Hello, tender friends!
As writers, we may say our identity is deeper than our productivity. But that argument doesn’t work when bills need to be paid.
I resisted the idea that the “right” writing materials would make a difference for a long time. The idea that a notebook or writing bag would make a discernible difference in my writing life seemed silly. I was practical… sometimes to a fault.
I was wrong about a writing bag being frivolous. The perfect notebook is worth the hunt. So is your ideal writing bag. After decades of purchases, I’ve finally discovered both this year! As a result, I have actually noticed an increase in my productivity.
In my post last week, I talked about how disconnected I was for years from my own heart’s desires. Finding the ideal notebook and writing bag has not been a vapid consumerist quest; at the risk of sounding grandiose, it has been part of me living the life of my dreams.
While I have embraced typing on computers for my work writing, I still passionately believe in writing long hand for personal writing, especially when doing writing sprints to generate new ideas and material. The muscles in your hand are connected to your limbic brain, and the process of writing longhand releases ideas.
I’ve been journaling since I was five or six. Storage bins of assorted colors, collected over the past 30 years, contain over 50 journals.
But writing in some of those journals vexxed me. I used many of them because I received them as gifts, but they were too narrow or the paper was low quality or I became annoyed with myself for buying them just because they were on sale.
Practicality has its place, and I don’t believe in embracing the whole “You deserve it!” mentality that pervades American culture.
But if you take following your bliss seriously-and for me the writing life is part of my bliss- your bliss pays you back tenfold. (And I hope it goes without saying that your bliss should always be God-honoring. I’m not really delving into a deep theological discussion on this post, but I don’t believe in any bliss other than the gifts that God has put in us to develop over our lifetimes to honor Him).
Now I allow myself the luxury of purchasing journals that are 8 in x 11 in or larger, but never smaller. (Nearly all notebooks for journaling are much smaller- check it out next time you’re at Target). I’m also unwilling to compromise on the quality of paper and will spend a few extra dollars for thick paper that doesn’t allow the pen to bleed through.
I also indulged in a writing bag with a sturdy construction that I can hang on a hook, out of the reach of my little Boo Boo. This was a game changer for me!
My anxiety about Cub’s little hands pawing through my writing papers instantly dissipated once they were out of reach. My writing bag is comfortably worn on my back with two adjustable straps and has one main section for my notebooks with one front zippered pocket for my pens. Minimalism at its finest and most effective for me.
Purchasing my writing bag so invigorated and energized me that I spent the first month that I owned it organizing my three folders inside: one for my journalism work, one for other literary submissions, and one for my personal brainstorming and passion projects. For that first month, I took my pens in and out of the front pocket and organized and reorganized my folders and notebooks in the main section after Cub went to bed.
I was like a little kid, excitedly packing and unpacking her book bag and arranging all those magical erasers before the start of a new school year.
But this organizational system helped me to generate more ideas and increase my output, despite the fact that I have less time for writing now than at any other time in my life. If I only have 5 minutes while Cub is eating his breakfast, I write down the nascent ideas that have been gnawing at my brain and slide them into their corresponding folder for later development. Having an organizational system in place that I can easily implement means that I’m not wasting mental energy “storing ideas” and can write them down as soon as they come.
I have produced regularly, personally and professionally, in a way that I never did before making these changes.
(Or sit with your journal and bleed? Isn’t it funny how a woman uttering the same phrase would likely be considered a “hysteric,” but Hemingway somehow managed to be the idea of hyper masculinity when issuing such dramatic statements? But I digress).
So there you have it: if you’re feeling stuck in your writing life, I hope this helps you as much as it has helped me!
That’s all for today. Thank you to the new friends who have signed on, and thank you for stopping by today!
I’ll be sharing a post about the bridal shower I attended this past weekend on Thursday. I know that some of you have been looking forward to food posts, and I have a few stacked up, one of which I will share on Monday.
Thank you for sharing!
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