Friday, June 27, 2014

The Guilty Pleasure of Implement Porn....

Shawn has been looking for a journal to replace the one she keeps Mason's memories in.  That sounds very science fictional doesn't it?  But, in reality, it's just a kind of a baby book that's kept growing over the years.  Shawn writes down little tidbits she'd like to remember or thinks should be noted for the future/future reference.  The one she just filled upstarted in 2004.

Today, after her haircut, we decided to see what we could find to replace it.  We went to the kinds of stores that specialized in fancy pens and papers and...

...of course, it was *me* who walked out with twenty dollars worth of STUFF.

Admit it (because you know it's true), paper and pens are like porn for writers.  I will confess that have this particular love affair with quad lined notebooks.  I filched my very first one from Shawn, back in our college days, when she would have to special order lab notebooks that were quad lined.  Now you can find those pretty regularly at Target, and I usually buy myself a couple of the really cheap ones during the back to school sales.

At Wet Paint today, I found something I might be even more in love with "dotted" notebook paper.


Look how pretty!

The guy at the art store might have thought I was a little odd for petting it, but they DON'T UNDERSTAND.

Paper is very special to me.

I mean, maybe I *am* a bit weird, but I still love the feel of pen on paper.  I find notebook writing still very useful.  I've been known to carry a notebook around not only to take Captain America style notes, but also to have on hand should I be inspired somewhere where my computer isn't easily accessible--like, say, when I show up a little early at Mason's school for pick-up or whatever.  Plus, even though it ends up messy and crossed out, I enjoy the constriction of having to write long-hand sometimes.  I almost always edit when I transcribe to screen, but the act of having to push on and not worry about perfect phrasing can really help me get the gist of a scene out on paper.

Also I used to occasionally sketch out pictures of my characters and I found that a lot easier when I had quad or blank pages.  Now... now I can haz dots!

Plus, I had to buy a pen. I had two in my hand, but Shawn made me put one back.  I did get out with two notebooks though... hee hee.

I'm not sure non-artists understand this weird implement thing.  I suppose it's like anything aesthetic, like a nice briefcase for work or a good pair of sexy shoes.  Paper and pens are a bit cheaper, too... or at least can be.  There are some people who are willing to pay a LOT for a really nice pen (luckily I'm a cheap date when it comes to pens.)

1 comment:

Douglas Hulick said...

I'll drop on a nice peen before the notebook. Mainly because I find that, with a nice notebook, I don't want to *write* in it. Or, at least, not if those things aren't appropriate to the notebook (whatever that means -- still trying to figure it out myself). Inevitably, I get a nice notebook for a new project and end up migrating to a series of cheap, lined yellow pads.

But a good, smooth writing pen? Hell yes. I'm even getting back into using the Waterman Jamie gave me 25 years ago to take my notes. I'll drop on a good pen before a good notebook for some reason, likely because I know I'll be using the pen, while I'm still not sure about the notebook.