Pen Recommendations For Novel Writing

[Sailor Kenshin]

So, 11 plays, a few dozen short stories and a couple of novels later, I find that the combination that works best for me is either quad-lined composition books or bagasse copier paper coupled with a pen that requires the lightest of touch to put ink on paper. If I have to "bear down" on a pen to get it to write, then it's useless to me for long periods of writing.

 

Current favorites include:

Pilot Custom 823

Platinum 3776 Century

Aurora 88 full size

Visconti Homo Sapiens

Conway Stewart 100 Poinsettia

Pelikan Sahara

Pelikan M800

 

The bagasse paper I've been using of late is something called "Ology" that I find at local Walgreens stores.

How does it stack up against Staples?

[Charles Rice]

I agree with the above about using a journal or note book. Don't. If you are going to write it out longhand first, loose pages are the way to go. As far as long hand v. word processor for your first draft, what ever makes you feel comfortable. My book ended up at over 90,000 words and the first draft was all long hand. It's slower, but for me a more thoughtful process. Putting it on my computer constituted a first edit.

 

Bottom line - do what feels best (and realize that most of what you write the first time will be gone by the time you publish)

 

PS - I write out a few chapters, put them on the computer, and then write out a few more, and so on. And by all means - BACK UP YOUR WORK IN MORE THAN ONE PLACE. Backing your work up on a thumb drive you keep at home is not good enough. What if - God forbid - someone steals your computer or you have a fire? Use the cloud or store a copy or two with friends. You can e-mail yourself a copy, too.

Edited January 29, 2015 by Charles Rice

[Parse Error]

The Staples website has several kinds of paper that have the name, "premium multipurpose." I'm interested in your recommendation. Which one are you referring to? Thanks.

My current paper is Xerox Premium Multipurpose that I got from Costco.

 

http://www2.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?prodid=11343128&whse=BD_563&topnav=national&cat=66985&hierPath=66982*66985*&lang=en-US

 

If you can't get that one above I would ask around; Hammermill and HP are typically recommended. Anything 24# should work...

[jameswatts]

How does it stack up against Staples?

I've only used the Staples "Sustainable Earth" legal pads, which had something of an onionskin texture. The Ology paper is a bit more substantial, whiter in tone, and plays well with every pen and ink combination I've tried.

[jameswatts]

My recommendation is to buy a MacBook Air and MS Office for Mac and write your "novel" there. Much more efficient, and you'll end up with a better novel because you'll be able to edit at will. If you write novel in journals and notebooks you will be reluctant to edit, your edits will be less frequent, and your work will end up not as good. Plus at some point you'll need to enter it on a computer anyway, so why not get it captured on that final media in the first place? I am a poet and I keep a journal and write little bits of poems as they come to mind in journal with a fountain pen. It's fun and playful. Adds to my enjoyment. But I'd end up hating it if I was doing that with a 50,000 word novel and at the end was faced with task of entering it all in my computer. Sound romantic andf nostalgic and all that, but also sounds like an awful waste of time that will lead to fewer edits and a lesser-quality piece of literature. I've never heard anyone at an open mic read anything good that was hadwritten - I can tell when it's handwritten it's unedited and it's gonna be horrible. And it always is. Sounds like a good idea but in reality ain't gonna help get your novel published.

I know of a number of successful novelists and playwrights who create their early drafts in long hand. It's not the tools that make a piece of writing good, but the skill of the person using those tools.

[thatotherguy1]

My recommendation is to buy a MacBook Air and MS Office for Mac and write your "novel" there. Much more efficient, and you'll end up with a better novel because you'll be able to edit at will. If you write novel in journals and notebooks you will be reluctant to edit, your edits will be less frequent, and your work will end up not as good. Plus at some point you'll need to enter it on a computer anyway, so why not get it captured on that final media in the first place? I am a poet and I keep a journal and write little bits of poems as they come to mind in journal with a fountain pen. It's fun and playful. Adds to my enjoyment. But I'd end up hating it if I was doing that with a 50,000 word novel and at the end was faced with task of entering it all in my computer. Sound romantic andf nostalgic and all that, but also sounds like an awful waste of time that will lead to fewer edits and a lesser-quality piece of literature. I've never heard anyone at an open mic read anything good that was hadwritten - I can tell when it's handwritten it's unedited and it's gonna be horrible. And it always is. Sounds like a good idea but in reality ain't gonna help get your novel published.

Of course you're entitled to your opinion and whatever works for you is what you should use, but I'm another one of the people that does at least two drafts of anything important. If I really want it good, I do a handwritten outline, then a longhand manuscript, then a typewritten copy (on an actual manual typewriter no less- no cheating), then final edits are on MS Word. Will I do that with my novel? Who knows. Possibly. But I know that I'll have the outline, hard copy first draft in longhand and final copy digital. The only wild card is the typewritten part.

Might I mention a small number of the myriad legendary authors and wordsmiths that did their original writings, even if it ended up digital or typewritten in the end, by hand? John Steinbeck, IIRC, used yellow legal pads and either Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602s or round pencils for his drafts. Ernest Hemingway was known to use a saucer as a café pencil shavings receptacle. Shakespeare undoubtedly used a quill. Ptolemy, Aristotle, Galileo, etc. all are legendary in their fields and wrote their famous theses by hand.

If writing directly to digital works better for you than longhand, by all means do it. I find that I'm plagued with writer's block and I'm more distracted with a blank Word document in front of me. If I use a pen/pencil/typewriter and paper, the thoughts flow and I can get my ideas onto the page quickly. The final copy ends up being much superior to one done on Word, because I didn't have the distraction of the screen, the writer's block that a computer tends to give me.

At the end, I guess I'm saying to use whatever you like best for your writing. But if something else works for someone else, please don't claim that their work will suffer because they use a different tool. I realize everyone's different (and that most of my examples didn't have the ability to use a computer), but just as you have your right to your opinion, others have just as much right to do what they please.

I'm not trying to attack you, and if I offended anyone I sincerely apologize. I hope that I was able to get my point across sufficiently well.

ETA- Chaucer, da Vinci (the scientific researcher and inventor side), Homer, Plato all did their work by hand as well and all are still remembered hundreds of years after their deaths for their works.

Edited January 30, 2015 by thatotherguy1

[SockAddict]

My recommendation is to buy a MacBook Air and MS Office for Mac and write your "novel" there. Much more efficient, and you'll end up with a better novel because you'll be able to edit at will. If you write novel in journals and notebooks you will be reluctant to edit, your edits will be less frequent, and your work will end up not as good. Plus at some point you'll need to enter it on a computer anyway, so why not get it captured on that final media in the first place? I am a poet and I keep a journal and write little bits of poems as they come to mind in journal with a fountain pen. It's fun and playful. Adds to my enjoyment. But I'd end up hating it if I was doing that with a 50,000 word novel and at the end was faced with task of entering it all in my computer. Sound romantic andf nostalgic and all that, but also sounds like an awful waste of time that will lead to fewer edits and a lesser-quality piece of literature. I've never heard anyone at an open mic read anything good that was hadwritten - I can tell when it's handwritten it's unedited and it's gonna be horrible. And it always is. Sounds like a good idea but in reality ain't gonna help get your novel published.

 

Seriously?? How much classic literature do you think was created on a computer??

[inkstainedruth]

I tried writing fiction on a laptop. I couldn't get it to gel. Yes, I could revise the heck out of it, but it wasn't really worth revising.

I write on paper with a decent fountain pen and the words just flow. Even if they're bad. Even if it needs a dozen re-writes. I couldn't tell you why it's different, but it is. I just find that it works better.

YMMV.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[subseasniper]

I tried writing fiction on a laptop. I couldn't get it to gel. Yes, I could revise the heck out of it, but it wasn't really worth revising.

I write on paper with a decent fountain pen and the words just flow. Even if they're bad. Even if it needs a dozen re-writes. I couldn't tell you why it's different, but it is. I just find that it works better.

YMMV.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

That nails exactly how I feel. I don't fear a blank white page on MS Word but I feel a much stronger connection using a fountain pen. The fact that I am a left hander means I need to slow down when writing with a fountain pen. I am a very fast typist, I spend nearly all day at work on a computer checking reports, adjusting grammar etc. and I can type with the best of them but when I am creating prose I need to slow everything down and using a fountain pen helps with this way more than I ever thought it would.

 

Second draft will be a digital copy. First draft written by hand.

 

Oh, as for venerated writers who do it old school, I read somewhere that Neil Gaiman writes longhand with two Lamy 2000's that hold different coloured ink. He alternates each day so he can see how much he has written per day. I like that.

[Algester]

as a lefty overwriter and side writer I prefer the Lamy 2000 for extended periods of writing its not that "expensive" at least compared to the other offerings else the TWSBI 580 does the job for me personally I own a TWSBI mini
if I were to franken pen something I would like a Faber-castell nib unit on a TWSBI 580-esque body... being a lefty and proposing a faber-castell nib unit means something...
PS: the nib unit is known to be very wet and very smooth

Edited January 30, 2015 by Algester

[sirgilbert357]

<p>

 

My idea of what to write with for long writing sessions are:

• light weight, so my hand does not get tired
• comfortable grip, neither too small, nor too large

The ides of switching pens is also a good idea. I do that when I am journal writing.

 

But you also have to learn to write with comfort.

• LIGHT grip, so you don't get a hand cramp
• Light to no downward pressure on the pen.
• Arm writing, so your fingers don't get tired. Finger writing also required a tighter grip, which you do not want.
• Good sitting position; chair, table, posture.
• Good lighting.
• I like SILENCE so I can think without being distracted. Others want music or sounds of nature (wind, surf, etc).

Nailed it.

 

This is the most important stuff for a long writing session. I'll even push the envelope a bit and say that the pen weight matters less than the grip diameter. Arm writing, when used properly, all but eliminates pen weight issues. But an uncomfortable grip diameter or shape can kill pen holding comfort and even make you compromise your pen strokes (at least it has for me).

[sirgilbert357]

My recommendation is to buy a MacBook Air and MS Office for Mac and write your "novel" there. Much more efficient, and you'll end up with a better novel because you'll be able to edit at will. If you write novel in journals and notebooks you will be reluctant to edit, your edits will be less frequent, and your work will end up not as good. Plus at some point you'll need to enter it on a computer anyway, so why not get it captured on that final media in the first place? I am a poet and I keep a journal and write little bits of poems as they come to mind in journal with a fountain pen. It's fun and playful. Adds to my enjoyment. But I'd end up hating it if I was doing that with a 50,000 word novel and at the end was faced with task of entering it all in my computer. Sound romantic andf nostalgic and all that, but also sounds like an awful waste of time that will lead to fewer edits and a lesser-quality piece of literature. I've never heard anyone at an open mic read anything good that was hadwritten - I can tell when it's handwritten it's unedited and it's gonna be horrible. And it always is. Sounds like a good idea but in reality ain't gonna help get your novel published.

I find your post terribly difficult to read. I bet you hand wrote it first, huh?

 

Seriously, this is just your opinion and its most certainly in the minority. Use what works for you, but there's even been scientific research proving writing with a pen (any type) over using a keyboard activates and involves more of the brain. If I recall correctly, it also improves information retention (if note taking) and learning. It's not much of a stretch to see how it would enhance story writing. And your theory about hard copy leading to reduction of edits is certainly false in my own personal experience; things I put on paper become more personal to me and therefore I am more critical of them and drive harder to "perfect" them. YMMV.

 

Maybe all the "talent" at these open mics you go to just arent actually talented?

Edited January 30, 2015 by sirgilbert357

[benbot517]

The TWSBI 580 gets my recommendation. I've written with it constantly for an hour and a half with little to no hand fatigue. Plus, I find that watching the ink slosh around in the barrel fascinates me. Possible point of inspiration? Maybe!

[LionRoar]

My recommendation is to buy a MacBook Air and MS Office for Mac and write your "novel" there. Much more efficient, and you'll end up with a better novel because you'll be able to edit at will. If you write novel in journals and notebooks you will be reluctant to edit, your edits will be less frequent, and your work will end up not as good. Plus at some point you'll need to enter it on a computer anyway, so why not get it captured on that final media in the first place? I am a poet and I keep a journal and write little bits of poems as they come to mind in journal with a fountain pen. It's fun and playful. Adds to my enjoyment. But I'd end up hating it if I was doing that with a 50,000 word novel and at the end was faced with task of entering it all in my computer. Sound romantic andf nostalgic and all that, but also sounds like an awful waste of time that will lead to fewer edits and a lesser-quality piece of literature. I've never heard anyone at an open mic read anything good that was hadwritten - I can tell when it's handwritten it's unedited and it's gonna be horrible. And it always is. Sounds like a good idea but in reality ain't gonna help get your novel published.

 

This sounds like the correct answer, even though it's the answer that probably people don't want to hear (although I supposed that writers with Macs will make fun of you if you show up at a writer's convention with an ugly Dell).

 

I'd go further and recommend a desktop monitor and keyboard -- whether you hook up a Mac or PC, desktop computer or laptop computer to your monitor and keyboard is up to you and really not important.

Edited January 30, 2015 by LionRoar

[LionRoar]

there's even been scientific research proving writing with a pen (any type) over using a keyboard activates and involves more of the brain. If I recall correctly, it also improves information retention (if note taking) and learning. It's not much of a stretch to see how it would enhance story writing.

 

That research involved taking notes in a class-lecture type of setting (where people were probably taking unnecessary and ineffective notes when they were using a computer).

 

For writing a novel, what the OP said about being able to edit instantly and often sounds like a key advantage over hand writing.

[Charles Rice]

Just do what feels right for you and the heck with what everyone else says.

[sirgilbert357]

 

That research involved taking notes in a class-lecture type of setting (where people were probably taking unnecessary and ineffective notes when they were using a computer).

 

For writing a novel, what the OP said about being able to edit instantly and often sounds like a key advantage over hand writing.

 

Except the thread title and the OP seems to indicate he actually wants to write...with a pen. Which is perfectly plausible and edits are not even that hard if using loose leaf paper (just insert a page!). Recommending a computer and then calling the OP's preference of using a pen and paper (on a PEN forum no less) inefficient and likely to produce inferior results is just...let's just say "a bit out of touch with the whole point of the thread". That's it, I'm done here, don't want to derail the thread.

[Paddler]

When I am writing a story, I do it with pen and paper, up through 3 drafts and beyond, if necessary. I don't consider it to be wasting time. I refuse to let a clock make me frantic. I write the drafts double spaced and edit with a different color in the spaces. The second draft is copied out longhand with the edits in place and then edited again. If an edit is too lengthy to fit in an empty space, I use a new sheet of paper and JSR [editname] and RETURN to get the placement right.

 

Rewriting the drafts has never been a chore for me. I can read what I have written and remember all the enjoyment I had writing it. Editing is fun, too, as is the writing with my hoard of pens.

 

If you want to see lots of people making themselves frantic about getting their works published, just browse through the forums at Absolute Write Water Cooler. I refuse to run on that treadmill. There are easier and more dignified ways to make a living.

[Ernst Bitterman]

On the straight to computer VS handwritten first debate, I've tried both and I find that the latter is working better for me. I used to dread the prospect of typing things that I'd already gotten out of my head, but since I've tried it, I don't think I'll go back. The keyboard phase is jolly useful as an enforced edit, whereas I found the lack of distinct boundaries between first and second draft led me into two errors; I was forever fiddling with editing when I should have been creating, and then I was so sure that what I eventually got to the end of must be the shining pearl of deathless literary art that I got very mopey when someone else read if and pointed out errors in tense and similar stupidities.

 

However, I am in the "do as suits you" camp. Some people use typewriters for all drafts. Some can dictate their work, and that absolutely baffles me.

[requiescat]

Try India-made composition notebooks. Surprisingly fountain-pen capable, and one dollar at the Dollar Tree.

 

So you're writing science fiction. Look up SFWA. They may have levels of membership, where beginners can join. I was a member for years.

 

I also used to be on something like The Water Cooler...having trouble remembering names, lol. Oh, Absolute Write. Yeah. That's it. A forum. Haven't looked at it in a while.

 

Ask away. We're here to help.

 

SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America) has a membership requirement of having made a qualifying sale (associate membership) or sales (active membership). (I've been an active member for years myself.) There are also annual dues. They can be a useful resource but I would personally start with the free articles on their website (www.sfwa.org) before jumping in.

 

Absolute Write can be useful if you keep a level head. NaNoWriMo has useful articles even if you're not writing using that method/model. And once you've finished, critique groups like Critters or Online Writing Workshop can be useful (the latter has a fee associated with it, last I checked Critters didn't) if you take the crits with a grain of salt. Not all crits are helpful, and it's always up to you to figure out what to do with them.

 

I sometimes write using Scrivener on my PC and sometimes with a ballpoint and sometimes with a fountain pen. It all depends on whatever's handy at the moment. I used to worry a lot about water-resistance (I have an issue with spilling tea...) but lately I just keep my drink on a separate table. To the OP, good luck finding a pen/paper/ink combo that works for you, and best wishes with your writing!