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Who Writes with Fountain Pens? · 11 June 2022


I do not know whether you have noticed, but I have been using pictures of fountain pens on my blog lately.


For some reason fountain pens are synonymous with writing. At least in my brain. Or maybe it is just that I have used fountain pens as pictures for my blog when I have written about writing lately. I know. I have also used pictures of typewriters and keyboards in my posts about writing. But in my brain, the fountain pen points to writing more than either type of keyboard.


It is funny though. I have been using the fountain pen pictures before I wrote that I am like Stephen King. The reason that the timing is funny is because Stephen King does his daily writing with a fountain pen. I even imagine him using a quill pen and an ink well. Even though I suppose he probably uses a modern fountain pen.


Personally, I do not know that I could use a fountain pen to write every day. I would probably get cramps in my hand after a couple minutes. After all, I do not use a pen that much. I could use a keyboard for seemingly hours. But a pen is just too much. I think it is because I tend to grasp a pen too tightly, but I can relax my hands and fingers and arms when I use a keyboard. So I can write for long periods of time when I have the time and am so inclined.


Even so, I think there is some mystique or romantic notion associated with fountain pens. They are elegant. They are beautiful tools. They are sleek. But they can be messy.



The nibs on fountain pens can leak or they can pool ink in a spot if they are not moved smoothly. However, those little imperfections in the lines of writing with a fountain pen make the product more beautiful rather than less so.


Unless of course, you cannot read the writing. That is my problem. When I write by hand, I can barely read what I have written. It really does look like chicken scratching. Unless, of course, I write with block letters. Which does not take that much more time, but the ideas flow slower when I write by hand. Which is really why I write with a keyboard. I want to be able to read what I wrote and I want to be able to write as fast as my mind works. Which is not necessarily that fast, but it is faster than I can write with a pen. Especially, a fountain pen.


Still, I like the idea of writing with a fountain pen. And so I associate fountain pens with writing.


So there you have it. Now you know why I have been using pictures of fountain pens on my blog lately. (As if your inquiring mind really wanted to know.)

© 2022 Michael T. Miyoshi

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