Things That Work

I’ve been thinking about writing this post for awhile. Lately I’ve stumbled across a couple of products that simply work. Now I know how this goes. What works for me may not work for you. But I still figured I’d pass the info along, just in case.

And then I thought, why stop here? I’d like to know what works for other people.

So, this is a meme. It’s as broad as anybody wants it to be. And I’m going to tag somebody at the end, of course.

1. Cheap Fountain Pen that Writes Like a Dream

By hanging out on some Moleskine and GTD sites, I discovered the Lamy Safari Fountain Pen with Extra Fine nib. Now maybe you’re a fountain pen expert who has expensive fountain pens and will say, “Oh, that doesn’t write like a dream, the Uber-Costly German Gold-and-Sterling Whipperjammer writes like a dream, not that cheap piece of junk.”

But here’s what happened to me. I love fountain pens but won’t buy one that costs much because I’m afraid I’ll lose it. Plus, I just don’t want to get started down that road, because boy are there some gorgeous pens out there. So I bought the Lamy and loved it so much I was tempted to get three or four in different colors, and use each one for a different color ink. (Um, what road was it you weren’t going down, Pooks? Shut up.)

But I started surfing sites and saw some really beautiful pens that didn’t cost too much more than the Lamy Safari, and I finally decided to buy a couple of them instead. And they write scratchy. Or at least, not as smoothly as the Lamy. And after excursions into other cheap fountain pens I finally realized, “Duh, maybe there’s a reason why people kept recommending the Lamy Safari.” (I said Shut Up.)

So I’m back to wanting several colors of Lamy Safari pens. To go with the pretty inks I have. (Another weakness.)

My recommendation is you spring for the converter so that you can choose your own ink and refill, but if you prefer the ease of cartridges, that’s fine, too.

And as for that ease of writing thing — I’ve mentioned it before but my handwriting is abysmal. And after years of buying bold pens I discovered that this extra fine nib makes my handwriting much more legible. Wow, who knew?

Then of course there’s the added benefit that the fountain pen (this one, anyway) glides across the page so easily that I’m less prone to gripping too hard, pressing down too hard, and thus my handwriting improves even more, and my hand doesn’t cramp.

This pen works for me. Especially when writing in my Moleskine. Is there anything more romantic and lovely than writing in a Moleskine with a fountain pen? I think not.

2. 100% Cotton Shirts that Don’t Wrinkle

Really. This is not a joke or an advertising trick. First I bought a couple for myself. So the Resident Storm Chaser asked me, “When did you start ironing your shirts?” I’d been wearing it all day and it still looked crisp and smooth, and hell no, I hadn’t ironed it. I did hang it up straight from the dryer, but that’s it.

So I bought him some. We’re believers.

Go to LLBean and search on “wrinkle resistant” and you’ll find a great selection. It works.

3. Lip Balm with Color

I have chapped lips. I constantly reapply lipstick or chapstick or lip balm or whatever, and sometimes I’ll be okay and other times they’re a mess. But just out of curiosity I picked up some Burts Bees Lip Shimmers, and I’m in love. The colors are nice. (Shimmery but not sheer — very nice colors.) And my lips haven’t been chapped in yonks. Love this stuff! (And if you’re not into color I assume the regular stuff is just as great.)

According to them, “They’re made from natural ingredients like vitamin E, coconut and sunflower oils to moisturize and highlight your lips.” Whatever it is, it’s great stuff. And cheap!

4. GTD

Haven’t I said enough about that yet? Well, no, but I’ll save it for another day.

But for me?

It works.

5. The Best Screenwriting Competition Ever

And I believed this long before I ever won. It is the best run, the best planned, the most respected, the best in all ways. When Mrs. Gee Nicholl decided to endow a fellowship for writers she became the guardian angel to more thousands of writers than she will ever know.

It’s not just the writers who are discovered because they entered, and have careers launched. It’s not just the writers who win.

It’s the thousands of you who are even now typing into the late hours of the night and wee hours of the morning to complete scripts to meet that May 1 deadline. Whether you’re in Los Angeles or Dallas or London or Hamburg or Hong Kong the dream is within your reach because this terrific woman decided to honor her husband’s memory with this fellowship, and because the Academy has done such a stunning job of implementing it.

So … why are you reading this?

Go write.

Now.

And good luck!

Now … I want to know what works for other people. I’m going to tag Toni and Candace and brett even if he is an Aggie. You can write about one thing that works or a dozen. You can list them or explain them. I don’t care. I just want to know —

What works for you?