A Writer’s Everyday Carry Everything You Need To Embrace The Muse
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My EDC
Writer
[rahy-ter ]
Noun
1. a person who has written something or who writes in a particular way.
2. a person who writes or is able to write
…
Every Day Carry
[ ev-ree dey kar-ee ]
Noun
1. A collection of useful items that are consistently carried on your person every day.
2. A collection of items to help individuals overcome simple everyday problems, and to prepare someone for unexpected and possibly dangerous situations.
3. Enabling utility and preparedness.
…
Every Day Carry is a term typically reserved for the military, survivalists and conspiracy wackos. Basically, it’s a culmination of all of the things that they carry with them each day.
Each item has a utility and multiple functions. A good daily carry has a certain aesthetic to it: minimalist yet sexy. Functional, high quality and tough.
Guns. They carry a lot of guns.
Beyond that they may carry torches, flint, rope, multipurpose knives, pens and other cool doodads that will get them through the day (as well as through the ever-impending apocalypse).
The goal is to carry the minimum amount of stuff for the maximum amount of functionality.
I love the concept and aesthetic, so I decided to create my own EDC. But as a writer, I have different needs to the typically survivalist.
Guns. I carry a lot of guns.
You never know when you are going to have to blow a hole in your writing pad right… right?
Beyond my occasional desires to obliterate a current writing project, I do have a consistent EDC that certainly comes in handy.
I write daily. Mainly poetry, but I also work on short fiction, mental health blogs and self-help books. Most of my posts on Medium get curated, and I am slowly growing my readership base across multiple platforms.
One of my students of my Skillshare course ‘Finish That Book’ asked me to go in-depth on what I carry with me daily, and how I use it to assist with my writing.
This post is the result.
My EDC
My EDC, all The Below titles are affiliate links to amazon
1: MVMT Watch:
If you need to tell the time, use a watch.
Phones are great, but they are crazy distracting. I cannot afford to lose my time nor the shift of focus from a my work to a picture of a cat, or some crazy political rant on social media every time I want to know the time.
Use a watch, then get back to writing.
2: Air Pods (with cover):
I like to listen to music, particularly when I am writing fiction. Something intense, moody and lyric-less.
I set up a playlist, then turn my phone to airplane mode and put it back in my pocket. I can skip songs by tapping one of the earbuds and pause it by tapping the other (no need to touch the phone again!).
3: Olympus WS 853:
This voice recorder operates both on internal charge and back up AAA batteries. It is simple to operate and has an instant play back option.
The internal memory is more than enough, but if I decide to go on a 30 day foray into the woods and want to record every moment, I can add an external memory card.
This is the device that I do most of my ‘thinking’ on. Often, I will be walking or riding to work when a thought strikes. I simply pull this out, talk and go.
When I am back at my desk, I play it back and more often than not have half a chapter written.
4: Hacky Sack:
This small sand filled bag serves as a quick physical break from desk work. Just grab the sack, kick the sack, and repeat.
Perfect solo or with others.
5: Pen & Notepad:
Every writer has favourite pen and pad combo.
Mine is the Pentel 0.5mm Needle Point, with a Spridax flip pad. I mainly use these for quick notes or for playing with poetry and rhymes.
For me, seeing the words on the page works better than the recorder for some projects, so I keep both on my person.
6: Card Sleeve Wallet:
Nobody carries cash anymore, and with apple pay as well as app based rewards programs, the amount of cards necessary to actually carry is minimal.
7: Mantra Beads:
I am a massive advocate of mindfulness meditation. These beads serve as a quick focus point and pseudo fidget spinner allowing me to either refocus, or occupy my hands as I am thinking of the next sentence to write.
What is your daily carry? What should I add to mine?
Happy writing!