For the Love of the Pen

For the Love of the Pen

My two fingers on a typewriter have never connected with my brain. My hand on a pen does. A fountain pen, of course. Ballpoint pens are only good for filling out forms on a plane. – Graham Greene

Today is Fountain Pen Day!

Regrettably, I was late to the fountain pen party – I did not buy my first fountain pen until earlier this year.

I know! How sad is that!

Then one day a friend tweeted something that caught my eye and down the rabbit hole I went.

Now I start the day with a pen in hand doing a bit of writing in my Traveler’s Notebook. It helps me organize my thoughts as well as my day. I have found it a great way to focus and it has helped me notice things that need to be changed, it helps me keep track of projects and how much time they take, and I think the process helps me be more creative. Moreover, the act of writing with a fountain pen is pure joy.

Now, I do not dress my pages up as some people do. While I think it looks great, personally for me it is too busy, too much of a distraction, and just too “scrap-booky”. I prefer a blank page eagerly waiting for me to deposit words to it. I am happy that my writing has increased drastically since I began to journal with a fountain pen.

Unlike Graham Greene, I do not dislike the practice of writing at a keyboard. However, about this he is right – there is something quite different and almost magical when you take the pen in hand and let the words flow with the ink to the page.

Put pen to paper today, gentle reader, and celebrate the written word.

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