The Writer's Toolbox

In his memoir On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, author Stephen King writes about the “writer’s toolbox.” King suggests “to write to your best abilities, it behooves you to construct your own toolbox and then build up enough muscle to carry it with you.”

In my toolbox, first is the dictionary. I like to use Dictionary.com because it is easy to use and accessible from anywhere. In my opinion, it is extremely helpful to use an online dictionary because you don’t have to lug a huge book around with you every time you want to write. A dictionary helps to make sure that I am using a word correctly and using the correct tense. Another aspect of Dictionary.com is the word of the day section. Every day, the website features a word and gives the definition. This helps me learn new words and expand my vocabulary.

As well, I use Thesaurus.com to help me find the correct word to use. Sometimes I cannot think of the exact word I want to use but can think of something similar. In these cases, an online thesaurus is very useful.

Another thing in my writer’s toolbox is music. I use Spotify because I can listen to it on my computer or my phone, so my music is always accessible to me. When I write, I have multiple playlists that I like to listen to. These mostly contain relaxing music, such as Jack Johnson, Leon Bridges, The Avett Brothers, Cage the Elephant, and John Mayer. I am always searching for new music to add to my study/writing playlists.

Microsoft Word is also in my toolbox. Word makes it very easy to edit things in my writing because I can simply copy, paste, and delete. Writing with pen and paper can be more difficult for me because the pages can get messy.

I have a writer’s routine, but it sometimes depends on what I am writing. I start off by writing down ideas that I have. For example, for this blog post, I wrote ideas such as “Dictionary.com,” “Spotify,” and “Microsoft Word” on a Word document. Then, when I am ready to write, I expand on my ideas and form paragraphs. After this, I usually walk away from the writing for a bit to clear my head. Later, I go back and read over my writing to revise anything I am not satisfied with. If it is a paper for school, I like getting input from my peers, so I send it to a friend to edit, too. Also, I try to put my phone in another room if I am writing at home. This keeps me from getting distracted and helps me focus all of my attention on writing. I think that having a writing routine is important because it helps me structure my writing.