Writing Mediums

I realized that the last three posts I've done have been more on the serious side, so I thought I'd do a more fun one before I disappear into the cave that is called college finals (2 out of 4 done!)

I can't remember if I've ever mentioned it on the blog before, but I do the majority of my drafting (around 98% of it) on Scrivener. If you're unfamiliar with the app, then I'll let you search up the details on the internet because there are a ton of informative posts floating around and reasons as to why you should use it. The quick and dirty as why I prefer it to other apps such as MS Word when it comes to drafting is:

• It's super easy for organizing chapters and scenes while keeping them all in one place (you don't have to have a mammoth of a Word doc that takes forever to scroll through, and you also don't have to have a bunch of Word docs for each chapter). 
• It has a cool cork board function that allows you to outline in a more visual way (I actually don't use this function enough).
• It just makes me more excited about drafting.

The last point is something that sounds sort of silly, but I like the LOOK of Scrivener and that alone makes me more excited about putting words down on the screen. 

So Scrivener is one medium I like to write on. The other? Old fashioned paper.

Behold my two notebooks:

 The black one is actually a sketchbook. I've had it the longest--it's 3/4 of the way filled--and I love writing in it. I think it might be because the paper is unlined...there's something less restricting about it. I'll write it in whenever I'm stuck on a scene, sometimes writing the scene all out by hand. And sometimes I'll simply use to it figure out plot things and character motivations.

I picked up the tan notebook this year because I'm going to be traveling this summer, and I wanted something lighter than the black one (which is nice and weighty) to carry with me. I have a random scene from a New Adult novel written on the first page, but I'm not sure if I'll continue it yet.

As for my preferred writing instrument? I love gel pens (or any pen with water-based ink) with super fine tips. I am actually very picky when it comes to pens. It's weird, I know, but I can't help it. But usually, I turn to my notebooks when I'm at a super stuck state in a novel, and so I need all the help I can get. For once, instead of just having a party in my head, I need the writing to feel good. I need to be excited by something tactile, such as the flow of ink as I form letters and words and the way the words cling to the comb of the paper. 

Did I just slip the fact that I'm picky about paper comb too? Well then, I think that's enough for this post.

Let me know of your favorite writing mediums and whether or not you ever draft by hand!