Pen and Paper required...

I've been tweeting a lot about 'just do it'. Just write.

Tweets are cool because you have put a complete story into 140 characters. More on tweeting another time but for this post it's tweeting that brought me to express a basic concept. 'All you need is pen and paper' to write.

I can say it in lots of ways with lots of allusions, examples from famous writers and stories from my own experiences. But really it simplifies to 'pen and paper'.

The Universe opens up when you sit down in your favorite chair, set a cup of joe on the end table and let those crazy, imaginary characters out of your noggin' and onto that notepad.

Maybe the key for you is to have that notepad and pen on the end table, ready for you between commercials at night. I write software during the day and it's a long day. Out of the house at 7:20 and back around 6:30. When I get home, I mostly want to relax, have dinner, read the paper and watch some TV.

But I keep my laptop right there on the end table, ready for the night's writing. I might write a few lines or a few chapters. I might rewrite stuff, outline new books, crawl the web for research or read the blogs of some of the cool friends I've met online. It doesn't matter, I do SOMETHING, every night.

Keep that pad and pen close to you whenever possible. On the bed stand, next to the couch, in your briefcase or purse. Just keep it with you, ready for action! ;-) There is no telling when that cool idea will hit you and you just HAVE to write that down before you forget it.

Keep writing, friends. Pen and paper required.