School Supplies

I love buying school supplies.  Love it.  Love everything about it, from searching bookstore after bookstore for the perfect notebook to trying out a hundred different pens (ballpoint, gel rollers, fountain pens....)

The Basics

As you prepare to put together your DIY MFA, you may want to consider treating yourself to a few simple school supplies:

• Notebook where you can take notes and store away your ideas
• Folder to hold your DIY MFA lists and assignments
• Writing implement of your choice

Every writer has probably spent way too many hours at their office supply store or bookstore, ogling the pretty notebooks and dying to play with the pretty pens.  I am not advising that you spend an entire weekend hunting for school supplies, otherwise you'll have no time left for writing.  Just find a system that works for you and then stick to it.  After much trial and error, I've come up with a system of my own and now I keep some backup supplies so that I always have extras on hand.  You know, in case there's a blizzard.  Or a blackout.  Or a sudden shortage of fountain pens.

Notebook: This is where I do most of my writing when I'm away from the computer.  I'll even use it instead of the computer from time to time, just to shake things up a bit.  It's small enough to fit in my purse but big enough so I don't get hand cramps trying to write in it.  I used to be a die-hard moleskine fan, but now I've actually converted to the ecosystem variety because I find them to be more lightweight.  Also I like the pretty colors.  The medium one is the perfect size for me and, of course, I always go for the unlined styles because sometimes I like to write sideways or draw diagrams.

Folder: Conferences are a great place to get pretty folders.  I reuse my SCBWI conference folders over and over until they fall apart. Don't be afraid to get whimsical with these.  If cartoon characters or unicorns are more your style than "serious" solid-colored folders, then go for it.  Have fun.

Pen: My choice in writing implement is the only thing that's stayed pretty constant since I first started writing seriously.  Pilot Varsity fountain pens.  Dark blue.  This may seem super-finicky but there is a method to this madness, I promise you.  I need a fast pen that writes with little pressure (hence the fountain pen choice) and because I make notes in the margin of my manuscripts and I want to be able to spot my comments quickly (hence the blue rather than black ink).

Other Fun Supplies

Stickers: I'm a firm believer in stickers.  I keep a bunch of stickers on hand and give myself a gold star or a smiley after a writing job well done.  I know it sounds infantile, but it helps me keep my mood light and puts my writing in perspective.  If writing well is all about gold stars and smiley faces then it's not really a big deal.  And if it's not a big deal, then it stops being scary.

Mascot:  Every writer has a mascot, whether they're aware of it or not.  To tell the truth, I have several mascots, but in the interest of time rather than describing them, I'll just show you my two favorites.

The knitted cactus plant was something I found in a flea market when I was eleven.  I got it because it was the only kind of plant that I wouldn't be able to kill (trust me, I was terrible with plants.  Still am.) I carried the cactus with me all through middle school and high school, took it with me to all my exams, even took it to college with me.  The pink alien is more recent, designed and made by a friend back when I was in design school.  And yes, the pink alien is picking his nose with his tongue.  So gross and yet so funny!