Handwriting tools: fountain pens
Dip pens, ballpoint, rollerball, marker, brush, fountain pens. Many types for equivalent uses. Choosing the right pen when handwriting is like properly inflate your bike tires before going on a trip.
Well, in a certain way, writing do is a trip, a journey indeed, made of words and feelings.
I used to think fountain pens were only for businessmen or “important” people, events or meetings, these sort of things. In my imagination, this kind of pen was made only for celebrations, the sort of like “Hey, you graduate, congratulations. Here you are, a fountain pen!” Therefore, I didn’t like to use them. It felt the wrong tool to write my fantasy stories. Such an important object to put down in words my silly ideas… BUT, I discovered how this kind of pen actually fits my handwriting. I was re-reading “Writing Down the Bones” by Natalie Goldberg few weeks ago and I noticed how the author describes the fluidity of fountain pens.
I researched on the topic, and I was surprised in discovering how long the history of fountain pens is and the process which brought quill pens to the modern fountain pens we use today. I find fascinating how the ink converges to the nib and marks the page only when in contact with it.
So, I decided to approach it with a new point of view. I finally see it as what it actually is, a pen, a tool to write. A nice one with which I can put down in words my ideas in fast, fluent, smooth marks on the page.
And I loved it. In the last months I have been using fountain pens most of the time enjoying every word on the page.
My prejudice about these pens has turned into having fun using this tool to write first drafts of my fantasy stories and also, I now see them a way to celebrate my words on a page. As fountain pens are usually made of fine materials and elegant shapes, I think writing with one of them is a treat to my words, my creativity, a celebration, indeed, not for special occasions, but rather for everyday life.
If you are interested in the fountain pens I am using so far, you can find them on the following affiliate links:
*Hong Dian: https://amzn.to/4cOvP88
*Cobee Handcrafted Wooden: https://amzn.to/4dccFJ9
Mentioned books:
*Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg: https://amzn.to/3Lz5u1W