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Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Authors and Office Supplies

What is it about writers and paper?

Or I guess you could expand it to writers and office supply stores. I haven't met a writer yet who doesn't admit to a fascination with paper, pens, and the other wondrous things these places carry.

Pens are my big weakness. I'm always in search of the most perfect brand and I have the enormous collection to prove it. Most of them were failures and I'll never use them, but I can't throw them away. Then there's all the free pens authors give away and conferences and such. Oh, and colored Sharpie fine point markers and highlighters and colored pencils.

I'm much better with paper, although I do have a weakness for stationery and note cards. Since I never actually send snail mailed notes to people, I've managed to resist buying more (I think I might already have a lifetime supply), but it's not an easy thing. There's such cute stationery out there!

My other weakness is office organization materials--file folders and hanging folders especially. I became hugely excited when I discovered they sell file folders in colors other than manila. I have red, green, purple, and yellow now, and if I can find other shades, I'll be ecstatic. Same thing for my hanging folders--I have all colors, including pink.

I can spend hours and hundreds of dollars inside an office supply store just as easily as inside Best Buy, and considering how much I love gadgets, that's really saying something. :-) I'm not the only one, either. You get a group of writers together and ask about office supplies. I've yet to hear one not express a love/fascination for them. It's amazing how geeked out we all get. All I can say is it's nice not to be alone.