Pen For Novel Writing

[Ink Stained Wretch]

A friend wrote some parts of his novel with a cartridge-filling pen. I forget what model, but he was quite irritated by the small ink capacity of the short cartridges and converter, and eventually went looking for a pen that took long international cartridges. Not sure what he wound up with, if anything, but he was very unamused by the, ah, enforced 'scrubus interruptus' that short cartridges caused...

That's interesting. I sometimes write about 13 pages on a short international cartridge and there's still a little bit of ink left in it.

 

What pen, ink and paper was he using?

 

You might also want to do some searching to see what fountain pens some well-known writers (Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Neal Stephenson, et al) use for their writing.Gaiman mentioned in his blog at one point that his "pen pusher" friend recommends a Pelikano for serious, long-session writing. :-)

A Pelikano is a good choice. There are any number of good, inexpensive fountain pens that will fit the bill.

[AtomicLeo]

A lot of excellent suggestions, I'll +1 the "Try it out in B&M store if you can before you buy" and you will likely want a wider lighter pen for long writing sessions.

 

 

What I would suggest........

 

Pilot Vanish Point either a F or M. The medium is close to a fine and remember, small nib means less ink used.

1 box of Pilot Black Ink cartridges

 

and then order the following samples from Goulet Pens www.gouletpens.com

Aruroa Black, Noodler's Black, Noodler's Black Eel, Noodler's Dark Matter, Noodler's Heart of Darkness, J Herbin Perle Noire, Diamine Onyx Black

 

 

The Vanishing Point has several key feature you'll enjoy. It's a stout pen, comes in many different colors (the carbonesque blue and black are slightly lighter), the click feature allows you to 'cap' the nib when you need to pause, the smaller nib unit is very easy to fill from just about any bottle on the market (I can't say that about my 146 or Pelikan m605!) and it can be purchased for less than $140 online. I've seen prices as low as $90-100 used. Now why did I add the 1 box of Pilot cartridges? Well, Pilot black ink is quite nice you may enjoy it, but they are hands down the best things to use in a Pilot pen once the ink is gone.

 

The bottom of a Pilot cartridge has a small blue disk that can be removed by squeezing and pushing at the sides of the cartridge. Once it's removed you have an ink container that holds 0.8-0.9 mL of ink that is very easy to refill with a syringe kit. Goulet Pens and other online sites sell a kit for $6 called the Private Reserve ink syringe. The capacity is comparable to many of the piston fillers.

 

If the Vanishing Point is much for your budget, you should also consider the Pilot Prera. Also a good pen that is a bit wider than many of the cheaper fountain pens on the market, although it is on the short side. It's a bit shorter than a m200. It also takes the same cartridges as the Vanishing Point.

[Anne-Sophie]

The answer to comfortable long sessions of writing with no interruption for ink run out is to use several school pens of slightly different girth filled with the same ink.

 

A couple of wood pencils or mechanical pencils should be kept handy for correction and inspiration between fountain pen fills.

 

 

I like modern school pens, why? Most are made of lightweight plastic, very rugged and reasonably priced.

 

I recommend the following line up:

 

Black Lamy Safari, Pelikan Future, Sheaffer NoNonsense and Waterman Phileas.

 

Being school pens, they are converter/cartridge pens but rotating among them will avoid the dreaded hand cramp feared by students and writers everywhere.

 

 

However, your sense of aesthetic might be different than mine so you need to check the Pen reviews index

and Pictures of pen collections.

 

After finding out about favorite looking pens, you might check the Brand Focus sub forum and ask question on Writing Instrument sub forum about brands not in the Brand Focus sub forums.

 

 

The best, richest and darkest black ink is Noodler Black. Noodlers bottles are generous so it will last a long time.

 

 

Good paper is a must for pleasurable fountain pen writing.

 

The best grided and lined paper is found in Rhodia Notepads and Clairefontaine Notebooks.

 

If you like blank paper a good printer paper works, check recommendation on the Paper and Pen Paraphernalia sub forum.

 

User grade fountain pens of modern or vintage production can be found in the Marketplace for very little money.

 

 

Keep us posted on your journey to find the perfect fountain pen.

Edited June 25, 2011 by Anne-Sophie

[zap210]

Greetings oDucksFTW

 

If you are planning to write more than a few pages per day and you write fast, consider the following:

- a smooth wet writer

- a fine or medium ball end point for more pages per refill

- no dripping while you are sitting there thinking

- relatively inexpensive and readily available

- correct diameter and length (it should fit your hand)

- paper that resists feathering

 

A good pen should disappear when you are using it.

 

Wet writing allows you to rip across the page fast without skipping as does a spherical pointed nib.

 

If the ink collector allows pooling, you will have blots over your pages. Very annoying. Paper that soaks up ink like a sponge is also annoying. Particularly when it soaks through to the paper below.

 

Like cars, the more expensive they are the less often you use them.

 

Older hooded or semi-hooded pens like the Parker 51, 61, and super 21, Aurora 88's, MB's, Sheaffer's can be very good and reliable, but may have to be sent to a repair guru first. Once working, they can go for many years without problems and take whatever you can give them. They can be uncapped for a long time before they become hard to start.

 

Older non-hooded pens dry out faster which means you will have to start them on the page before writing (unless they are wet writers). Most pens made today are non-hooded.

 

A good starter pen to consider would be a Pelikan 100 or 200 series with a steel M or B nib. They are inexpensive, reliable, readily available, and are good writers. They are smallish, though.

 

As for inks, try Parker Quink first. Its thinnish, but seems to work in most pens without clogging problems associated with thicker inks.

 

Avoid cartridge pens unless you like stopping to refill them often.

 

Happy hunting!

[kazoolaw]

As you can tell, we'd all like a bit more information. Which may be difficult as you haven't used fountain pens much.

 

Let's ask you some questions and see if we can tease out something that may help us recommend something to you:

 

-how much do you want to spend?

-what did you use when you wrote by hand before?

=was it about the right diameter?

=was it about the right weight?

=how was the length?

-what kind of paper do you intend to use?

-where will you be doing most of the actual writing?

-are you willing to spend a little time learning to fill a pen, or does popping in a cartridge and starting off sound better?

-are you willing to risk addiction to fountain pens, ink and paper? (google "Barthes fountain pen")

 

Some of the answers are what we would use. The questions are trying to figure out what you would like to use.

 

gary

[oDucksFTW]

As you can tell, we'd all like a bit more information. Which may be difficult as you haven't used fountain pens much.

 

Let's ask you some questions and see if we can tease out something that may help us recommend something to you:

 

-how much do you want to spend?

-what did you use when you wrote by hand before?

=was it about the right diameter?

=was it about the right weight?

=how was the length?

-what kind of paper do you intend to use?

-where will you be doing most of the actual writing?

-are you willing to spend a little time learning to fill a pen, or does popping in a cartridge and starting off sound better?

-are you willing to risk addiction to fountain pens, ink and paper? (google "Barthes fountain pen")

 

Some of the answers are what we would use. The questions are trying to figure out what you would like to use.

 

gary

 

Wow! I'd like to thank everyone for being so helpful and informative. I apologize for being so vague. I truly had no idea there was so much to consider when picking out a pen to use for writing fiction. Gary, and others, I'd like to spend no more than 150 dollars for a pen. When I wrote before I used a simple click gel ink pen made by bic. I think it cost ten dollars. I often had to replace the ink cartridges, but I favored the consistent rich black flow of ink. As for paper, I liked the look of rhodia journals. In the past I used nothing less than 20lb college ruled paper, perforated in spiral bound 200 page notebooks. Pretty much I write anywhere and everywhere. Occasionally even at work. I definitely want to learn how to fill a pen with ink. Everything I've read from everyone indicates that using ink from a bottle completes the process and makes it all the more fulfilling, not to mention that it seems you have to refill less. One final thing, I've always had an affinity for pens and paper. In the last couple of days I've discovered that maybe I've stumbled upon my life's newest passion. Thanks again.

[Bo Bo Olson]

One has to make back ups, very regular.

 

I may scribble some first draft or expanding of an idea...but I use a computer.

For correction I find a Fine nib to be good, you do have the other side of the page should you need to expand.

I like writing expansion, with Medium or even Broad nibs, but when working between the lines I use Fine...EF is only half a letter of my 7 letter last name smaller...and it's is for me a bit dry, and one has a smaller sweet spot.

 

Of course those are vintage nibs, that run '1/4th-1/2' size smaller and sharper than modern.

[hari317]

Something that meets the demand of many hours of constant writing, that flows quickly and whose ink is a rich black. In advance, thanks.

I suggest that you visit a mont blanc boutique near to you, try the various meisterstuck pens on display with the wide variety of nib sizes. I think a 146 or a 145 Chopin will be suitable for long haul writing. Mb blue black is a nice shade of permanent ink.

[DanielCoffey]

But will you be able to find anything in the MB boutique within that budget?

[hari317]

But will you be able to find anything in the MB boutique within that budget?

 

I just noticed that the op has mentioned a 150 usd budget in the subsequent posts. A new meisterstuck is automatically ruled out. I suggest that the OP try a lamy 2k which is a decent pen at a good price of around 120usd.

[kazoolaw]

Wow! I'd like to thank everyone for being so helpful and informative. I apologize for being so vague. I truly had no idea there was so much to consider when picking out a pen to use for writing fiction. Gary, and others, I'd like to spend no more than 150 dollars for a pen. When I wrote before I used a simple click gel ink pen made by bic. I think it cost ten dollars. I often had to replace the ink cartridges, but I favored the consistent rich black flow of ink. As for paper, I liked the look of rhodia journals. In the past I used nothing less than 20lb college ruled paper, perforated in spiral bound 200 page notebooks. Pretty much I write anywhere and everywhere. Occasionally even at work. I definitely want to learn how to fill a pen with ink. Everything I've read from everyone indicates that using ink from a bottle completes the process and makes it all the more fulfilling, not to mention that it seems you have to refill less. One final thing, I've always had an affinity for pens and paper. In the last couple of days I've discovered that maybe I've stumbled upon my life's newest passion. Thanks again.

 

I'm guessing a slender pen will work for you. DA Young's suggestion of a Pelikan M215 would work very well, as would the M200. Go to Richard's Pens site and use this page

http://www.richardspens.com/pens/compare.htm

to compare the size and weights of various pens. You can compare many of the pens you'll read about here: Lamy 2000, Esterbrook J, Montblanc 146 and 149, Parker 51, and the full range of Pelikans. At your price point the Pelikans are no nonsense, write-and-write-and-write pens. Buying from a well-know dealer will make sure your pen's good to go out of the box. Richard is not the only excellent dealer. And I've had good luck buying from complete unknowns. But to minimize the risk that's an excellent place to go.

 

There are many modern pens which use cartidges and converters within your range. The Pen Review section index is an easy way to look at many pens.

 

You can also go to a used, vintage pen. Parker 45's and 51's fit your description, as does an Esterbrook J. Shoot, you could buy several and still not spend your budget. The issue with vintage is what shape they're in and, if restored, how good the restoration was.

 

Have lots of fun looking and learning. Once you get started using a fountain pen it would be highly unusual for you to own just one. And we've not even gotten into a discussion of ink and paper brands.

 

Good luck on your writing,

gary

[jameswatts]

Hello, all! I'm quite uninformed when it comes to fountain pens. In fact, I had no idea there was such a devotion to them. Never even knew there was such a thing as a nib. A decade ago I wrote a six hundred page novel, as well as a handful of short stories, by hand. I tried many different pens throughout the creation of my novel, but ultimately I settled for something that flowed quickly, darkly, and smoothly. The ink I preferred was black. All of this, mind you, occurred prior to my purchase of a PC. Since then I've abandoned pen and paper for the digital screen. And since then I've lost numerous stories and notes in various ways. There's no loss, save for the loss of a loved one, that compares to losing that which you've spent hours creating. In all the years before my PC I devoted to pen and paper, hunkered over desk or table, I never lost a single word. I still have my writing stored in a couple of boxes in one of our closets. My question, to all you well informed folks, is which pen would you recommend for writing a novel? Something that meets the demand of many hours of constant writing, that flows quickly and whose ink is a rich black. In advance, thanks.

 

I would second (or whatever number we're on) the recommendation of the Lamy 2000. I've used mine to write the first drafts of about half a dozen plays over the years, because it is very reliable, holds a good amount of ink per filling, and the nib is such that it practically skates across the page. It also is well within your price range.

 

The Vanishing Point by Namiki Pilot is another excellent pen -- the only caveat might be the proprietary cartridges it requires.

 

Another good brand to consider is Waterman. You can often find this brand of cartridges in most mega office supply stores, and I have never had a problem with any of the various Waterman models I own.

 

When it comes to writing, the best pen for the job is the one that doesn't get in the way of the flow of words....

[Ernst Bitterman]

If you do all your writing in one place, you might also consider an Esterbrook Dip-Less well. While it's not a fountain pen, one gets about about half a page (single spaced) from a dip, so dipping between paragraphs when one pauses to form the next thought is easy enough. The base holds 30ml of ink, which is the size of a small bottle or between 20 and 30 refillings of most fountain pens (or probably 10 fills of the Belmont Postal-- it is quite a garagantua).

 

Having said that, I also urge you to look for something you like the feel of. Even the pathetically small converter Waterman supplies allows enough writing time in a fine point to make you want to get up and get a drink, so capacity isn't really the sine qua non of a novel-writing pen. The Pelikano does look like a good candidate in this regard, with its semi-ergonomic grip, but a lot depends on your own hands and inclinations. Do investigate vintage pens as well, since the ones still around have few vices left in them, they were made when expectations of fountain pens were rather higher, and when it was expected that a pen would see a lot of writing, and even restored ones are well within your maximum price range.

 

For ink, I've found Pelikan and Herbin blacks to be all one could want in the line of darkness, and the Pelikan tends to be well-behaved on most papers, but there is something to be said for the dogged permanence of the Noodler's inks mentioned previously.

[Grin]

Wow! I'd like to thank everyone for being so helpful and informative. I apologize for being so vague. I truly had no idea there was so much to consider when picking out a pen to use for writing fiction. Gary, and others, I'd like to spend no more than 150 dollars for a pen. When I wrote before I used a simple click gel ink pen made by bic. I think it cost ten dollars. I often had to replace the ink cartridges, but I favored the consistent rich black flow of ink. As for paper, I liked the look of rhodia journals. In the past I used nothing less than 20lb college ruled paper, perforated in spiral bound 200 page notebooks. Pretty much I write anywhere and everywhere. Occasionally even at work. I definitely want to learn how to fill a pen with ink. Everything I've read from everyone indicates that using ink from a bottle completes the process and makes it all the more fulfilling, not to mention that it seems you have to refill less. One final thing, I've always had an affinity for pens and paper. In the last couple of days I've discovered that maybe I've stumbled upon my life's newest passion. Thanks again.

 

I'm guessing a slender pen will work for you. DA Young's suggestion of a Pelikan M215 would work very well, as would the M200. Go to Richard's Pens site and use this page

http://www.richardspens.com/pens/compare.htm

to compare the size and weights of various pens. You can compare many of the pens you'll read about here: Lamy 2000, Esterbrook J, Montblanc 146 and 149, Parker 51, and the full range of Pelikans. At your price point the Pelikans are no nonsense, write-and-write-and-write pens. Buying from a well-know dealer will make sure your pen's good to go out of the box. Richard is not the only excellent dealer. And I've had good luck buying from complete unknowns. But to minimize the risk that's an excellent place to go.

 

There are many modern pens which use cartidges and converters within your range. The Pen Review section index is an easy way to look at many pens.

 

You can also go to a used, vintage pen. Parker 45's and 51's fit your description, as does an Esterbrook J. Shoot, you could buy several and still not spend your budget. The issue with vintage is what shape they're in and, if restored, how good the restoration was.

 

Have lots of fun looking and learning. Once you get started using a fountain pen it would be highly unusual for you to own just one. And we've not even gotten into a discussion of ink and paper brands.

 

Good luck on your writing,

gary

[KCat]

I take a very different approach to most of those mentioned (such that I can tell from skimming). With your budget it's a little difficult to do just yet so just keep this in mind for later. I keep several pens inked. Three VPs and a couple of Pelikans and a couple of Sailors (those just happen to be the pens most comfortable for me). The VPs allow me to pause and think if need be and despite their weight are extremely comfortable to me. The Pels are high capacity and very comfortable and the Sailors while not high capacity are extremely comfortable for long writing times. But with 6 or 7 pens at the ready, how much inking will I have to do in one session? None. Plus, having a variety of pens to work through allows my hand enough variation to not get "locked up" in one configuration - reducing fatigue overall.

 

It's what works for me. As I said, not suitable right now for your budget unless you buy like a couple of Preras and a couple of Safaris and maybe one Pelikan 200. But all of those are relatively small at the section so it depends on what you need in terms of weight/size.

[raigne]

A note about paper: If you write in cheap notebooks because you like or have to, you're in luck, being in America. Composition books are very fountain pen friendly. Walmart's Norcom books are less than a buck, but you want the ones made in Brazil, not the ones made elsewhere. They're even made from sustainable wood.

[Bookman]

All other things being equal, I recommend a piston-fill pen. For long bouts of writing, it's nice to know your creative flow won't get interrupted by a dry nib.

 

It bears repeating: an online photo or any number of FPN reviews can't tell you whether any pen will be comfortable enough for you to write for long stretches. Buying online without test-writing first is a crapshoot. There's no substitute for trying the pen in a brick-and-mortar. And if you find the pen you want there, buy it there.

 

If composing on old-fashioned white notebook paper unleashes your daemon, then I recommend you buy a ream of HP 24lb. LaserJet paper (your nib will scoot across the page), go here and download a notebook-paper template (or your own semi-customized template of lines) for free, and print the lines onto the paper with your ordinary inkjet printer. If you write on one side only, save ink and only print on one side. If spiralbound notebooks help, take your stack of paper to Kinko's where they'll make a covered spiralbound notebook for you for about $5. You won't have perforations, but the sheets will tear out easily.

 

If you have a scanner, scan your finished manuscript pages into your desktop computer. Save them as PDFs. Then back them up onto a flash drive.

Edited June 27, 2011 by Bookman

[Ink Stained Wretch]

The answer to comfortable long sessions of writing with no interruption for ink run out is to use several school pens of slightly different girth filled with the same ink.

 

A couple of wood pencils or mechanical pencils should be kept handy for correction and inspiration between fountain pen fills.

 

 

I like modern school pens, why? Most are made of lightweight plastic, very rugged and reasonably priced.

 

I recommend the following line up:

 

Black Lamy Safari, Pelikan Future, Sheaffer NoNonsense and Waterman Phileas.

You think the Waterman Phileas is a school pen ?

 

The Sheaffer No Nonsense fountain pen approaches the school pen category from above, but I don't consider any of the pens you've named to be school pens.

 

School pens are things like Pelikano Jrs. or Pelikanos, or the Stypen Ergo-Plume (which has been taken over by BIC), something like that.

 

For vintage fountain pens in this category I'd say that the Sheaffer cartridge pens, or the aptly named Sheaffer school pan would certainly qualify, and the Reform 1745 or the Reform student pens would also be vintage school pens.

 

Avoid cartridge pens unless you like stopping to refill them often.

HUH :bonk: ? In large part many non-cartridge fountain pens hold less ink than cartridge pens do. The small international cartridge holds generally about 0.75 mL or ink, IIRC a long international cartridge holds about 1.2 mL, a Pilot cartridge holds about 1.4 mL and a Type I Sheaffer cartridge holds about 1.5 mL of ink.

 

Quite a few self filling fountain pens hold less than those capacities.

[backsideslappy]

I would argue also that it takes quite a bit less time and is a less involving mental process to replace a cartridge than it is to refill a pen. Not currying favour for either the cartridge or non-cartridge camps, just saying that if churning out words without interruption is an issue, having a cartridge taker on hand might not be such a bad thing.

[Bo Bo Olson]

If you fill you piston filler with your first cup of coffee, you should be good to after lunch.

 

The P-51 is a good pen to keep the ink wet as you think.

 

A stamp sponge might be good to have...in some pens dry up a tad during long slow thinking.