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Ballpoint pen, creativity, hand writing, Pen, penmanship, Photography, Quill, writing, Writing implement, Writing Instruments, writing process
I read a great post the other day on Freshly Pressed– The Delight of Hand Writing.
The article reminded me what I had forgotten– that I miss writing with a pen. I used to journal all the time with pen and paper. Eventually I moved to journaling on my laptop.
When I was a teenager, my BFF moved five hours away and email didn’t exist. We corresponded a lot. I still have some of those letters. If I was feeling particularly ritualistic and grand, I would write letters on parchment paper by candlelight using my feather quill pen. (No, this was not a hundred years ago, and I am not a vampire).
Here was the pen.
Sure it’s cool to look at, but this quill pen had a weak nib so the ink flow was not consistent. But it gave off a cool scratching sound when you wrote.
Ah, the good old days.
All that nostalgia nudged me into buying a new fountain pain. I’ve never had one before. I don’t really count calligraphy pens because I only used them to address envelopes and not for regular writing. This was going to be my reward for a grueling day of work filled with lots of frantic emails, phone calls and me wanting to strangle someone. But when I held my slick new pen, I buried all that craziness in the corner of my mind. I fully intended to forget it (until the next day) in favor trying out this new writing instrument.
My pen came with pre-filled cartridges which I almost used, but I decided against it. The heavy glass bottle filled with rich black ink was calling my name. I unstoppered the lid and peered in. The blackness looked back at me. It was dark and dense, like a black hole.
In the quiet of my room, I wrote the first draft of this post. The light from the corner lamp glinted off the shiny, new nib. I noticed a difference. I was not hunched over my laptop. Instead, I stretched out on my side with my notebook next to me. With my right hand perched at the top of the page, I began to write. My muscles relaxed into the old pose. I used to do all of my writing this way.
Then my writing hand wanted to show off. Curlicues, squiggles and strong lines transformed the page. I even practiced my signature.
Literary Tiger’s signature. No forging my name on checks now.
I can be particular about pens. For every day use, like jotting notes on Post-Its, I’m a fan of the RSVP Pentel ballpoint pen.
One step up from the humble RSVP is my canary yellow (with black trim) roller ball pen. See my picture below. Just think of Bumblebee transforming into a pen instead of a Camaro.
Other pens I’ve used. The really pretty ones farther back don’t write that well, and it’s hard to get a good grip when there’s glitter and stuff clinging to your fingers. The pewter pen is lovely but gets heavy to hold.
Say It Ain’t So!
The Scream by Edvard Munch (Image courtesy of Wikipedia)
This is how I felt when I read that some schools are eliminating the teaching of cursive from their curriculum.
Don’t let gorgeous handwriting be a lost art. Pick up your pens and write!
What do you like to write with? Do you prefer to type away or put pen to paper as part of your writing ritual?
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Nice! I’m for pen and paper all the way. For writing anything, everyday stuff or fiction writing, I use the Bic Ultra Round Stic Grip Ballpoint pen. I buy them by the box cause they are super comfy to use and the ink doesn’t skip. It’s nice and smooth without smearing. Love ‘em. There’s really nothing like longhand…Great signature too btw, still can’t get mine down
Yes, the very popular Bic pen. For the price of those babies, you can’t go wrong.
It’s nice that pens like these come in a box because I’m bound to leave one somewhere.
I remember all the pens I used to buy. I was a collector of writing implements. Now, I live online. I miss my huge drawer full of pens.
Your post makes me want to go and get a good pen again. Pen, and great paper to write on. Thanks,
Elizabeth
Shoot, I remember all the pens you used to buy, too. That and your lovely stationary. Yes, buy more pens! Should I be expecting a hand written letter from you soon, then?
Um, yes. Expect a handwritten note close to the end of this month.
I love fountain pens! And writing by hand is so much more relaxing.
I agree. I think it has to do with the ease with which one can start and stop. There’s a certain pressure that comes with that keyboard and the blinking cursor. Sort of like someone staring at you with a look that says “Well, what word comes next?” Most of us have gotten used to it, but a pen allows for a more leisurely flow of ideas. That’s me, anyway.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
I am moving further away from handwriting – something I used to be proud of – you have re-inspired me
Thank you for that kind comment! Yes, long hand people unite!
Wow! I really love your quill pen. Since I write so much historical fiction, that would be a really cool thing to write with! Wherever did you find it, if you don’t mind my asking? I have a few antique nib pens that belonged to my grandfather, that I love. I do calligraphy, too, on occasion, but haven’t got very good at it yet. I find my hand cramps up, now, when I write unless the pen is thicker.
It’s a shame that some schools are choosing not to teach cursive writing. Soon, it will be a dying art.
Great post, by the way!
I love historical fiction!
I honestly don’t remember where I got my quill pen as I’ve had it for about 15 years or more. I think I got it at a local stationers shop rather than a chain. I pop into Papyrus every now and then, but I’ve never seen them carry quill pens. It came with a little ink pot. I also use to seal all my letters with wax and a rose seal. Gosh, now I really need to find those accoutrements of correspondence.
I got seals with my initials when I was in my teens along with pink and mauve wax for my letters. I thought it was so cool back then. Now that I’m married, I’ll have to get one with my new initial, but it’s been so long since I actually sealed any of my letters. However, I recently got a Celtic knot seal from a friend who had traveled to Scotland. It was for my daughter’s wedding. She wanted all her invitations sealed with red wax. We quickly learned that we had to cool off the seal as it absorbs the heat from the melted wax after sealing more than a couple of letters – and we had 150 to do! (The wax would stick to the seal instead of leaving a clear impression.) Despite that high number of seals we made, we still have lots of red wax left over. I guess I’m going to have to seal all my correspondence for a long time before I use it all up.
I had such fun reading about your seals. That Celtic knot seal sounds very nice.
150!
That’s a lot of work, but what wedding isn’t? You know, I almost did that for my wedding ceremony, but there were too many. We ended up doing ribbon instead.
All this talk of sealing letters, I really really want to find my old seals now.
I liked this post a lot. I was just commenting on someone else’s post about a letter she had found from a boy when they were young. And I said he had good penmanship!
I write a lot now on the computer … but I also still write a lot by hand. My journal is handwritten. And until the time when my sister passed away (a couple years ago), she and I corresponded via mail … and hand written letters *smiles thinking of that*
I agree with you…I hope more people pick up their pens …. I love hand notes. (And yours is lovely.)
I’m sorry to hear your sister passed away. It must be comforting to be able to think back on all your correspondence. I guess that’s one good thing about email — it’s easier to store. I have a whole box of letters from my youth.
Thanks so much for commenting.
Sad to say I am a chicken scratch gal and for everyone’s sake stick with typing but printing it out on lovely paper. However, I agree completely that it is awfully sad to see cursive go the way of the fountain pen. My mother has exquisite old-school cursive and up until a few years ago she used a fountain pen. I thought it was such an elegant way to communicate.
Elegant! That’s the perfect word. Thank you for mentioning it. Your mother sounds like an elegant lady.
How I love a gorgeous pen! The only problem is that I never want to write with one and use up the ink, ha ha. I want it always be in its perfect, pristine, and untouched state.
Oh no — no cursive-learning in schools? I recall spending very little time learning cursive, and I’m a little bitter about it. My mom in particular has perfect cursive… Mine, however, is crooked and almost unreadable.
I have a couple pen pals I write letters to on occasion. It’s a fun thing to do — handwriting letters, that is. I just have to get past the wrist aches.
That’s sort of how I feel about stationery sometimes. I’ll buy pretty cards, but then I want to leave them as is.
Wrist aches are the downside. I remember having to shake my wrist every now and then. But now, I swear I’m getting carpal tunnel symptoms from all the typing I do at work and then blogging at home.
I’m very particular about my pens. Our school only allowed us to write with fountain pens until the eighth grade, and at the time I thought they were just being stuffy and medieval. But once I started using ball-point pens and gel-pens and all that nonsense, my handwriting just kept getting worse and my wrists used to hurt if I wrote for too long.
I use fountain pens now, all the time.The remembering-to-fill-ink business can be a little annoying, but I love them otherwise.
Your signature is AWEsome.
Thanks, Tanya.
Your school sounds really cool, by the way. I wish our school made us write with fountain pens only.
So you are an expert fountain pen user. I am starting to use mine more and more, and I wanted to start carrying mine in my purse. Have you ever had one leak in your purse? I don’t want that to happen to me.
Is your pen a really good pen? Because if it is, you really only have to worry about the cap coming off, it usually won’t leak otherwise. For everyday use, I use a Parker, and I’ve carried it in a side pocket in my bag loads of times (I have a really bulky pouch, so if I’m carrying the little sling bag, it won’t fit in, so I just dump the pens in), and nothing’s ever happened. They used to leak like the devil in school, though. But that was probably because we all wrote with cheap pens.
To my knowledge, the good ones won’t give you any trouble. You could always make a small pouch and line the inside with ziplock plastic, just in case.
I have a Parker Urban. I’ve been doing some research on fountain pens and I am just learning that there is a whole society out there that will only write with fountain pens. I’m anxious and excited to get my next one. I’d like at least 2 (one with blue ink and one with black ink). Thanks for the tip about the leakage. I see that some people have fancy leather cases. ooooooh.
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I am so glad you enjoyed my post ‘The Delight of Hand Writing’, and thank you so much for mentioning it here. I wish you and your new fountain pen a long-lasting, happy friendship.
You’re very welcome.
Thanks for stopping by!
I loved sending and receiving letters, especially international. I always looked upon it as a small miracle. Loved this post, congrats.