I have to confess--I have a strange, deep love for office supplies. I know, it's a terrible addiction, fed by blissful hours wandering around Staples and OfficeMax. File folders, post-it notes, colored pens, storage boxes--and I don't even need most of them!
Last weekend was tax-free on clothes and school supplies, so I trekked to Target (aka my favorite place in all the world) to stock up on my writing supplies for the year. I am what is known as a "pantser" (Carolyn Jewel had an excellent post on the difference between plotters and pantsers on her blog), I know my characters and have a vague sense of their situation when I sit down to start their story, but after that I go with the flow and let them show me what happens. This usually works out very well. I am completely unable to plot in detail ahead of time. I'm also unable to think creatively while typing. So my rough-draft method is a bit different.
I write the first draft in long-hand in notebooks from Target (mostly Hello Kitty or Disney Princesses, because they're fun, though sometimes I branch out. A couple years ago there were lots of "Pirates" notebooks. A friend bought me a Jonas Brothers notebook last week, though I'm not sure I can bring myself to use it...) This means I also get to buy lots of pens, colorful post-its, and a pretty pink pencil box! And then I type it up (cleaning it up as I go) and voila--a book.
What's your method??
