Entirely to do with the Writing Process - a tale of writing this shit in 10 curses.

1. As a writer, it is so important to use the right tools. I  first used Microsoft Word® and chose the  Nimbus Roman font, mainly because it had the ® mark in the Special Characters, I then switched to LibreOffice® because Microsoft are part of an #EvilEmpire, and I am not paying a monthly fee Oh No, and my document is saved in the .ODT format which is better than .docx, just because. 

2. I bought a Moleskine® notebook and a top class r0tring® mechanical pencil. I carry these everywhere because Joanne Harris told me in her book that the First Rule of Writing was to carry a notebook. The best tools would make the job better. I still haven't written much of course, but it will come. 

3. I bought a Scrivener® licence! If you are going to be a proper writer, and lots of Proper Writers that I have never heard of but that's because I don't Read Around enough, swear by it. Scrivener® is really good and has a useful Chalkboard Feature. I have never yet used the Chalkboard Feature, but I am glad it is there: it could really Come In Useful one day. It is annoying that I have to change the spell-checking to English(UK), but I won't uninstall it, because it costs £40. 

4. Oh Happy Day! I have become a LaTex® user! It is Free and OpenSource and promises that What You See Is What You Want , which is what I want. It is apparently very efficient for mathematical notation, which of course I won't use, but that's great; there is a Steep Learning Curve, which I am up for. 

5. I will choose  Export to Epub  rather than dull old PDF! I haven't written very much yet but I just want to use a comfortable tool. 

6. There are some really good writing aids out there tp look after your typos and tell you if you are using the Passive Voice too much. 

7. One of these Writing Aids has Auto-Renewed: I must have given it my card details in a  fit of Too Much Primitivo, and I now have access to a 

myriad of Pro Features. Mainly though I need to navigate to the small grey semi-transparent link to ensure I don't Auto-Renew again in November, now that the Primitivo has worn off . 

8. I wrote a Limerick in my lovely Moleskine® notebook. I am proud of it, except that the last line doesn't scan properly. 

9. I have forgotten whether my top-of-the-range r0tring® mechanical pencil takes 0.5 or 0.7mm refills. These are among the curses of being a Writer. 

10. When I am a professional writer with an agent and a 5 book deal I will be able to claim these things against tax and live in Key West like my hero. 

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