I’ve been writing basically my whole life. I started in notebooks as a kid as a form of escapism from my life at the time. I’d write for hours and hours in a fantasy world. One where what was happening made sense to me when I was around 9 years old. Things were bad because of bad guys not because life is messy and sometimes there are no bad guys.

My world outside my mind was messy, my world inside helped me manage it. Then I grew older. My inside world still shaped by my experiences was also shifting into an art that was including people besides myself. I began writing for a reader, for a grade, and for reasons beyond my internal world.

So I had to start managing the chaos to write coherent works that someone could relate to or gather information from. This meant that I had to develop tools outside myself to better my writing and to connect to others.

Here is a list of what I use when I’m writing:

• Zotero – Typically used for academic work which is how I came across it. I use Zotero so that I can flag anything I read online as a potential source later. I always try to cite my sources and it’s easier when I’m tracking what I read and watch on the internet.
• Paper and Pen – My best friend gave me this beautiful orange leather bound notebook that has a line for subject and date on the ruled paper inside. I use a standard pen one you can buy at any office store, it doesn’t have to be fancy. Then I just write when something triggers the inspiration. I am also trying to live a life more offline than I did before and this helps me capture the moment without being distracted by notifications that could potentially cause me to lose the thread.
• Trusty laptop – I have a tower but I don’t use it much for writing. That is where my visual media lives. My laptop however can travel with me. I’ve had mine for years and sometimes the stickers bring me back to things that make me smile.
• 12 Volt Inverter – Specifically for charging my laptop on a trip so that I can write long form without hand cramps. I got mine as a gift from my brother. I have no idea how much it cost or where to get another one. I’m sure they’re around. My personal car has three spots to plug in so I can write from the tailgate watching the sunset if the mood strikes me.
• My favorite spot on the couch – Sometimes the words just need the right place to relax and let the words come pouring out. Mine is on an old leather couch that was left behind by a former tenant in my reformed frat house rental. This couch stares politely out the large window on the other side and l can drift away among the view of the trees.
• Experience – Nothing about writing makes sense if you haven’t lived it. That’s why AI can’t beat a human writer. Most of my writing blends real lived experience with slightly altered details. Like writing about coming to the top of a hill. You can make this a fantasy with dragons flying around but when you infuse it with the magic that is what each step feels like to you, how the ground shifts, how the wind picks up. Readers know when you’re human because you bring the human into the writing through these experiences big and small.

In Parting

At the end of the day there is no perfect list of things that will make you a better writer. No magical turquoise fountain pen that can make you a best seller. These are things to consider. Maybe you too can make a list of what helps you write. What creates the words that transform the world.

*Note – I did include a link to Zotero. It is a free software that I do personally use but I am not paid or compensated in any way for linking to them.*