For the Fun of It - fountain pens
how pens got me back into daily writing
Hi! My name is Ashlyn Anstee, and I tell stories with words and pictures. Sometimes, that’s picture books (like Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Select “Hedgehog”), or graphic novels (my series “Shelby and Watts”), and sometimes it’s animation (I’ve directed at places like Warner Bros. and Cartoon Network).
This column, “For the Fun of It”, will also have words and pictures. Sometimes it will be stories, or how-tos, or thoughts. A little bit of everything. Hope you enjoy!
On writing
Like a lot of writers, I struggle with actually writing. Yes, I’m aware that’s a funny statement.
“I don’t like writing, but I love having written.” - Dorothy Parker
But writing when you aren’t immediately in the flush of creative inspiration is kinda hard! In this case, I’m talking about prose or novel writing. I’ve written a few novels over the years, and had different tricks on how to get myself to finish them. Novels are a marathon, something that can’t be completed in a single sitting (such a bummer). I'm sure I’ll talk about some of the other ways I’ve tricked myself into writing, but here I’ll talk about my current method!
It started with this article about Neil Gaiman, and how he writes all his first drafts longhand (which, by the way, just means handwritten. I used to think longhand was like shorthand, which is a whole type of writing. Doesn’t longhand sound kinda more romantic though than handwritten.)
He switches ink each day, and just the vibe and aesthetic of sitting down to write in that way has worked for him enough that he’s written most of his first drafts that way.
Okay, I’m not Neil Gaiman, and I promise you that I’m not really an aesthetic cool person, but I thought I’d try it. And I truly love it!! Here’s why!!
A little at a time
It’s a really nice measurable way of getting something done each day. I have been trying to write just three pages in my notebook every day. It’s not a lot, maybe 200 words, but by doing it every day, I’ve really made a big dent in just a few months.
I love the fact that each day is in a different ink! I use this leucchterm notebook because Steven King’s son recommended it. I’m easily influenced by authors, clearly. It takes the pen really nicely, and it’s numbered so I can clearly see how many pages I’ve done.
And yeah, the aesthetic vibe is part of it! I spend so much time on my computer doing emails (or writing this newsletter), that writing traditionally gives me the same fuzzy feelings that drawing traditionally does. I’ve found out that Garth Nix writes in fountain pen for some of his drafts, and obviously tons of older writers (this is a fun read!).
The main downside is that of course you eventually have to transfer all your writing into your computer. That typing up process, though, is a great chance to do your first edit. And knowing you’re going to be able to edit later means you’re more free to write, make mistakes, and play. See!! Callback!!
I’ve also been drawing with fountain pens, but we’ll save that for another column so I can go into bigger depths about ink sketching and that sort of thing.
So yeah! It might work for you, it might not. You might love ballpoint pens or gel pens (my husband Grant is a ballpoint/legal pad kind of guy, though I’ve recently got him hooked on smoooooth Midori paper). You might just like the immediacy of the computer. There’s no right or wrong way to write, as long as you’re writing, if that’s what makes you happy!
Thing of the Week
About to get nerdy and boring here, so feel free to CLICK that BACK button or unsubscribe, haha! I come from a family of antique collectors, and so I too collect. Here’s my lil baby, my ring top pen from the 1930s!
This is my first vintage pen, and the main reason I was hunting for a vintage pen was for the vintage gold nib. Back then, more people wanted flexy nibs (for calligraphy and that sort of thing), so you get some really nice line variation. In the Fountain Pen Community, they call some of them “wet noodle” nibs. I love niche community lingo, hehehe.
So this pen makes really nice gorgeous lines! I also like it because I wonder what sort of letters it wrote. It’s almost a hundred years old. The ring top was worn by women sometimes, or even soldiers. If you want to fall down the rabbit hole, this guy has a wonderful blog on vintage fountain pens. Maybe you can ask your grandparents or great-grandparents if they have any fountain pens lying around. If any of them are Watermans, consider donating them to meeeeee (jk!)
Hope you are having a nice inspired week.
okay love you bye.
I write every story in long form because it just flows so much easier from thought to paper. When I try typing, I find myself editing my thoughts, and that’s the antithesis of a first draft! I’d get hooked on the aesthetic of different colored inks, too. That’s a clever way to mark progress!
I was very happy to get my Nana’s fountain pens. Non of them are fancy but all of them are so cool. I have this cool old lamy with an italic nib. I’m excited to hear about fountain pen drawing!