The pen is not mightier than the words

I just filled the first notebook of scribblings for my second novel so have started another - the notebooks in question cost £3.99 each from Ryman. I mention this because when I started writing I was convinced I needed a posh notebook - you know the sort, the type of notebook that lets people 15 feet away know you're writing something IMPORTANT when you're sitting in a coffee shop. Moleskine is the bare minimum acceptable.

I also spent hours in WH Smith looking at pens. Now, don't get me wrong, it's important to have a good pen, especially if (like me) you write your first draft longhand. I did realise, fairly quickly thank goodness, that the time I was spending lurking in shops, fingering the spines of expensively decorated notebooks, would be better spent writing or reading.

The pen I use costs £1.99, the notebook twice as much and I do have a favourite pencil. If you like fancy notebooks then buy one - if you want an expensive fountain pen, go ahead. Don't spend too long on these things though as they soon become displacement activities. Get some paper, get a pen, get writing.

The pen is not mightier than the words.