a few of my favorite things

I wouldn't say all of them make me a better writer, but they certainly make being a writer more fun.  My top 5 tools are as follows:

 1. The moleskine notebook.   I personally prefer the unlined softcover sketchbook pocket edition.  I've filled about 10 of the since I started writing seriously, and I like being able to start a new one every few months.  I have purchased them at Barnes and Noble in the past but I just saw a display this past week at Target, so they may be avaiable, in a limited selection, at Target. 

2. And to write in it, of course, the pilot G2 black gel pen.  I don't know why you would want to use any other pen, really... they last forever... or I should say they last longer than I have ever been able to hang on to one. And they always write.  Always.  I've never picked up on that didn't write. 


3. docs.google.com.   Again, I'm not sure what's not to like here.  I can create documents from any computer, save them, and then edit them again from any computer.  I can share them, email them, download them, upload them.  I could go on, but I won't.  I am still waiting for a compelling reason to not use googledocs. 

4. Poetry Magazine.  This is where it happens, as far as I can tell.  This journal, to which I admittedly have never subscribed but which I read regularly, is pretty much the ultimate place where poetry is published.  I regularly day dream about needing to buy extra copies of the next edition so that my family and friends can read something I've written that was published here.  Maybe one day.

5. The Public Library.  Meanwhile, I'll keep reading Poetry and the authors who have been published therein at the public library.  We live about 5 blocks from the Richland Public Library, which is a great one, but there are a few other good ones around.  In Kansas City Sarah and I used to visit different public libraries for fun on Saturdays, but lately we just swing by ours to pay our fines and look at what's new.