my head before I forget it, and more importantly, before it distracts me any further.

My 2nd weapon is my pen. I use a Pilot G-2 pen (black, blue looks gaudy).  It makes my handwriting look a little wiser, and it glides along the paper quickly.  You need to be able to write quickly when the thoughts are coming.  Otherwise you’re wasting moments of inspiration, you will more quickly lose momentum.  You certainly won’t be able to get into a state of flow.

I don’t like using a word processor to get rolling.  It’s weird, it makes me feel less like a writer.  I just can’t get my “game face” on.

My 3rd weapon is this blog.  Blogging imbibes the words with an added purpose: you’re talking to someone.  There’s an audience out there conversing with you .  Additionally, talking to someone, talking through a concept, forces us to think and speak with even greater clarity.  And conversing by the written word takes this clarity to new heights–you can talk without thinking, but you can’t write without thinking.

-Kevin
1.27.2010