the writer’s bag
I have to ask this of all my writing buddies out there (because I already know an awful lot about you anyway) - what’s in your bag? The one you carry with you everywhere, everyday. The one you grab before you head out the door anywhere.
What got me thinking about this was when I went out to dinner the other night with good friends and I grabbed my (admittedly) very large bag. I’ve always carried a large bag — I like to have a lot of gear with me. And people love to make fun of it until they need something and I can produce that something for them. Then nobody’s laughing anymore. (Seriously — I could probably set up some kind of mini-triage anytime, anywhere. Comes from having a mother who’s a nurse - but the writer thing, coupled with the mommy thing has just compounded things.)
Obviously, my friends had forgotten this important fact, because they began to laugh at me and my bag. Just wait until one of them needs Tylenol. Or Tums. Or some gum or MAC Spice lip liner or my cell phone charger. I’m totally going to hold out on them.
“Where are you going with that thing?” one of them asked. “And what’s in there?”
Just a few of life’s essentials, I think.
“Why are you bringing a novel to dinner with you?” She is now digging in the bag.
Why wouldn’t I bring a book with me anywhere, is the better question? And it’s Seize The Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon, so shouldn’t that be obvious?
“And what would you need a few legal pads for?” she continues.
“They’re letter size pads. I don’t like legal size pads…” I break in, but that’s not helping my case any. I look around at the computer for help, thinking that if it could talk, that Larissa or Sylvia or Cece or Sasha would immediately pipe up in my defense. I could IM Katie and ask her what’s in her bag, and then I begin to think about the fact that my laptop could indeed fit very nicely into my bag and realize I’ve gotten off track.
“Are you planning on jotting things down during dinner?”
Maybe. You girls are very funny and I’ve got dibs on everything you say.
“She’s got highlighters in there too,” my other friend breaks in. They’re now both digging through the bag. The husband’s just shaking his head, not defending me at all. I’m wondering if yelling out, I am INFJ, would help matters any but decide against it. I’m hoping that I remembered to take out the 100 page partial of the current WIP I had in there the other day, because then I’d never hear the end of it. They love reading portions of my books out loud to each other and then they ask me, “How did you think of that?”
They scare me.
“You read Soldier of Fortune magazine?”
Let’s not even go there. It would have been better for them to find the partial.
“Seriously, what do you need all of this for? Leave some of it home.”
“I like to have all this stuff with me,” I say. “Because you just never know.”
You just never know when you’re going to need a letter size pad and pens and highlighters. You never know when that idea is going to pop up or when you’re going to have that extra five or ten minutes to just write and I like to be prepared for that. I need my favorite kind of pens, a few different kinds, because sometimes I like ball point pens and sometimes I like fountain pens. I have two different colored sticky notes as well as two different colored highlighters. And the letter-sized pads. And the book. And my mini-jump drive. Plus all the other stuff you need in your non-writing life, like your wallet.
My friends eventually let me take the bag with all my stuff to the restaurant. (I mean, we all knew I wasn’t going to use the stuff that night, but why unpack it all? Who was it hurting?) I love them to pieces and they love me back, even if they don’t understand the bag thing. And I know my writer friends will understand. (You do, right?) Because writing isn’t something you can leave at home. It isn’t something you can turn off. It’s not always an easy thing and it doesn’t always translate easily from the mind to the page, but preparation for that transition is key. And for me, right now, that preparation includes 2 letter sized, large rule pads and a pamphlet on the Art of Camouflage. Because a girl’s gotta be prepared for anything.
Just wait until I actually have some ARC’s to call my own. I might even need a bigger bag.
Steph T.
January 15th, 2005 at 11:03 am
OMG, when I was working? You should’ve SEEN my bag. I was a bag ‘ho! My laptop AND my alphasmart AND my notebook. Not to mention all the other sundries you mentioned - pens, highlighters, post it notes, post it flags, RT, RWR, research mags, etc. Thankfully, mine was on wheels! Now I only make sure to have pen and paper because I try not to be gone long! LOL! Oh, I have a lighted pen and I’ve been known to jot notes on the back of deposit slips during movies!
January 15th, 2005 at 11:08 am
Alison - OMG - a lighted pen!? I was jumping up and down yesterday when I saw they finally made a combo highlighter/post-it-note pen! I get happier in officer supply stores than I do in jewelery stores! Next time the friends come over, I’m totally putting them on the phone with you. Especially because, by then, the bag could be on wheels and you’ll have to explain that one to them *ggg*
January 15th, 2005 at 12:41 pm
Clearly I am accesory challenged. I only carry a wallet because they have this silly law about carring a driver’s liscense when you drive, and stores aren’t sympathetic when you push two carts full of groceries through the checkout then figure out you don’t have a way to pay for it.
And since I don’t keep up with a wallet very well, I bought one with a strap so I could hang it around my neck.
January 15th, 2005 at 12:49 pm
Ooh! Ooh! I have TWO lighted pens! *g* One on my nightstand beside the tablet I have there so in the middle of the night I can jot down notes and ideas and dreams without having to turn on a light, and one in my purse. I love them! You must get one. Now.
January 15th, 2005 at 2:31 pm
I got a highlighter combo post it flag thingie in my Christmas stocking! Yahoo! And the only problem with the lighted pen is leaving it on and killing the battery. Plus the refills are so tiny cuz the light and battery take up so much room! But I ain’t complaining!! It’s so much fun!! BTW, Steph, I’m not sure what an “officer” supply store is, but I’d like to stock up! Ha!
January 15th, 2005 at 2:40 pm
Sharon - the wallet is the smallest thing in my bag. Seems to me to be quite un-important in the scheme of things. We need to get you a large bag ASAP.
Larissa - I’m looking into that pen immediately.
Alison - LMAO at ‘officer’ supply store - talk about Freudian slip!! I’d be buying A LOT more than lighted pens there, I’d bet.
January 15th, 2005 at 3:26 pm
I dont; have a lighted pen. :( But I do carry gel roller ones that I love to write with, and a notebook or two. I try not to carry books with me, (unless I’m going to the gym) because then I might be tempted to read intsead of write. I also have sticky notes. lol Bu ththe worst is I probably have a TON of napkins and coasters fromt he bar I work at, becasue good ideas or lines always strike when I’m too busy to get to my purse, so I jot them down on whatever’s handy…and toss it in my purse for later. And by the way, my purse is a leather backpack! LOL Lot’s of room.
January 15th, 2005 at 3:28 pm
Um. I’m with Sharon. My bag = wallet, cell phone, pens, classroom keys. That’s it. Well, there’s the teacher bag, but I have to keep the teacher and writer thing separate and I can just imagine the hoopla if I had a partial in my bag and sent a kid to get a folder or pen or something for me . . .
January 15th, 2005 at 3:45 pm
I have a designer purse fetish. I collect them. Since they’re expensive and I’m not rich, I’m forced to buy the small ones. So I carry my wallet (which is amazing. It looks small until you open it up!) 2-3 pens, a two sided Sharpy for the post office, tons of Splenda (in a fabulous silver-plated monogrammed holder I got for Christmas), tons of receipts, tons of lipstick (I collect lipstick and gloss too), a couple pairs of earings, my inhaler (I have asthma), Motrin, breath mints, nail file, cell phone, waterless hand-sanitizer, and Visine. That’s it. Looking through my purse, you can’t tell I’m a writer at all. :D
January 15th, 2005 at 3:58 pm
Sasha - the backpack sounds awesome! Go buy a lighted pen.
Sylvia - now that you are going to be a big-time published author, I see BIG designer bags in your future. (BTW - the sharpy for the PO might give the writer-thing away :) *makes mental note to include two-sided sharpy marker in her own bag* Oh - and you could totally be safe with me since I carry an inhaler with me for the husband’s allergy-induced-asthma. And an epi-pen. And 4 Lancome Juicy-Tubes for lip gloss emergencies.
Linda - I have a set of classroom keys in my bag as well. Problem is, I haven’t set foot inside a classroom in over 4 years.
Seriously, the bag is really neat inside - organized, even…
January 15th, 2005 at 5:24 pm
Definitely getting a Sharpie for my bag. Had to borrow a marker from Mr. Black, the postmaster, last week to write “Requested Material” on my package. He’s one of my biggest cheerleaders, though, so I don’t think he cared, LOL.
January 15th, 2005 at 5:53 pm
So glad I’m not the only one with a lipstick fetish
=)
January 15th, 2005 at 10:36 pm
My quickpad, pens, stenopad, make-up bag–with assortment of lipsticks, glosses, compact, nail file, chapstick, travelling toothbrush/toothpast, small comb. Er, hand lotion, perfume, current book reading, date/address book, cell phone, mini umbrella, keys (including jump-drive), portable CD player and a couple of CDs, napkins, receipts, bobby pins, hand sanitizer, wallet and separate change purse. uhm… I think that’s it. help
January 16th, 2005 at 9:46 am
This brings back memories!! My daughter use to refer to my bag as the Drugstore. It is toned down these days but have a regular trigger point by my shoulder blade due to the weight of it. And pens, don’t get me started on pens..I can be in Office Depot for hours..Steno pads, large and small..’fraid I will need an office supply fix in the near future.
January 16th, 2005 at 9:48 am
Just a notebook and a pen. HAVE to have those two items at all time because whatever great line I think of when I’m out–I forget it by the time I get home. And I just know it was the best line ever. Even if it wasn’t. But having forgotten it by then, I don’t know that! LOL.
January 16th, 2005 at 9:53 am
You know who has some of the best portable writing stuff? Levenger. I LOVE Levenger’s stuff. www.levenger.com
But I can still hang out in an Office Depot for hourse…
January 16th, 2005 at 9:54 am
Er…that would be HOURS. *g*
January 16th, 2005 at 10:26 am
Jaq - I don’t think you need help at all - the bag sounds FINE to me (& I’ll bet it sounds fine to drugstore-bag-Sharon too *waving*). *g*
*waves to Suzanne* I’m concerned that you’re going out with only two items…at least clip a few highlighters onto the notebook. I’d feel better.
scarylarissagrasshopperleg - you can spend ‘hourse’ with me in the ‘officers’ supply store. We’ll be a great team. Oh - and I love Levengers. I mean, I did, and then I forgot it existed. Until just now. The bag is about to get heavier, I think.
January 20th, 2005 at 12:50 am
Hmm, I didn’t see anyone mention feminine products. I have two grown daughters who both carry their own handbags, and still, I get stuck with the feminine goody bag, because ‘eew mom, what if a guy looked in my purse?’ Ha, don’t ask me about the cop who looked in mine, spotted a tampon right on top and told me I was free to go. Feminine products, ladies, you just never know when they’ll come in handy And yeah, Steph, I carry a large bag. VERY large. Large enough to carry a ferret, a cat, and a small shepherd puppy…not all at once mind you…altho, hmm, come to think of it, it probably could…shall have to go see…
January 21st, 2005 at 8:07 am
I love this post because I’m the exact same way!! I have everything. You just never know when you will need it. And don’t get me going on pens. I have a pen fetish. My dh will go them occansionally and toss them out. He’ll never forget (because I won’t let him) that he threw out my favorite pen. It was shapped like an aligator.