A couple months ago a friend came through town because his band was playing a show at the Crystal Ballroom. We got breakfast at his favorite spot in Portland (Mother’s Bistro) and then wandered around downtown where we ended up in a guitar shop. The guys in the band started going through pedals and amps, talking it up with the gearheads in the shop, when my friend turned to me and said “you don’t have anything like this, as a writer, do you?” What he meant was, there aren’t shops where writers go to geek out over equipment. The Mac shop at the mall doesn’t count, really. And neither does Best Buy. And I’ve never wandered into an Office Depot with my writer friends to look through old, used boxes of pen and paper. My friend was right. Well, sort of. I actually do use one piece of cool equipment when I write. I don’t use it all the time, but I use it lots. It’s a kitchen timer. And I thought maybe passing along my use of it as a writing tip might be appreciated. What do I use my kitchen timer for, other than for ready-bake cookies? I [...]
