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Your Basic Writing Kit?


CraigR

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I just use a carry bag like this: http://www.jetpens.com/Kutsuwa-Dr.-Ion-Multi-Work-Cases/ct/1635 filled with about 6 to 10 pens, a pad of Tomoe River paper, some envelopes and stamps, as well as a notebook or two. When I set out for an all day writing session, i put that into a bag along with a few Lahit Lab bag, some bottles of ink, and a few paper napkins from McD's to wipe the pens, clean up any spillage, etc.

 

Michael

The RavenLunatic


Semper insanit omnes tempore.


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I carry this bag:

 

http://www.loandsons.com/the-omg

 

 

Inside, it has two pockets on one side, one of which holds my oversized custom Midori (which always has my custom Edison Beuamont in Butterfly Garden attached) and Visconti six pen case, the other of which holds my battery pack and mini-midori.

 

On the opposite interior side is an ipad pocket, which holds my iPad and it's Dodocase portfolio (in which I always carry a Pelikan 405 or other "grown up" fountain pen):

 

http://www.dodocase.com/products/dodocase-folio-for-ipad-air-cases

 

There's another pocket, for a laptop, next to the ipad pocket but I rarely use it.

 

Inside the main compartment I keep my daily wallet/purse, a Chane boy bag WOC. It doubles as a purse and wallet, so I don't have to carry the big bag everywhere. I keep a MB Boheme in the WOC. The interior also has a zippered pocket that holds small makeup and stuff.

 

The exterior has several pockets, one of which holds backup cartridges for my pens. It also has two pen holders, which hold my Visconti ink vials.. It also has pockets for my iPhone, headphones, business cards, etc.

 

Tremendously useful bag and I love how I have it organized. It holds a total of 13 pens, or could, if I wanted it to. Really, normally 9 FP's. I have nice paper in both ipad portfolio and my two midoris. And I have tons of ink in cartridges and the Visconti vials. AND it goes in the washer, on gentle, and dries in the dryer (on a rack with low heat). It has survived some bad ink spills which have washed right out.

Edited by Elle_
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I carry an A5 Rhodia Webnotebook and 2-3 FPs (1 x EF, 1 x 1.1 stub, and 1 x 1.5 stub) to work with me in my shoulder bag. My Webbie wears a Saddleback Leather Moleskine cover. When at home or out and about, I generally carry a small Rhodia pocket size with a Rotring 600 mechanical pencil. Again, the Rhodia wears a small Saddleback Moleskine cover.

 

How does the Saddleback Leather Moleskine cover fit the Rhodia A5 Webnotebook? I've been curious about this combination but haven't seen many reviews!

Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers ~ Voltaire

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How does the Saddleback Leather Moleskine cover fit the Rhodia A5 Webnotebook? I've been curious about this combination but haven't seen many reviews!

 

Perfectly, IMHO. The Rhodia covers are thicker that Moleskine, so the fit will be just a tiny bit tight at first. The leather will stretch, however, into a perfect fit. I have one cover in A5 size, and three covers in the 3.5 x 5.5 size. All filled with Rhodia.

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I use to backpack for weeks at a time. Weight and space were important. (I cut off the handle of my toothbrush.)

Save a little space. An 8-1/2 inch square of paper can be folded into a 6 x 4 envelope.

Auf freiem Grund mit freiem Volke stehn.
Zum Augenblicke dürft ich sagen:
Verweile doch, du bist so schön !

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Perfectly, IMHO. The Rhodia covers are thicker that Moleskine, so the fit will be just a tiny bit tight at first. The leather will stretch, however, into a perfect fit. I have one cover in A5 size, and three covers in the 3.5 x 5.5 size. All filled with Rhodia.

 

Great to hear! I'm a bit obsessed with Saddleback leather! I have the pad folio as well as the iPad Mini case and I really enjoy both. They break in so beautifully and are now starting to develop a nice patina.

 

Thanks!

Edited by Elyptic

Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers ~ Voltaire

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Travelling light I have a handmade fabric case with my Kaweco AL Sports fountain pen (fine nib Platinum Mix Free ink) and matching pencil plus a soft backed note book, depending on what I saw in the sale - currently a Fabriano - and sometimes a Perfect Pencil as well as.

 

On my desks (two) don't go there!

 

On a field trip Camera bag - usuall two or three cameras and binoculars, field bag containing field text books on subject I am out exploring, various camera and binnocular straps etc. and filofax with filed notes. In my pockets a ballpoint (only time I use one) e.g. Fisher or Rite in the Rain type and a small notebook that withstands the elements. Oh, and then there is the scope and tripod and the ..... the lists is too long and the stuff fills the boot (trunk) of the car.

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I always have a fountain pen in my shirt pocket or a knock about fountain pen clipped to a shirt collar or pants pocket or in a pants pocket (e.g., eye dropper Kaweco Sport). I also carry a thin Rhodia 3x4.75" 24 sheet notebook in my back pocket for quick notes.

 

I am a fan of A5 format since it is essentially the size of a paperback book. I use these tri-fold notebook covers by Kokuyo : http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0049KD4LE I have both the B5 and A5, but prefer the A5.

 

The cover provides a lot of adaptability with little bulk. The inner pockets can take several (up to three) top bound or side bound notebooks and the front and back covers each have a pocket that can accommodate a top bound pad. It comes with a twin ring (spiral) notebook, and I've fitted it up with several different combinations of additional pads depending on my particular needs. My most common setup is Twin ring plus Tomoe River unlined pad or Maruman lined notebook pad (both top bound). However the cover can be configured in a number of ways and I've used it with multiple top and side bound pads, whether sewn, stapled, and spiral. Just for fun I've loaded it with five pads, but it became heavy and a little ridiculous. Two or three pads is about right for me. The cover folds back on itself in a couple different ways, so that you can work on any of the pads and have the rest folded behind.

 

My cover (I call it my notebook) is always with me wherever I am writing or think I may be writing--it is easy enough to bring along. I rarely carry a briefcase or backpack because I rarely carry a computer, but when I do, my notebook fits right in as well. My notebook also carries one or more writing mats (useful for writing and adds stiffness to the cover), clips, post-its, business cards, lined or grid templates, envelopes, stamps, blotter paper, etc. There is an elastic loop pen holder that works decently for all the sizes of pen I have. I usually keep a space pen in there as an emergency backup and the pen is narrow enough so that it doesn't interfere with the the folding antics of notebook. It has a couple ribbon bookmarks and an elastic enclosure. I have added a couple elastic bands to suit my tastes as well.

 

When I travel, I pack a small baggie containing a 1 Oz Nalgene bottle (from REI) of ink, several ink cartridges appropriate to the pen(s) I am carrying, a folded paper towel, a few cotton swabs, a small bottle of Amodex, and a backup fountain pen, usually a cartridge filler. I typically only bring one primary fountain pen when I travel unless I am in the midst of obsessing about different inks or fiddling with new pens (how likely is that?).

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My writing kit is what I use to write my novels and short stories. I like to write in coffeehouses on a regular basis. This is what I bring:

 

A Solo laptop bag.

lap board

2 pen case

Platinum Plaisir Fountain Pen F with black ink

Pilot Coleto multi-pen with red, green, purple, brown (may switch out the brown for a brighter color)

Composition notebook

bound dictionary

bound thesaurus

smart phone

 

Depending on what phase of writing I'm doing, I add either of the following:

 

For drafting:

 

Alphasmart Neo

Neoprene sleeve

Duet music stand light

extra batteries

 

For editing or article writing:

 

15" laptop

Thumb drive

Power cable

Outlet extender

There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. - W. Somerset Maugham

 

http://wendyvancamp.com

 

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Wow, I must be some kind of austere minimalist. I pack around a Seven Seas Writer with a Sheaffer Sentinel Snorkel. And at work I have a Leuchtterm 1917 for notes on the projects I work for.

 

As an aside, I do not recommend the 1917 for fountain pens. It bleeds terribly, even with dry, fine points.

http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o715/drew_dunn1/Clan-MacNeil-Buaidh-No-Bas-Victory-or-Death_zps051b46b5.jpg

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Away from home with my EDC bag, I keep a 4"X6" B&N bombay journal in my cargo pocket and two pens, Pilot Metro(F) and a Jinhao 159, nearby. With my bag, sling bag in the city, haversack when I'm camping, I keep the same journal with me as there's a pocket just for that. I also keep a larger one in a similar style for more extensive writing.

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My Every day carry is:

 

  • at least 1 FP- whatever is in the rotation at the time. Most often a Pilot Metro.
  • My pocket notebook system: Midori style leather cover with 4 cahiers and a custom set of folders. Cahiers are: 1 moleskine- for disposable notes & quick lists; 1 lined Field Notes- for journaling & 1 dot Field Notes- for important things to remember / reference, 1 custom made cahier with blank paper for sketching

 

When I carry my shoulder bad around, I'll toss in:

  • A4 size sketch book
  • set of sketching pencils, eraser, sharpener
  • A5 size journal
  • Rhodia A5 pad
  • Noodler's Ahab
  • Rotring art pen
  • .5mm mechanical pencil
  • BP pen
  • at least 2 more FP's- whatever I feel like throwing in
  • sample vial(s) of ink- whichever inks the pens I'm carrying have in them

_______________________________________

"Over the Mountain

Of the Moon

Down the Valley of the Shadow

Ride, boldly ride,"

The shade replied,

"If you seek for Eldorado." - E. A. Poe

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Currently working with Rhodia number 8 pad, helps me keep ideas short and concise. I'd love to get the holder.

post-80983-0-45049900-1411667298.jpg

A Clairefontaine 69141C for work, about to run out of pages.

post-80983-0-71322200-1411667337.jpg

Plus a Clairefontaine 9761C for personal ideas.

post-80983-0-79494700-1411667318.jpg

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt."

 

B. Russell

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  • 1 month later...

On daily basis I pretty much only use my Lamy 2000. For backup I have a Lamy Safari and three mechanical pencils, which I had never had to use for backup.

 

Paper is taken care of with a Mead 5# flex binder with 3 pockets in the front, used as a notebook.

 

For overnight affairs my Visconti Homo Sapiens or Pilot VP may come along (on rare occasions). I've never drained all four pens at one time so I don't carry an inkwell with me.

 

The backpack that I use is an Everki Titan. Pens go in a small nomadic case in the upper zipper pocket inside the main compartment and up to two binders go in the paper compartment.

Visconti Homo Sapiens; Lamy 2000; Unicomp Endurapro keyboard.

 

Free your mind -- go write

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I live full time in an RV with limited space and I also do alot of my writing away from "home." I have become creative about the writing accouterments I have close by or with me when I write. For instance, I use a canvas book bag (Barnes and Noble) that has several inner and outer pockets. Inside the bag, I normally carry:

 

1 8.5 x 11 lined correspondence pad - Clairfontaine Triumph is favorite

envelopes for above

a few interesting postcards featuring photos by my wife Karen

selection of postage for above

1 spiral bound 2-3 subject lined notebook

1 lined legal pad

1 Gold Fibre lined journal

several sheets of 3 x 5 or 4 x 7 blotter paper (cut myself)

Pen cloth - ink cleanup

polishing cloth

ink remover - tube

several paper towels

pen case - 3 pen

1 -2 pens for the day, inked with different inks

1 Levenger cartridge pen with a selection of spare cartridges

I also always have a pen that I carry in my shirt pocket

smart phone & Nook tablet (address book incorporated)

unanswered correspondence

a monogram initial for wax seal, a wicked stick of wax and a bic lighter

 

What is in your kit? Pics if possible :)

 

Wow. You carry that around with you every day? Just, like...to be *prepared* in case you want to write something? I must be doing it wrong. I usually have one pen on me at all times and whatever receipts I have in my wallet from last week, LOL...

 

Going to work I take: 3 - 5 pens, a Norcom comp book, a journal (one of about 3 depending on what I'm going to write about) and a pocket notebook I made myself (3.75 x 5.5, 24 pgs) for random thoughts that don't warrant keeping (I'll trash it and make another when I'm done with it).

 

Here lately though, I've been carrying one pen and the pocket notebook at all times. I've actually found I have a lot to remember and I want to keep the ideas in one place so I don't forget them...

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I keep a little canvas pen bag with a Twsbi and a pilot metro, usually filled with formal looking inks, ie, some shade of dark blue.

I toss a little spiral bound notebook in my purse or similar.

 

I haven't had much success with sitting down to a major writing project away form home though. I need my massive desk and all it's odds and bobs and a huge cup of tea.

The praise of the praiseworthy is above all rewards.

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This is an amazing list. I have loads in the car but you beat me hands down. I have a separate bag for writing, and another for art supplies. I don't have what I consider long distance stuff like chair, etc. regularly. In the writing bag, a Swiss map case, I have 2 antique mechanical pencils, 2 very inexpensive pens, 3 tiny 2x3reporter journals, 1 tape recorder and 2 5x7 or 6 x8 writing journals. I rarely go far with an expensive pen and by expensive I mean any pen I'd miss and wouldn't replace easily. Hence, the two pens I have in this case probably are around USD10.00/each.

 

When I leave the house intending, among other things, to change scenery and get some writing done, I take a lot. I'm not always sure where I'll end up when I start out—frequently I wing it and decide along the way—I'm not going to Starbucks—and so I want to be prepared. Here's what I usually take (asterisks denote what I try to keep in the car/trunk at all times anyway):

  • backpack filled with writing accoutrements
  • headlamp*
  • lap desk*
  • 4-foot-long table with folding legs and the folding chair that goes with it*
  • sun hat*
  • grubby shoes* in case the spot I pick requires a bit of a cross-country jaunt (this severely limits what I carry away from the car)
  • bottled water (lots of it) (in a cooler in hot weather; room temperature otherwise)
  • airpot full of coffee if it's early enough in the morning
  • protein bars

The backpack takes turns with my briefcase to play "manbag" for the day, but for a writing field trip I rely on my backpack. The writing essentials I include in my backpack:

  • usually all my FPs and sometimes a dip pen
  • the bottled ink I'm using in my manuscript pen and, if different, the bottled ink for the pen I plan to use for letter-writing; plus, if applicable, one bottle of ink for the dip pen
  • a repurposed, large pill bottle containing an assortment of ink cartridges
  • a manila folder with plenty of blank manuscript paper (these days, unlined 24lb HP Laserjet)
  • a manila folder with several sheets of a few kinds of paper suitable for letter-writing
  • 3-4 extra manila folders
  • a manila envelope with an assortment of post cards, greeting cards, and blank notecards
  • postage stamps
  • wide-ruled yellow pad
  • college-ruled yellow pad
  • A5 wirebound notebook
  • journal
  • 4x6 Strathmore sketchbook
  • 1-2 of my custom-made Sailor-jar paperweights (remove lid, remove plastic doohickey from inside the jar, pour ink into better container, rinse jar, dry, fill with sea salt, reinstall lid)
  • a few pieces of blotter paper in various sizes

 

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I keep a little canvas pen bag with a Twsbi and a pilot metro, usually filled with formal looking inks, ie, some shade of dark blue.

I toss a little spiral bound notebook in my purse or similar.

 

I haven't had much success with sitting down to a major writing project away form home though. I need my massive desk and all it's odds and bobs and a huge cup of tea.

 

When I started writing my first novel I took off for a day with my writing things in tow, went on the road, drove up into the Sierra Nevada mountains and planted myself in a spot that looked conducive to writing. (Facing the side of an abandoned building, with nothing to look at but wooden planks.) I was away from my office and hence outside my comfort zone; but I liked to travel, I knew novel-writing was a long-term project, and I needed to be able to write away from home. I was prepared to sit there all day, mentally constipated until the nuggets came out. But it took only about fifteen minutes to quiet my mind and get back to work.

Edited by Bookman

I love the smell of fountain pen ink in the morning.

 

 

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Recently went house/dog sitting for a family member who needed to leave town for a few days. On short notice like this I was happy to have the book bag writing kit (prior post) ready to go. Yes, the contents seem like a lot to most people, but one never knows what will be needed or wanted. For 4 days and 3 nights, I never turned the TV on. Just read and wrote, thoroughly enjoying the solitude and the break from the routine. Since I maintain the kit ready to go most anytime, it was easy enough to just grab it along with a small duffel bag of clothes and toiletries.

 

I also have a Levenger Bomber Jacket leather portfolio that holds an 8.5" X 11" pad of Clairefontaine Triumph paper, some post cards, Gold Fibre quad lined pad and assorted envelopes, botter paper and stamps etc. This folio holds 2 fountain pens. My favorite pens for this use are Levenger True Writers which each hold one cartridge in use and a spare in the barrel. This setup is great for the occasional run to the coffee shop or lakeside. Address book is on my phone.

A consumer and purveyor of words.

 

Co-editor and writer for Faith On Every Corner Magazine

Magazine - http://www.faithoneverycorner.com/magazine.html

 

 

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