The Power of the Pen

From Kate's Writing Crate...

          As a writer, I love pens. I have two favorite brands, but I’m open to trying new ones.

          I’m always looking for light-weight, fast-writing pens. My thoughts come to me more quickly than I can write them down so I don’t need a heavy pen that slows me down.

It also helps if the pens are nice to look at as I often stare at my writing hand while I wait for inspiration.

Recently, I discovered a set of six ballpoint pens, sold in two-packs. They range in color from white to pinks to blue to purples. But that isn’t the only reason I like them. Each one has a message on the barrel.

When I look down and see FIERCE AND FABULOUS or BADASS AND BRILLIANT or RISK TAKER, I’m motivated to write fearlessly. MAKE IT EPIC, UNSTOPPABLE, and GET IT DONE work well at deadline.

They make me feel more powerful as I write with them.

They also make great gifts. A friend just said to me that she wants to be a Badass in 2018. Well now I have the perfect gift for her as well as some of my other friends. Who doesn’t want to be a Risk Taker and Unstoppable?

Here’s to a fierce and fabulous New Year!

Bonus Post: Perfect Gift for a Writer

From Kate's Writing Crate...

          It’s the gift-giving time of year—so what to buy for the person who has everything, or an office gift, or something for a writer? How about a wall clock? I discovered some fun ones online.

          If you know a dancer, there’s a clock that says only “and 5 6 7 8.” For those who enjoy adult beverages, a clock with all 5s as it’s 5 o’clock somewhere. For musicians, a clock with various notes that equal the usual numbers. Also, a Dr. Who spiral of numbers clock for Sci-Fi fans.

          There’s a Who Cares, I’m Retired clock and a Whatever, I’m Late Anyway clock both with all the numbers in a pile at the bottom of the face of the clock; ones with math equations instead of numbers; and one that has the word Now in every spot instead of numbers.

For writers, the clock has no numbers just “write now” across the face. Of course, that’s my favorite. Genius! 

You name it, there seems to be a clock perfect for everyone. Gift shopping done!

Be a Fearless Writing Warrior

From Kate’s Writing Crate…

Fearless Writing in action: Don’t write what you know. Write what you love.

According to William Kenower, author of Fearless Writing: How to Create Boldly and Write with Confidence, “Love is the foundation on which every successful writing career is built.” (page 43)

I can attest to this. I love my over-15-year-long writing career.

Every month for two magazines and their Facebook pages, I write at least five essays and every topic is one I love. While the word counts run from 450-1,000, I can write them on demand simply because I choose topics I love. Words just flow out onto the page. When the words stop, then I rewrite, revise, edit, and polish until I’m happy with the essay and it meets the word count. This doesn’t even feel like work, but it does take a lot of time.

I also write several articles monthly. While I don’t always get to choose the topics, I love writing these articles so readers discover something new or are entertained, or, hopefully, both. In truth, this feels more like work, but it’s work I love so I count myself lucky.

Added to that, I’ve spent over five years writing weekly posts for this blog. It’s never felt like work because I’m writing about writing—a topic I love.

In another example, best-selling author Louise Penny notes she had spent five years writing a book she thought she should write. Frustrated, she looked at her nightstand and saw only murder mysteries, which she loved, and realized she was writing the wrong book.

Now writing a book a year, she is thirteen books into her Inspector Gamache series. She has won five Agatha Awards and the loyalty of legions of fans as well—including me.

Write what you love and you will never be afraid of a blank page.

You’ll also be a Fearless Writing Warrior.

Next post will be on January 1, 2018.