How Much Do You Write?

[Studio97]

Still filling pages but on a lighter note 😁

Edited January 9, 2020 by Studio97

[vivdunstan]

My husband isn’t (yet) a fountain pen user. And he doesn’t usually write for extended periods. But twice in the last few days he’s written loads and said “I could do with a fountain pen right now!” Haha. Slippery slope.

[Tom Kellie]

My husband isn’t (yet) a fountain pen user. And he doesn’t usually write for extended periods. But twice in the last few days he’s written loads and said “I could do with a fountain pen right now!” Haha. Slippery slope.

 

~ vivdunstan:

 

The downward pull of fountain pen gravity exerts an inexorable force on the unsuspecting pen browser.

If your husband's feet slip, resulting in a fountain pen of his own, we're ready to welcome him.

Tom K.

[Nerdyhistorian]

Has anyone's writing frequency of writing changed with the start of the pandemic last year?

[inkstainedruth]

It has a little bit -- I was already doing a morning pages journal (and have been for over a decade at this point) and I use fountain pens for pretty much any writing (even something as prosaic as a shopping list).  I was really prolific during last year's NaPoWriMo (more so than normal).  We'll see how I do this year -- it's just a week and a half away at this point.  
I've also gotten some fiction done (although my plan for seven pages a week of first draft has been hampered by way too much "stürm und drang" and general stress; but the one advantage is that because I tend to write small, four pages in a composition book (or two if I write two lines per printed line) nets me 6+ pages of keyboarded in second draft in iPages -- presuming Courier in 12 point, double-spaced lines, with 1" margins (which mimics what a typewritten manuscript would look like).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[BigBlot]

I write a good bit with pen, pencil, and keyboard. On March 8 I started using a Zebra Gel Point at work. On March 22, noticed it was almost empty. Larger barreled gel pens last longer at work. For note taking and general writing, though, they also last me a little over two weeks.

 

I use fountain pens as much as I can not from the idea that I must use a fountain pen,  but because I like how they write. Today I'm trying the Jinhao 911 at work again, and it lays a line that's just a tad too broad. Will likely use fountain pens at work until I end up out in the field or something, and go back cringing to ball points, or to gels while grumbling about the waste.

 

I use fountain pens in my journals Here my favorite has become the Jinhao 911. The thickness of the line is just right for this purpose.

 

Other types of writing, other than revisions, have come to a standstill. Mostly it's self-censorship, but the problem with that is it's guessing based on assumption, and it's wearisome. I had a 14th Century character who's views likely would touch off all sorts of complaints, but they are views honest for the character in that place and time. Have found an alternate history short story I did a few years ago that was surprisingly good and might shop it, but don't have much hope in this day and age.

[inkstainedruth]

1 hour ago, BigBlot said:

I had a 14th Century character who's views likely would touch off all sorts of complaints, but they are views honest for the character in that place and time. 

I had the opposite reaction to the main character in the "Mistress of the Art of Death" series of mysteries: I found myself going "Here's a 13th C. character eating 14th C. food and wearing 14th C. and doing 15th C. dances..."  (the character is *already* somewhat anachronistic to begin with, being half English and half Italian and actually having gotten a formal university education as a physician and, well, a forensic scientist -- in spite of being a woman in the late 1100s...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Ethelios]

Just like every other student, I burn through paper and blue ink. The newest Parker IM feels good, consider it a blessing this pen doesn't leave the dragon's den, so no drops or thiefs can get them. They're mine, MINE Honestly, the paper part was the most surprising, I've cut no less than 3 notebooks and a couple pads to get more fodder. It's a great way to downsize a collection, just find a new hobby and let them go.

[Eoghan2009]

20g the limit for airmail on two 1st class stamps, above that you have you visit a post office.

[brokenclay]

3 hours ago, Eoghan2009 said:

20g the limit for airmail on two 1st class stamps, above that you have you visit a post office.

 

So sad! That explains the (weird to my US eyes) franking on the letters I receive from UK correspondents. 

[RAG]

I, too, am a big computer user, but I love my fountain pens. Writing with a pen, a really good fountain pen, is an enjoyable experience that is not matched by typing on a keyboard. One thing I have found, however, is that by having good pens, I want to use them so, rather than wait to find where I can use them, I make opportunities to write with them. Every now and then, I deliberately choose to not send email, but write and send a letter instead. I love getting a physical piece of mail on the box much more that I enjoy getting email.

 

A while back, I read in a catalog, selling pens, of course, that the most important thing you write is your signature, so why not write it with a quality instrument. I recently signed for the purchase of some property and the attorney offered me his cheap, give-away ball-point pen, and asked if I could use my own pen instead. I pulled out my limited edition Aurora Oceano Atlantico with Aurora blue ink and signed away.

[N1003U]

On 6/3/2021 at 4:24 PM, brokenclay said:

 

So sad! That explains the (weird to my US eyes) franking on the letters I receive from UK correspondents. 

I believe there are some international treaties that govern weights and tariffs for international postage. However, that still leaves the source country free to add their own internal fees for letters/parcels originating in the country, so there seems to be some variation in how much it costs to send a letter internationally, depending on the origin.

 

Interesting in the UK that an international letter in excess of 20g requires a visit to the post office...

 

This is the current standard schedule in Germany:

(Type of letter: domestic rate/international rate)

Post card: 0,60€/0,95€

Letter (up to 20g): 0,80€/1,10€

Letter (up to 50g): 0,95€/1,70€

Large letter (up to 500g, and B4 size): 1,55€/3,70€

[Mark from Yorkshire]

I write by hand almost everyday, be it my to do list for work or notes out in the field. Hand writing is not dead yet. If you are field Geologist or Engineering Geologist then until some smart Alec comes up with a way of recording data in the field that can cope with mud, rain water and the Great British Climate handwritten records of field data are here to stay

[Mark from Yorkshire]

On 1/2/2019 at 7:43 PM, miwishi63 said:

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

That makes two, I also print things off and then write corrections or notes. I hate screen reading things. I also cannot justify software for annotating pdf documents 

[kealani]

reviving this interesting thread/post.

 

For me: writing daily: laptop, computer, letters with pen and ink or vintage typewriters, handwritten journals and daily logs.

12 to 15 International and Domestic located wonderful correspondents. Each about a letter a month with goodies.

 

Aloha

k

[JonDoh]

For me almost all of my writing is electronic.  I don't even write checks any more to pay bills as that's done online.  Notetaking is via an electronic device which saves my notes in the cloud where they're available on any of my devices as well as organized.  Sadly gone are the days when I took notes with a fountain pen, paid bills by check and kept my calendar with a Day Timer.

[Katharine]

Yes, I'm often the same.  I used to prefer doing my creative writing on paper, but I admit I've since grown to prefer the computer because it's so easy to edit, go back and insert new things into old material, etc.  I love the feel of real pen and paper, but sometimes it's just much less convenient for many things, unfortunately.

[Horseflesh]

I'm really enjoying my new addiction to fountain pens and fun inks, but... I just don't need to write that much by hand. 

 

Most of my writing is inherently electronic. That even includes notebooks... I use OneNote which makes it super easy to include photo references. If I am keeping detailed notes on various hobby projects, the notes are just better when they are done electronically, which allows for easy editing, photos, links... 

 

Most of what I hand write are throwaway items like grocery lists, and work to-do lists, but seeking out the right paper and using fun pens makes that more enjoyable. 

 

I am taking music lessons and I do take a lot of handwritten notes there. There's no time to make pretty electronic notes in a lesson so I am learning how to make good, quick notes on paper. I'll often tear a page our and re-write it after the lesson though, to make it more legible. 

 

I know journaling is popular and that would be a good excuse to write more, but it just isn't for me. 

[inkstainedruth]

Ironically, journaling is what really got me INTO fountain pens in the first place.  I used to keep a diary growing up, but gave up when it became a log of what songs I heard on the radio.  But when I started reading The Artist's Way, one of the things you do is keep a morning pages journal (what I refer to as "the daily core dump").  And in order to get myself in the habit, I decided to buy a "nice" journal and and a "nice" pen.  In retrospect, the journal had really lousy paper, and the "nice" pen was a $6.95 US Parker Reflex, where the rubber on the section eventually disintegrated.  Same thing happened with the replacement; when Staples no longer carried them (and I still had cartridges of Quink Permanent Blue), I found an old-time stationers' shop in downtown Pittsburgh through Parker's website, and upgraded (LOL) to a Parker Vector.  And felt SOOOO extravagant spending a whole whopping nine bucks JUST for a pen (who knew what a rabbit hole I'd gone down)?   Wasn't sure whether I'd get used to an F nib (the two Reflexes were both mediums) until I found out how much further a cartridge went.

Now?  If I DON'T do my morning pages (which tends to take about an hour, since I write small and tend to write two lines per line on A5 paper) I find myself out of sorts....  For the times (generally Saturdays) if I'm getting up at the crack of dawn -- or before  -- to hit some estate sale that might have pens at it, I'll bring the journal along and either write that day's entry in the car, or while standing in line if the weather permits, or do it afterwards over breakfast (generally at one of the locations of a local diner chain).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[kealani]

While a person might go through many computers and cell phones and ipads, etc, in a lifetime. . . 
Vintage typewriters (whether manual or electric) as well as vintage fountain pens, (both hand made with Swiss Watch precision) will last and serve through many lifetimes and many owners and users.

So. . there's a certain nostalgia and perhaps, respect (not the right word), exchanged between that seemingly inanimate object and the human user.

Tid bits:
Noted romance novelist, Danielle Steele, wrote 90 of her novels on her favorite typewriter, even though owning computers when they came out.

Hemmingway and Steinbeck both composed their novels with pencils and paper. Though, later, Hemmingway switched to his favorite Royal Quiet Riter typewriter.

Tolstoy wrote all 1600 printed pages of "War and Peace" in rough draft with a pencil.

Jane Austen, Edgar Allen Poe, and Arthur Conan Doyle, wrote with feather quill pens. Austen mixed up her own recipe for Iron Gall Ink for pen nib dipping.