1. Scrivener for Linux

2. Google Doc as Outline

3. Music Player (Banshee, for those keeping track)

4. “Drink”

5. Fountain Pen, Ink and and cleaning rag

6. Notebook

7. Wireless trackball

8. Audio Technica ATH-AD9000 headphones

9. Das Keyboard Model S Professional

Watching someone write is an incredibly boring thing, but I like to examine the tools of the trade, specifically the ones that I’ve managed to bootstrap into working for me*. Hence the list above.

Not to delve to much into how the sausage gets made but here’s my general work flow.

1. Outline the crap out of everything. Usually broad strokes on paper, and then in greater, scene-by-scene detail in word processor. I like using Google Docs because it autosaves.

2. From the outline, I start each writing session by hand, just to get into the rhythm. It’s mechanical. a warm up. It usually takes two or three goes to find a start I’m happy with.

3. When I have my handwritten start, I jump into Scrivener and copy what I wrote,  gaining speed as I go. Scrivener autosaves my files after two seconds and I’ve got the file synced in Ubuntu so that it pushes up to my cloud server every time the file changes.

Everything else is done either to fall into a zone or to keep distractions out. By and large, it’s tricking myself into being so bored that I tell a story to amuse myself. Daily. And following a carefully created script. But other than that, it’s exactly like the movies.

*Look, this is as close as I’ll ever get to MTV Cribs. Don’t take this from me.