Develop a writing routine

If I had a Writers’ Sub Box for #30DaysWithaK today, what would I put in it?

One of the key elements of a rich Writing Practice is the act of purposefully adding a sense joy & luxury to it.

That doesn’t mean that you have to scream-laugh while you draft a blog post – or purchase a solid gold desktop to hide behind.

But it does mean that we can find fun stationery & cute room decorations and pens & notebooks for our space – knowing that it might actually help us finish our novel or About Page.

Without quite all of the melancholy that it might usually entail.

Joy is a good enough reason, but it's also effective! That's why an entire Unit of the #30DaysWithaK is all about finding and adding joy and luxury to your writing Click To Tweet

So, I’ve been dreaming of creating a Writers’ Sub Box to go along with a seasonal #30DaysWithaK live run through – filled with writerly joys to suit each season. Because joy is a good enough reason.

Candles & notebooks, stickers & pens, weird stationery bits, & special somethings for our writing space.

All popped into a box and sent out with a note from me, some stickers of my illustrations and enough prompts for 30 Days of seasonal free-writing together.

Perfect, right? Dreamy and exciting thoughts, friends! And they’re on the someday -soon list.

But I’m not yet at a place to build and source and sell such a thing – so I’ve put together a make-believe version for this Spring, filled with absolute sunshine and bliss.

Because Winter is Over! And I am ready for ALL the sunshine.

So here is what I’d send you all this Spring, if only I could:

*This is not an ad, and these are not affiliate links. I just love these things and want to play pretend that I can send them all out to you this week.

Add joy to your writing practice with this make believe spring writer's box

1. Book Scents Candle – Jamie K.

I’ve actually spent lots of time chatting with Nalana, the owner and chief candle maker extraordinaire behind Book Scents – about books and the idea of someday creating things together. She is amazing and lovely and truly *gets* the bookish side of me.

So it makes sense that I’d find the perfect candle for my first make-believe Writers’ Sub Box of Joy (the name is a work in progress) in her shop.

A candle makes any space feel like a writer's space

This bright and beautiful candle has a classic sandalwood scent with subtle hints of lime, and is the most Spring-yellow you could imagine. Perfect.

All of the Book Scents candles are inspired by a specific book, character, or author. Go see what you can find to inspire your next book – and comment below if you know where the “Jamie K.” candle got its name.

Burning a candle while you write can give your writing time a sense of specialness and luxury.

2. Rifle Paper Co. Notecard

Everyone who has an unhealthy love for stationery knows Rifle Paper Co., right? It’s been around for a while, and its telltale floral patterns are perfect for Spring.

Writing a note to a loved one on a beautiful piece of stationery feels absolutely precious – and can loosen up your writing brain when you feel blocked.

3. King Jim – Sticker Folder

Okay – this funky little folder for loose stickers is my new favourite thing. It’s made by a Japanese brand though, and isn’t easy to find here in North America.

Luckily, there is a company like “Cute Things From Japan,” where you can find all kinds of – you guessed it – cute things from Japan.

I use stickers to give myself extrinsic motivation to open my notebooks. It might be a hangover from grade school, perhaps? But I don’t care, because it works.

4. Citrus Book Bindery

Notebooks. Ahhhh notebooks. It wouldn’t be a real Writer’s Box without a beautiful notebook.

I can’t ever have enough notebooks, and I can’t ever get enough of folks like Citrus Book Bindery who take such obvious care with making them.

The intricate stitching, the beautiful binding, the colours! Any number of their books are on my wish-list, but these bright colours are fitting to my Spring-fever mood.

Don’t leave your lovely notebooks on the shelf or in a drawer! Use them and enjoy every page.

5. Modcloth – Cat Planter

I mean…cats. Right? And also plants.

So, this might be one of those things that only brings my own personal brand of joy, but I’m still adding it in here, because I love it that much, and I think you might too.

I’m a sucker for cats, and having a small plant in a cat-shaped planter feels right, considering that all of my plants are destined to be either eaten or knocked over by cats at least 5 times.

Having cute and sweet design elements in your Writing Space that feel like *you* is a piece of that taking up space and owning it thing that helps to make writing a thing that you just do.

6. Notebook Therapy – Mildliner Highlighters

You can find these light and lovely highlighters at just about any stationery or art store. I’ve linked “Notebook Therapy” because they carry just a TON of really neat, quirky and fun stationery bits & bobs.

These Mildliners by Zebra are known for their more mild and relaxed colours, and they have a bullet nib on the other side too for adding notes in the margins.

I love a highlighter to categorize thoughts or help me mark up an outline or draft – but your typical one in *that* shade of yellow doesn’t feel luxurious.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this fun little adventure down enable-me-lane.

Feel free to share this list with other stationery lovers you know (we tend to gather), and let me know in the comments if there is something you’d add to the list, because I always want to see more enticing stationery stuff to add to my wish lists.

I said enable me, Dammit!

You can also join the #30DaysWithaK free-writing challenge, if you haven’t already, to create a Writing Practice that will feel better and work better for you – in 30 days.

xo
Kris

Kris Windley

Kris is a writer, editor, illustrator, teacher, mother of two amazing young ladies - and enthusiastic cat-belly snuggler. A certified teacher, long-time blogger and experienced brand consultant, she writes about Writing, Business and Blogging...and sometimes about Changing the World.

Kris Windley

Kris is a writer, editor, illustrator, teacher, mother of two amazing young ladies - and enthusiastic cat-belly snuggler. A certified teacher, long-time blogger and experienced brand consultant, she writes about Writing, Business and Blogging...and sometimes about Changing the World.

You mad? Excited? Have a perspective to share? Please do!

4 Comments

  1. Katie on April 12, 2019 at 11:37 am

    Oh MAN did this imaginary sub box’s contents make me SO happy! I mean, you KNOW the cat planter is an automatic must have!
    What would I put in my box? Hmm…maybe some COSMIK Freeze Dried Ice Cream for ice cream on the go (just found this on google)?!
    https://www.cosmik.com/shop <3

    • KrisWithaK on April 12, 2019 at 3:21 pm

      Odds the kitty planter gets destroyed within a month? I DON’T CARE! I will love his little face for his entire little life as my desk planter of kitty-cat joy 🙂

      I am also very interested in the space-person ice cream. It feels like an illustration waiting to happen 😉

      xo
      Kris

  2. Anita Van Hal on April 11, 2019 at 11:41 pm

    Love it! I too believe in surrounding myself with fun and beautiful things while I work! I use these same highlighters, keep beautiful fun candles, and notebooks galore! This post really spoke to my heart! Thank you!

    • KrisWithaK on April 12, 2019 at 3:23 pm

      Aw! I’m glad you liked my trip down stationery dream-land lane 🙂

      I’m staring out my writing room window right now, and dreaming still of even more notebooks and candles and beautiful things for even more pretend sub-boxes, so there will be more posts like this one to come.

      xo
      Kris

Leave a Comment





Want to read more? Check out these recent articles.

Build a Flexible Editorial Calendar | Blog Your Voice | Kris With a K | Writing Coach | With a K Writing Services

How to Build a Flexible Editorial Calendar in 3 Steps

By |

Your Editorial Calendar doesn’t need to feel like a set of creativity-handcuffs. It should feel like a comforting & inspiring guideline. One that allows you to be more creative. Not stifled & uninspired. I’m an idea machine. I’ve always been a “creative person,” whatever that means, & I operated under the assumption for a long…

Why I love my Broken Voice…Finally

By |

If you’ve been reading my blog for any time at all, you’ve heard me talk about these 2 things at least eleven times: Embracing your Voice & Finding Your Great Big Why. In my experience, these 2 things are really important Pre-Prewriting steps any writer should take in order to start really focusing in on her message & sharing it confidently.…

My Students taught me this key Lesson about Blogging & Business

By |

Striving for perfection will not make your message stronger. In fact, it is pretty much guaranteed to keep your message bottled up, nice and tight, away from your readers. I understand why you are doing it; don’t get me wrong! I totally understand that need to just wait one more minute before sharing your voice because it’s not quite…

Series and Segments: 2 Steps to Begin a Great Editorial Calendar

By |

Plan & Commit to an Editorial Calendar for your whole year? That can feel a little overwhelming, right? In fact, it’s downright paralyzing. I’m a bit of a commitment-phobe, so it’s really hard for me to commit to what I will be writing about EVERY week for the next year. That’s too constricting! And overwhelming…and scary. And it’s not…

Blog Calendar Homemade FAT Paint

Your Blog Editorial Calendar can Actually Make you Happy

By |

Your Blog’s Editorial Calendar can change your blog from some scattered musings…to a marketing & community-building powerhouse. But its real strength lies in how it will affect you! I have the tendency to go on tangents as a storyteller. *pause for laughs* I know! It’s something that you’ve probably noticed already, but you don’t even know.…

5 Steps to Take Your Blog Photos from Shoot to Blog…times 2

By |

There are some stunning blog photos online. In fact, professional-level images are becoming the standard for blog photos. Seriously. With the fancy DSLR cameras out there, and the ability we have to learn almost any skill we want from our desktop computer (or smartphone), the online world is getting pretty darn…well…pretty these days. The problem is…