Uses This

Who are you, and what do you do?

I'm Dominique Dickey! I'm a writer, editor, and consultant working in RPGs, LARPs, video games, and fiction. I'm also a full-time student at Johns Hopkins University, graduating in May of 2021 (woohoo!). As a Woodrow Wilson Research Fellow, I'm completing a thesis on the representation of nonbinary genders in speculative fiction.

What hardware do you use?

I do all my digital work on a MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, four Thunderbolt 3 ports, space gray). My desk is an IKEA MELLTORP table, and I sit in an IKEA TEODORES chair with a footstool. I have a two-drawer IKEA MALM dresser under my desk as storage. I also have an iPhone SE (2020).

I do a lot of developmental and brainstorming work by hand, and for that I favor hardback dotted A5 notebooks - recent favorites are the Rhodia Webnotebook and Leuchtturm1917 - and fountain pens. I could go on about fountain pens forever, so I'll narrow it down to my top two: a Lamy Safari with an EF nib, and a TWSBI ECO with a F nib. These were the first two fountain pens I purchased when I got into the hobby, and they're the most reliable and non-fussy ones I own. As far as inks, I've been having a lot of fun with Goulet sample packs lately, because they enable me to try out a lot of colors without committing to a whole bottle. My most recent favorites are Diamine Oxblood, Organics Studio Nitrogen, and Robert Oster Tranquility.

I tend to use cheaper spiral-bound notebooks when taking notes for class, and that low-quality paper rarely plays well with liquid inks. In these cases, I use Zebra Sarasa gel pens in 0.3mm; the majority of my notes are written in blue-black, with black and viridian green as accent colors. I'm also fond of Zebra Mildliner highlighters.

And what software?

I used Google Docs to write my tabletop RPG TRIAL and my forthcoming tabletop RPG Tomorrow on Revelation III. I also use Google Docs for most of my copyediting and consulting jobs, to easily pass files back and forth to clients. I wrote my Wilson thesis in Google Docs so that I could send each chapter to my advisor as I'd finished it. Once my advisor gave notes on each chapter, I imported all of the individual documents into Scrivener to edit the book as a whole.

I use Scrivener to draft fiction. For short fiction, I export to Microsoft Word to edit. For longer works, I use Scrivener for the entire revision process.

I do a lot of ideating and outlining in the Notes app on my phone.

What would be your dream setup?

I've heard that the 2021 MacBook Pro won't have the touchbar - which is fantastic, as the touchbar is the bane of my existence. So, that's definitely on my wishlist.

I'd love a desk that's more... desk-y. I have my eye on the IKEA LINNMON/ALEX (you may be noticing a trend here: I love IKEA furniture). I'll be sticking with the TEODORES chair and footstool, though.

I also have a long wishlist of fountain pens. Someday I'd like a pen with a 14k gold nib, as I've heard it improves the writing experience.

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