Everything you need to be a fiction author…in no particular order.

Notebooks

Lots of them, in different shapes and sizes. You really need to develop an obsession and soon you will have a sixth sense for a bargain priced notebook or an extra special one that is so beautiful you probably won’t ever use it. Needed for ideas, notes from courses, notes from listening to podcasts or reading blogs, although be aware you may not be able to find these notes again, but for me the process of writing ideas and concepts down helps my brain to hold onto them. 

Pens

Even if you type your stories you need pens to be a proper author. You also need them so you can justify buying all these notepads! And when they run out, if it is a pretty pen, keep it, they look great in a pot or scattered on the top of a bookcase. Also useful for making notes while editing, collecting research, writing the character’s names or place names so when you forget them you have an easy cheat sheet to remind you. 

Stick-its

The mighty stick-it that comes in every bright colour, size and shape you can image to capture your attention so the important things like – have a shower, go for a walk, drink, and talk to another human are not forgotten.

An Electronic Device

Such as a laptop, computer, ipad etc This is essential even if you write your stories in those glorious notepads using your shiny pens or if you enjoy the nostalgic clacking of a typewriter, you still need one of these. You can use it to type your wonderful ideas, rewrite your crappy first draft to make a wonderful story, copy and send it to someone who will tear it to pieces, rewrite it again, edit it a thousand times before sending it to an editor who finds more mistakes and problems in one sweep than you did in ten, rewrite and then if you are indie the game of formatting and publishing begins. This device is also essential for stress release as you can shout and swear at it and, as long as you are not recording an audio version of your book, it will forgive you.

I have a HP laptop and I love it.

Patience

I cannot recommend this product highly enough, but it is in short supply so be quick to grab some when you see it. Needed when you can’t find the time to write, the ideas are not flowing, your manuscript is out with beta readers, your internet is playing peek-a-boo, your manuscript is with an editor, someone is designing you a cover, your computer is on a go slow, your manuscript is with a publisher or a publishing site, the book stores are reluctant to show the thousands of reviews your book surely has in the first few days of being published, your computer appears to have eaten your story, you’ve run out of chocolate and the shops are shut, or when your brain won’t connect with your fingers.

A Block

These come in various sizes and are made from different materials. I recommend a beautiful wooden one,  so it is aesthetically pleasing as well as practical. Essential for holding a door open, stubbing the toe of anyone who dares to come close enough to disturb you, weighing down notebooks when it’s windy and the door is open, throwing when you’ve run out of patience, and for holding in your hand and declaring ‘I have writer’s block,’ when you don’t really don’t feel like writing or your publisher is demanding where the next book in the series is. 

A Muse

This is the most elusive item in you kit, in fact, you’ll have more luck finding a unicorn. But don’t despair the essence of a muse can be found in snatches of conversation, nature, observing people, reading a book, visiting a museum, wandering a graveyard, social media, personal life experience, watching TV, listening to music, dreams and nightmares, fears and worries, hopes and wishes, love, death, birth and our wonderful complex brains. 

A Writing Space

What this looks like depends on your personality, but all authors need a place. It helps the brain to switch into writing mode. And it genuinely works. Since I’ve had a writing hut in the garden my writing output has increased dramatically.

https://www.jenniclarke.com/blog-19-a-place-to-write

Spending money on a space does tend to mean you have to use it.

I know some people like to write in a café, but if you watch them carefully, they generally choose the same café or the same table each time. There are writers who write in bed, or at the kitchen table. It doesn’t matter where but if you write in that space often enough then you will write in that space.