Thread: Any Fountain Pen Users?

Originally Posted by Obie

Gentlemen,

"My two fingers on a typewriter have never connected with my brain," said writer Graham Greene. "My hand on a pen does. A fountain pen, of course."

That is the opening line for my little essay on fountains pens for my publisher Figlo Press. I expect to finish the essay in the next few days and will post the link to it here.

I grew up with fountain pens. My first fountain pen was the Pelikan, and while I no longer have that, I have two others. These days, every time I sit at my writing desk, I crave a new M800 green and black Pelikan with medium point and black ink.

Maybe I will not buy a couple straight razors I have in mind and spend the funds on the M800 Pelikan. Soon!

I was talking about writing in general (many of us just use a computer these days and jot simple notes; no writing as such) and also was talking about writing letters with a dip pen. We were talking about spell checkers on computers and the lack of the ability to spell; thinking you can just fix it up later. But when you write, you need to think about that. The people I was talking to were rather astonished at the idea of me using a dip pen. I talked about how it slows one down, needing to think about the forming of the letters as well as spelling, etc. Someone mentioned that there's some sort of benefit to the brain in actually writing rather than using a computer...

Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

I was talking about writing in general (many of us just use a computer these days and jot simple notes; no writing as such) and also was talking about writing letters with a dip pen. We were talking about spell checkers on computers and the lack of the ability to spell; thinking you can just fix it up later. But when you write, you need to think about that. The people I was talking to were rather astonished at the idea of me using a dip pen. I talked about how it slows one down, needing to think about the forming of the letters as well as spelling, etc. Someone mentioned that there's some sort of benefit to the brain in actually writing rather than using a computer...

Not only that, but it's a different thought process - for me at least! Whenever I encounter writer's block, I try to shake the cobwebs loose by altering my mental state in some way. Sometimes a change of scene will do the trick, sometimes thinking in French rather than English works, but sometimes simply abandoning the computer and grabbing pen and paper is what's needed. When I was a postgrad in Scotland sometimes the triple whammy was called for: thinking in French while walking on the beach (the one where the beach running scenes in Chariots of Fire were filmed), then putting pen to paper. Come to think of it, I really miss that...

Originally Posted by Cangooner

Not only that, but it's a different thought process - for me at least! Whenever I encounter writer's block, I try to shake the cobwebs loose by altering my mental state in some way. Sometimes a change of scene will do the trick, sometimes thinking in French rather than English works, but sometimes simply abandoning the computer and grabbing pen and paper is what's needed. When I was a postgrad in Scotland sometimes the triple whammy was called for: thinking in French while walking on the beach (the one where the beach running scenes in Chariots of Fire were filmed), then putting pen to paper. Come to think of it, I really miss that...

When I do what I call 'writing' (my ridiculous poetry) it's simply as the mood takes me; I never 'try' and write something. I just have a thought and then start typing. Normally I write a 'poem' (as I like to refer to them as) in about a minute, almost a stream of consciousness thing.

I wouldn't even dream of what it must be like to write a book; with all the planning and the back story and such...

Gentlemen,

Indeed, writing a novel is difficult. And it is hard work. For me, the hardest I have ever done in my life. And it takes patience and a tough skin.

And I love it. And using a fountain for the first draft makes me love it all the more.

My first novel Will's Music, due out soon, took me a year to write, and it went through several revisions, while at the same time I hosted a six-hour daily radio show as well as write for magazines and newspapers. I wrote the first draft with a fountain pen — Pelikan, Mont Blanc, Waterman, Parker and Schaefer — and then typed it in on the laptop. All the subsequent revisions, then, were done on the computer.

That's how I work. When dealing with a magazine or newspaper article, depending on the deadline, I usually work directly on the computer. Now and then, when stuck on a sentence or paragraph, I work it out with a fountain pen.

I wrote the first draft of my second novel with the fountain, and then on to the computer. The publisher already has the completed manuscript and I am awaiting her review, which will take a while. The same with my book of essays: the first draft was done with the fountain pen, and then on to the computer. I am awaiting my publisher's review of that, as well. My third novel, which I just started, naturally receives daily smooches from the fountain pen.

Yes, gentlemen, there is something magical in the fountain pen.

Obie, I'm beginning to believe that in your past life as an Assyrian Emperor you invented the fountain pen so it would be available to you in this present incarnation. Don't tell me I'm wrong, I was there as one of your Hebrew slaves and nudged you in the right direction.

Razorfeld,

My formal first name is Obelit, and I was named after Ashur-Uballit I, the ancient Assyrian king who ruled the empire from 1363 to 1328 B.C. Obelit is the Americanized version of Uballit.

The prefix Ashur is the national identity preceding many of the ancient Assyrian names. If you examine my avatar, it is the image of the ancient Assyrian god Ashur, also the symbol of the Assyrian nation.

As for the fountain pen, I know the inventor had old Obie in mind.

None of this helps my craving to buy the Pelikan M800 in the green and black. Oy!

Here is a little poem written with my jinhao and based on a real life experience, that I just experienced.

Sorry I don't know why pictures orientate themselves like they do,
It is a bit poo
Second draft

Gentlemen,

Here is the link to a short video I wrote and narrated in which you'll see my sweet Pelikan in action. The video was made in my study. Enjoy, and thanks for watching.

Looking for Lamassu on Vimeo

Obie, my dear friend, please create more of these kind of short videos. It was an almost poetic tribute to one of the now unseen, but still here, cultures of the world. The quiet way it was presented has stirred a corner in my mind that is always looking to the past for guidance in the future.

Thank you.

Razorfeld,

Bless your heart for the kind words. Thank you. Yes, I had a lot of fun writing and narrating that. The first draft was done with the fountain pen; subsequent drafts with the combination of fountain pen and my laptop.

The piece started as a long essay after visiting the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. The museum has a big Assyrian wing culminating with the massive statue of Lamassu, the winged bull. These giant Lamassu statues had a human head with a winged bull or lion body, and they were constructed at the entrances of the great palaces in Assyria, which flourished in the northern area of the present day Iraq. The Lamassu were meant to protect the palace against demonic forces, as well as to show off the king's great power.

Anyway, the essay ran some 20 handwritten pages (with the fountain pen, of course); then I typed it in on the laptop — about 15 pages. Eventually I fashioned the essay into two pages of narration for the video.