5 essentials every writer should have

All the gear, but no idea.

A phrase that I find rings very true. Particularly as a writer – you don’t need a MacBook Air or a library room in your house to be half decent at it. You mostly need a sense of imagination and an ounce of dedication. But a headful of dreams can only get you anywhere.

So, here are five essentials that might help get you started:

A word processor accompanied with a solid hard drive
I admit the first of these is pretty obvious. But the second one is a no-joke essential. ALWAYS have a back up of your next masterpiece. You’ve seen what happens if you don’t in that Love Actually pond scene...

No, no – you won’t get sexy Europeans clambering to get it back for you! It will just be a soggy, illegible papery mess. Nobody wants that.
 
Your favourite book 
Always handy to have if you’re low on inspiration. You might read something in here to reignite that spark and remember why you wanted to write in the first place. Possibly a ‘eureka’ moment! Just avoid that dangerous path of plagiarism though... 

​A notebook and a trusty pen on the go – There’s only so many places your laptop can go with you. I mean you could take it to the beach...oh wait....

A pocket-sized one would be ideal just to take down ideas, notes or even that golden line for your next piece of imaginative awesomeness.
 
Thesaurus – Let’s be honest – there’s only so many words you know for “just” or “too” or “limited”. If your brain can hold that many words then well done – now sign up for Countdown. Whether it’s a hard copy or an online one, it’s always handy to have a word to describe these people that can store so many words in the brain. Like “smart-arse”. 

Snacks – Oh, because we all love some fuel to keep us going. I’m a sucker for black coffee and whatever is festering in the fridge myself. But anything will do just to keep you ticking over. Before the hanger kicks in.  Hard. 

Have I missed out a killer essential? What could be replaced in my list? Hell, are you feeling a tad hangry right now? Let me know with a comment below or tweet me @wordsbadlywoven. Do give this article a cheeky share too. Farewell!