My affinity for writing long hand shouldn’t be a secret by now – not with how often my hands are stained with fountain pen ink nor the ever present stack of full yellow legal pads on my desks.

I don’t know why, but scribbling things out just puts my mind in a better flow. I like the sound – which is a large part of why I also favor mechanical keyboards, perhaps it’s self hypnotism. And I like the rhythm and the lean and the motion. Hovering over paper rather than staring at a screen – that’s one of the reasons why I’ve been bullish on tablet PCs since purchasing my first in 2006.

And since Timothy is moving along (albeit at a much slower pace than I’d like), I’ll finally have my nights back to write unrestricted – which is good as I feel I’ve got another book in me. I’ve been meaning to write a fun little romp about love, loss, and quantum physics.

Starting a new book means engaging in perhaps the most joyful part of the process – buying new writing supplies. This purchase is when things are most pure – when the book is all ideal, and the paper and pens represent utter brilliance just waiting for someone to let it, them, out.

For this book, at least for capturing notes and ideas on the go, I looked to my friend Vito’s company – Story Supply Co. I snagged a set of tough little notebooks, a nice leather binder, and this (frankly) classy travel pencil. And as a shameless plug, I ordered my items on Friday and they arrived on Tuesday – which is just fantastic turnaround time.

So, between the new supplies and building a robot that will yell at me if I don’t write, I suppose I’m removing excuses as quickly as I can.