I am about to write a letter, by hand, with a pen. I don’t do that very often, and it is especially weird, knowing I’m about to write a letter to someone who knows my writing voice, but not my actual voice, and knows my writing style, but not what it looks like. My hand-writing therefore becomes important, part of my identity, how I present myself, and brings up so my questions: what paper shall I use, what does it say about me, will the recipient care, and am I over-thinking* this?
Then when the paper decision has been made, there is the issue of choosing the best pen to write with. It’s not just about the look – though the look is important, and saw the early elimination of the sparkly blue pens – but also how comfortable it is to hold, the way it makes me form the letters, whether I can write more than one sentence using that pen without getting cramp in my hand. Sometimes, the only way to figure this out is to try them all out. The winner however won out of sentiment, ignoring practicality – a fountain pen I’ve had for years, bought in Japan and given to me by my husband over 20 years ago, and not always comfortable to use, or resulting in beautiful letters – but it seemed right for the recipient. Though I may yet change my mind, as the long overdue letter remains unwritten.
* (Answer: 100% yes!)
One reason I never get emails answered and blog posts written is overthinking things. I love this.
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It must have been fun trying all that! Is the last one the fountain pen? That looks good 🙂
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Yes, it was the last one.
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Another over-thinker here – love this! And I’m jealous of your handwriting – if I really focus, I can make my words legible, but it’s hard work.
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Oh, how lovely. I am a sucker for a good pen, and love these purple Pentel EnerGel pens so much that I buy them myself throughout the year to use for grading and notes. Actually, I gave them out to my students last year as holiday prizes because THEY loved the pen, too. Hey, anything to encourage better handwriting! 🙂 I’ve been getting in the habit of sending handwritten cards to people this summer — emails are nice, and facebook makes you feel like you’re being more connected than you really are, but nothing really touches a person like a handwritten note. You’re right, you totally process differently when you handwrite. You have to be more careful, more thoughtful… no delete button. I hope you found the pen that was just right, and you enjoy writing and sending that letter!
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I 100% understand this! This is exactly how I am when I write letters. I spend so much time looking at my pen collection and figuring out which is right. I am low on stationery right now, so that decision has been simplified for me 🙂
I love the color on the 6th one down. Great blue!
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I’ve never been able to pull off a fountain pen (although in 5th grade it was the only writing tool allowed) but I own a few. I recently purchased a pen that I really like. Might blog about it.
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I haven’t handwritten an entire letter in a long, long time. The odd thank-you note or note in someone’s Christmas card, maybe. But I have a longtime weakness for pretty paper & coloured pens, lol. I still have a sizeable hoard of boxed thank you notes & blank cards.
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The old gent behind the shades, sitting on a park bench and unaquainted with mod cons, is writing in a pocket-sized notebook with a ballpoint pen. And it starts to rain. He’s forgotten his cap and his umbrella, but doesn’t notice the rain. And he’s writing so quickly, and his hand-writing so awful, he won’t recognize a word when he gets home.
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I am dying to know who the intended recipient of the letter is, and why you have chosen this marvellously retro method of communication.
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Someone (who may live not that far – in global terms – from you) mentioned on Fb that they liked receiving snail mail, and hand-written letters, but they never get them any more. So I said I’d write them a letter. Now I have to live up to my commitment!
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