Author Essentials – What every writer needs!

Are you an inspiring author?

Or are you looking for that perfect gift for the future bestselling writer in your life?

From personal experience and asking around, here is what every writer needs:

I’m going to approach it as if you have zero things in your virtual shopping basket.

We are going to start from scratch.

Starting with the basics, you will need to physically be able to write on something.

We will start with notebooks, although some authors write their ideas straight into their phone or on their laptops.

If you’re anything like me, you LOVE stationery! I could (and do!) spend a fortune on notebooks, pens etc. but I will try and be sensible for the purpose of this blog!

You ‘could’ do really expensive when it comes to pens, and trust me, I always have a ‘nice’ pen laying around, but I would suggest that you get a really good stock of pens and keep them near you, on your bedside table, in your car. You never know when an amazing idea will come up!

The ‘nice’ pen.

You can never go wrong with a Parker pen, can you? To be fair, they aren’t that expensive and I find them really comfortable to write with.

The notepad.

Again, you will find that you start to buy A LOT of notepads. For me personally, the blank page of a notepad represents a world of potential creativity.

I can’t help myself when I go round the shops, I just HAVE to buy another notepad.

This is what I need…

Or, if you know already that you want to write in the Romance genre, maybe check this out?

It actually includes a basic outline already done for you!

(However, this would just give me an excuse to buy 2 notebooks, one plain and then this one!) See, I told you I had a problem!

The ‘expensive’ Notebook.

I say it’s expensive, and for a notebook it may be but…

The amount I spend on notebooks, this Rocketbook Everlast Smart Reusable Notebook could actually save you money.

If you’re still making your mind up, watch this short video:

Click to Get you Rocketbook Notebook.

Notecards.

You ask anybody I know, and they will tell you how much I go on about using notecards in our writing. I love them.

I use these to plan our books and would be lost without them. These particular ones are different colours, so you can use one colour for one character, and another colour for somebody else.

I got the idea from Oscar-Winning Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (who wrote ‘Milk’)

It was this actual YouTube video that inspired me to plan our books the way I do.

I hope it helps you too.

Your Planner

Again, I love things like this as I feel like you are giving yourself permission to really go for your goals and dreams.

So…

You’ve got everything you need to write things down, but you needs ideas, right?

Here are some prompts:

I absolutely LOVE the idea of this!

I’m really lucky though, as I’ve got more ideas than time at the moment, but if you are struggling for ideas, you need to get this!

So we have picked our prompt or story idea and using our notecards, we need to plan an outline.

Without doubt, one of the best books on how to plan/outline your story. I 1000% recommend this.

Revealing the 15 “beats” (plot points) that comprise a successful story–from the opening image to the finale.

What laptops are best for writers?

Again, you can go for the more affordable or to the most expensive. It all depends on your budget and your needs.

I am writing on a MacBook Pro as we speak and I love it.

You can either pay all in one go or pay  5 monthly payments of £494.00.

You have to remember that I also edit and upload YouTube videos on this laptop so it’s quite powerful, but I wouldn’t hesitate getting another MacBook.

It’s easy to use, but has everything you need.

Or, if you are looking for something more affordable…

The perks of buying a Macbook though are that when you are writing your book, you can format it on Vellum.

Software you will need.

Page numbers. Margins. Headers. Font. Line spacing. All of the setup that can take hours elsewhere happens automatically with every book you create.

And Vellum goes beyond the basics to prevent widows, balance page spreads, and avoid short pages — all automatically. You’ll have a book that looks like it took days to create …in minutes.

It’s sooo easy to use.

I found out about Vellum from Adam Crofts book, and initially, I was apprehensive, but he kept on mentioning this ‘Vellum’, so I checked it out and I am so glad I did. It’s saved us a fortune paying somebody to format our books.

Scrivener

I know a lot of authors who would be lost without Scrivener.

At the moment, we don’t personally use Scrivener as we use the notecard system, but I wanted to include Scrivener to give you the choice.

When you start writing your book and you need some help to flesh out your characters:

Click here to check out all the books in this series.

If you are a crime writer, I highly recommend this book:

As you are writing your book, you’ll need to include a Killer Plot Twist, right?

Author Gifts

Creative Games and Exercises for Inspiring the ‘Write’ Side of Your Brain: (Writing Prompts, Writer Gifts, Writing Kit Gifts.

786 Ideas To Jump-start Your Imagination!

You really can’t go wrong with that lot.

Even if you are starting from zero, I’ve got you covered.

Happy writing!

See you in the next one,

Vicky & Claire x

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