Shaggy's Left Handed Journey In Writing

Hello readers,

Today I wanted to share with you all just what I actually use my fountain pens for. I obviously use them for writing, but I mean what kind of writing I do with them. Up until very recently I have been unemployed for a period of time, so I haven’t been using my pens in any business setting. My new job mainly uses thermal paper so I can’t use my pens at work for most things.

My biggest use for my fountain pens has just been journaling and working on getting my thoughts under control. I spend a lot of my time writing down my thoughts and trying to understand them. I know that I could use any sort of writing instrument to do this, but there is something about how the ink dries on the page along with the fact that a good fountain pen requires next to no pressure to write. I have actually developed small habits of how I write and watch my words dying on the paper which are almost meditative in practice for me.

I handwrite all of my posts here as well, so I have been writing more since I started this blog. I have a notebook that is just used for these posts, and by keeping these I can see not just my growth in my own handwriting but my editing process as well. I know I still have lots to learn about, and am looking forward to learning it. I also find that writing my posts and then typing them allows me to find the correct words that I had struggled with while writing.

In addition to my main journal, I have more notebooks that I fill up with my random thoughts throughout the day. I only write one page each day in my main journal and just put the overflow of thoughts I deal with every day in random notebooks. I have also recently purchased a nice notebook from Barnes & Nobles that I take with me literally everywhere, and this has both notes about my new job and some of the things that I think of while I am out and about during the day

I have a few notebooks that I also do some creative writing in, ranging from short stories to scenes for a novel that I am cowriting. Part of why I enjoy doing this writing in a notebook is the fact that between when I write it and type anything up, I get another chance to make sure that my grammar is more correct that most word processers can catch.

One last thing that I use my pens for is actually some coloring. I don’t have much skill in drawing or shading, but I find coloring can be soothing and I love getting lost listening to the colors about which one to use for each section of the picture. I am currently doing both some geometric patterns and horror coloring books, and can spend hours just doing a small portion of the whole page.

I will write some more about my journaling habits in a future post, but I am going to end this one here. I would love to hear what you use your fountain pens for, so please feel free to share in the comments. My next post is going to probably be a review of that travelling notebook I recently purchased, but I am waiting to get a refill for it so that I can see how it compares to some other brands of refills. Until next time readers. Stay happy and healthy, and keep on learning!

Shaggy