Writers and Their Implements

It’s no secret that writers love books. Most are book hoarders if you want to know the truth. Books are our crack. My love affair with books began at a very young age. I blame my mother. She used to read to me every single night even after I was more than able to read by myself. It was our nighttime ritual. 

She used to take my brother and I to the library every week, where we each got our very own library card and had to be personally responsible for the books we checked out. It was a big deal. We’d each take home the maximum amount of books allowable by our local branch. And we read every single one of them before it was time to take them back. Books were very special and my mother encouraged both my brother and I to read, read, read.

So, I guess you could say I’m an addict and my mother was my dealer. But, I digress.

Since I’ve been writing, I’ve discovered that all writers I know also have another secret addiction: office supplies. That’s right, we have scads of office supplies surrounding our work spaces. We love blank journals and pretty pastel notebooks. Glitter pens? Manna from heaven to us. Stickers, cute erasers in assorted colors, bright colored pencils, everything an author needs to maintain a peaceful work environment you’ll find among our most prized possessions. Blank notebooks stacked in tidy even rows next to a basket of pens in assorted colors grace our bookshelves. A pretty dish full of bright colored, plastic coated paperclips sits next to a equally glorious box of awesome matching colored binder clips in assorted sizes. It’s magical.

Non-writers don’t get it. It looks like Office Max blew up in our personal space, which irks the non-writer in the family. But to us? To us, it’s Eden; a safe, comforting, and relaxing place to let our creativity flow freely among the necessary supplies to keep us energized and happy.

Oh sure, our usual and most oft used implement is the laptop, tablet or desk-top computer, but those other products are absolutely necessary for us to create the stellar manuscripts we do. Without the surroundings, the writing lacks depth and feeling. Well, that might be a bit of a stretch, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. I do use my journals more often than the average Joe. And who can use a journal with an ordinary pen? Not a writer, that’s for sure.

How about you dear writer readers, do you have a vast and assorted arsenal of office supplies in your writing space? And you non-writers, do you hoard books, office supplies or some other oddball thing? Do you think it’s strange that writers also have a strange fascination with office supplies?

Word of the Day: Ytterbium

Fun fact about me: I also have an amazingly large stash of paper bookmarks on hand. If there’s ever a shortage of paper bookmarks or a bookmark emergency, I’m ready to assist in any way necessary.

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, August 2017. Photos courtesy Google Images.