My writing implement always says a lot about where I am in the writing process.

Today was a red pen day. I continued making my first round of revisions, essentially correcting typos, adding words, removing redundant phrases.

I love red pen days! They give me such a sense of accomplishment. But I know that the feeling won’t last.

I’m on chapter six, and I have seven more to go. It should take me another day to make this round of changes. Then I have to say goodbye to the red pen and say hello to the pencil.

Pencil days are challenging. It is writing from SCRATCH. I write with a pencil (a natural wood one, always the same brand) as I gather kindling in my mind. I rub the separate white eraser across the page when I am struggling to make the spark to ignite heat on the page. There’s usually a LOT of smudges. I write with a pencil when I must generate new ideas, feel my way to new insight.

Pencil days are humbling and often plodding.

I guess it is all about balance: red pen days to make the natural pencil days bearable.

How do you write?

What do your chosen implements say about your process?