Still on a break, but look what I bought yesterday. Nothing like my brother-in-law’s Ferrari for fabuloso consumerism, but I bet writers out there can relate to this: These old-school notebooks fill me with pleasure and excitement about the near future when I’m not on break anymore, when I’m developing two fiction ideas that have been percolating for awhile (hence, two notebooks), and when I’m getting down-and-dirty with words.

Blank pages don’t scare me; they fill me with anticipation and wonder and the feeling of creativity burbling below the surface. I love empty notebooks! Especially when they’re groovy in a classic or modern or any old way…