How Much Do You Write?

[thesmellofdustafterrain]

Since words are my medium, I'm hoping that learning Spencerian script will teach my eye to communicate better with my hand. It's a lot like drawing, only things don't like a blob with legs. I'm only a few weeks into it and am still crazy-slow. But I love it. Once I've finished these workbooks (probably this time next year), I want to try copperplate. Then maybe I'll work up the courage to learn to draw.

[NT-Ned]

I still do quite a bit, being a trainer I do a lot of marking of assessments and all the other paperwork involved with that as well as an A4 day to page diary and journal at work (sometimes what happens at work during the day won't fit into a few dot points in a diary) and another journal at home and they all get written in daily.

 

On top of that there's the usual lists, notes, research etc etc.

[bguigz]

On top of the professional notes I take in meetings, I am corresponding with 3 penpals, writing a Father's journal about my journey into parenthood (that I intend to give my 7-months-old son when he is old enough) and a self-therapy / troubleshooting journal.

 

I also intend to start a notebook to collect great texts and quotes, and another one for my studies of the Russian language. Enough to put the pens to use !

[miwishi63]

Journal writing (daily), taking notes as I read/research my next book, drafts of letters, etc. The computer is rarely my first tool - I think better with a pen and a pad of paper.

 

-Mike

[Tom Kellie]

Journal writing (daily), taking notes as I read/research my next book, drafts of letters, etc. The computer is rarely my first tool - I think better with a pen and a pad of paper.

 

~ miwishi63:

 

Like you, a pen and a pad of paper are my default thinking mode.

Whether sketching or writing, holding a pen leads to a smooth flow of ideas.

Typing on a keyboard is like eating freeze-dried trail food on a long hike.

It meets the needs, but lacks the savor of a home-cooked meal.

Fountain pen sketching and writing is integral to my work and my play.

Tom K.

[phonelady61]

I don't write with my fountain pens, I draw sketches.

 

why my dear friend are you not illustrating books ? you are talented .

[phonelady61]

i write in journals everyday and on sunday im taking notes in church and you should see the looks i get . also take my fountains to my attorneys office to sign documents and the looks i get from people and they are like "Oh you are old school . when I signed all the legal documents for my house they were like oh gosh I have not seen a fountain pen in years .im glad im in good company with the lot of you all .

[thesmellofdustafterrain]

 

why my dear friend are you not illustrating books ? you are talented .

 

Or possibly selling print? Or originals?

[LeftyJim]

I journal. Have done for years. When I realized that I enjoyed writing with fountain pens I took it up a notch by making a list kept at the rear of my active journal. The list is full of topics that I can write on as and when I feel like it: perhaps I cannot face up to a certain subject on the day; so it goes on the list to be written about later. Philosophy. A note worthy daily event. Politics. Anything and everything goes on the list. Or I could just write about my day and how life goes.

[Charles Rice]

Starting small, I write nearly everythig with a fountain pen so,

 

If Carol asks me to look something on the web, I write down the note with a fountain pen.

During the summer I work at a golf course and when I sign my time card, I whip out the old Pilot Varsity,

I do a book signing, and my big concern is 'which FP should I use'

All my checks are written with a fountain pen.

Getting a little meatier, I usually write about a page every day in my journal

Then to letters. None to write today, but sometimes I'll write three or four.

 

And last but certainly not least, I wrote a 300+ page novel with my fountain pens, and am working (sort of) on another.

 

So, other than typing on this here fancy new fangled contraption, if I have to write it, it's done with a fountain pen.

[TSherbs]

Literature teacher. I write every day.

[max dog]

At work I always have a moleskine and push myself to take notes when on the phone, meetings, training/info sessions. A fountain pen makes the writing task enjoyable, and calming some times. Over the years I've found my notes to be an invaluable resource many a times.

[Bookman]

Not including lists, online posts, and emails, but including correspondence, and assuming a full week's writing I probably write between 9,000 to 12,000 words (30-40 8½ x 11 pages) in a typical week, all with a fountain pen.

[tsdesai]

I write only about three pages a day of rough notes at my work. When I do wet lab experiments I use ball pens or gel pens.

[Redpanda]

I study and make sure to write most things by hand. I would say about 10 pages daily (not just study notes). I have 8 pens inked as I like changing colours a lot.

[Thymen]

My handwriting was very poor. I found it very difficult to concentrate on the writing itself, as if there existed a sort of disconnect between my brain and my hands. While writing, the thoughts I wanted to put on paper came out totally wrong and illegible. I partly blame it on some very stressful years I had to go through.

 

I already had a very nice fountain pen, but I never used it. Until I picked it up again about half a year ago, and just started writing. But this time, without thinking. Just simple things, like names of days of the week, months, 'the quick brown fox', upper- and lowercase alphabets, etc. Page after page, every day, for many weeks. Nobody around, just me, a pen, a sheet of paper and some gentle music.

 

I purchased another fountain pen, a MontBlanc 146. New inks, some better paper. And I searched the internet for poems, that I started to copy. Then parts of books that I liked to read. And I do that almost every day now for a few hours. Therapeutic writing, no other goal but for the pure enjoyment of the writing itself. And, as a consequence, my handwriting has improved a lot, as if the link between brain and hands that was broken has been restored.

 

I have some more good pens now, a small collection of inks and enough paper to last me for quite some time. I am grateful I re-discovered the joy of writing...

[Tom Kellie]

Literature teacher. I write every day.

 

 

~ TSherbs:

 

I can imagine.

My students are undergraduates and graduate students in the life sciences, especially ecological field observation.

Despite that being less refined than literature, writing is a daily reality.

Field notes by fountain pen have a substantially greater long-term impact than their digital counterpart in a smart phone.

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

I study and make sure to write most things by hand. I would say about 10 pages daily (not just study notes). I have 8 pens inked as I like changing colours a lot.

 

~ Redpanda:

 

What you've written above is exactly what I enjoy seeing.

Eight pens inked and ready to write...Terrific! That's serious preparation.

Ten pages daily reflects deep commitment to handwriting.

I wish that my university students shared your exemplary approach to daily writing.

I hope that 2019 will be a great writing year for you, both for study and for personal tasks.

Tom K.

[TSherbs]

Tom, what kind of fp do you use in the field?

[Tom Kellie]

Tom, what kind of fp do you use in the field?

 

~ TSherbs:

 

It varies with the context.

Unlike notes at home, when Broad nibs are used, all field use pens are EF or EEF nibs.

If space is at a premium, e.g. on a forested mountain incline, or hiking in arid terrain, a Montblanc platinum Mozart EF.

The diminutive Mozart takes up little volume, has no appreciable mass, is a reliable writer, and records tiny notes in a small vest pocket notebook.

For field situations with greater maneuverability, a Bespoke Montblanc 149 EEF works well.

It never skips, is a smooth writer without any scratchiness, produces clear, slender strokes and lines in writing.

The greatest advantage of the Bespoke 149 EEF is that it is ideal for rapid sketches of context, which refresh my tenuous memory.

Fountain pens in the field have gradually become an integral feature of field observation.

Students do notice the fountain pens, especially when their gel pens or ballpoints produce messy lines in adverse climate conditions.

*************************************************

For correcting or annotating student research reports, examinations or draft manuscripts, a Montblanc Classique EF is the pen-of-choice.

In decades past I invariably used red ink, but the influence of FPN posts has broadened my taste to include most colors other than black.

Students in recent years have occasionally asked about possible digital correction of electronic homework.

My reply is that fountain pen comments underscore (literally in many cases) what needs to be emphasized.

After I retire, others may go the digital route. For me, fountain pens serve well in the field and in class.

Tom K.