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A writer only needs two things. The first is a brain that contains thoughts, and. the second is a method for recording those thoughts in written form. Those are the only true essentials. Everything else is gravy.

Of course, it would be nice to have a good chair, so you could be comfortable sitting for long periods at your desk. The desk itself, ideally, would have lots of room for you to spread out your papers, and plenty of drawers to store all your writing-related things.

It would be great to have a fast computer, and if you had a desktop model, to have a laptop or notebook as well, so you could work outdoors, in a coffee shop, or wherever your mood might take you.

Dictionaries are useful, as are reference books on grammar and usage. It's easy to look up information online, but sometimes it's more convenient to consult a printed reference book.

Inspirational posters on the wall can help keep you motivated. Your favorite music, playing on a good sound system, can make it easier to write. Or, if you prefer silence, heavy drapes and rugs can muffle sound and create a peaceful atmosphere where creativity can thrive.

And who doesn't like office supplies? So many shapes and colors. So many ways to stay organized. Paper, envelopes, file folders, pens, pencils, stamps, and a filing cabinet to hold your correspondence and drafts.

You'd probably like to create, in Hemingway's words, a "clean well-lighted place." So lamps are useful, as are cleaning supplies, or better yet, a cleaning person who will come in and get rid of the dirt, without disturbing your piles of papers, the ones where you, if no one else, knows where everything can be found.

But the most important item in your writing arsenal is the one between your ears. You don't have to have that cleaning person, or that great lamp, or those boxes of colorful folders. If you didn't have a computer to type on, if you didn't even have hands with which to type, you could still dictate your work into a recorder and hire someone to transcribe it. If you didn't have email access at home, you could get it at the library. If you didn't have a good chair, you could take stretching breaks to give relief to your back. Nothing is indispensable for writers except for the quality of the thoughts in their brains.

Learn more about this author, May Monten.
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