This post is a little different than the usual, but no less important. It was originally posted on the now-defunct and sorely missed, Make and Meaning, a project started by Diane Gilleland and Paul Overton with help from Alice Merlino, Pip Lincolne, Kim Werker and myself. I’m happy to report that despite lack in sales, I am still able to find my lucky pens!
I have this pen. Okay, actually a specific type of pen. And by specific, I mean it must be this one brand, must be medium-point, and it must be blue. Without it, something inside me gets cranky. Although I’ve been known to jot down notes in eyeliner, nothing still really rolls until I’ve got my pen.
In a pinch, I’ve tried black ink or fine-point, thinking that I can fool my brain into believing I have the right equipment at hand. But no, it’s not my pen, my special favorite pen that I absolutely, positively must have. And while technology has helped our lives a great deal, it has also meant finding a modern version of that damn pen.
When I’m typing instead of writing, pens don’t matter. Typing on a computer, of course, involves another thing that I must have. I can’t start working on my computer in the morning until I have a cup of coffee or tea at my side. If I’m out of both at home, I have to go buy some. If I’m feeling bold and just drink orange juice instead, all attempts at being productive end up deleted and shot.
It’s not unlike that compulsion you have to close the closet door when you’re lying in bed at night all cozy and realize you left it open. It taunts you from across the room until you have get up and close it. Then, and only then, are you able to fall asleep. As adults we know there aren’t any monsters in the closet, yet still, it must be closed in order for us to fully relax. If we leave it open, it’s like some sort of perversely juvenile form of water torture in that it bothers you (immensely) until, finally, it’s shut.
It’s also like that one baseball player who wears the same socks every game without washing them because his team is undefeated. It’s just a crutch, right? Something silly that we believe we must have in order to do well? One of the grand prizes we get from being adults is that since every children’s movie seen since birth has force-fed us the lesson that, “You’ve had [whatever you need] in you the whole time,” we know we’re being silly and possibly dramatic. But… what if you still need it?
In order to get around this profound age-old dilemma, sometimes I have to remind myself that this is all part of my “process.” That’s one of the lucky things about being creative, you’re allowed to have this magical “process” which you must complete before working/creating properly. I have lucky pens stashed all over the house and always know where the nearest coffee shop is. I might not need them now, but one day, these precautions might save my entire productivity from jeopardy!
These are the things I need in order to enter a clear head space to work. I must have them, even though I know I hold the key/strength/courage/whatever Yoda/Big Bird/that weird magical elf tries to tell me inside and don’t need my pen or my caffeinated hot beverage.
What about you? What do you absolutely have to do/have in order to feel like you can let your creativity really rip? Or is that all just a bunch of poppycock?
[Photos from Flickr, top to bottom by Frankenhut, Clutterbusters and Carstingaxion.]
I have a specific pen, too (Pentel R.S.V.P. with a fine point, color unimportant). If I don’t have a fine tipped pen, my writing is considerably worse. So your pen thing very well may be a practical matter, especially as a writer. But I get the gist of the post.
I have a specific pen, too (Pentel R.S.V.P. with a fine point, color unimportant). If I don’t have a fine tipped pen, my writing is considerably worse. So your pen thing very well may be a practical matter, especially as a writer. But I get the gist of the post.
So glad to hear that you have a favorite pen, too!
Do you ever get worried that they’re going to discontinue your particular type of pen? Having seen less and less of mine over the years being sold, there is a part of me that actually *worries* (!!) about my favorite pen not being produced anymore, even though I know such worry is silly!
So glad to hear that you have a favorite pen, too!
Do you ever get worried that they’re going to discontinue your particular type of pen? Having seen less and less of mine over the years being sold, there is a part of me that actually *worries* (!!) about my favorite pen not being produced anymore, even though I know such worry is silly!