Quill Pens and Typewriters

[This Baron of Mora]

One of the things I hated the most about 'writing' (typing) on a computer is how unreal it seems, all you do is push a button and some digital pixels appear; you don't get anything 'concrete' until you print it out, sometimes even writing with a pen gives the same result.
But now I have got solutions to both sides; quill/dip pens and typewriters.

Quill/dip pens (and fountain pens to some extent) solve the writing problem in different ways. The fountain pen makes writing fast since, instead of grinding ink onto the page, it flows onto it; whereas as the dip pen gives a totally different aspect by make you write very light so that you barely touch the page at all, making you refill the ink every couple sentences may seem like a chore but it makes it really seem like you are doing all the work.

Typewriters, obviously, make typing more concrete by immediately (or briefly afterwards) putting what you press on a button onto paper.

In either regard you can get a sense of being a writer several decades or even a century ago, after all famous writers of ages past almost always used one of these; one example is J.R.R. Tolkien who hated fountain pens and insisted on dip pens, he did sometimes type on a giant manual typewriter but disliked it immensely.

[Bethany J.]

It's funny how different writers like different writing systems. I personally don't like writing by hand - it's too slow for my thought process and I am constantly editing and revising as I go, which is ideal for typing on a computer. Maybe it's because I'm of a young generation who can barely remember life before the family laptop? I do like to have the concrete printed work when I'm reading aloud or editing, although these days I rarely print because it takes paper and ink is expensive.

[metalikhan]

I like them all but for different reasons/purposes.

With the computer, I can speed along in the heat of a story without losing momentum and revise/correct quickly. Speed is the computer's best feature in the writing process. I came into using them at jobs where I worked, long before home/personal computers were available, so I appreciated their efficiency.

My old manual typewriter is nearly as fast, but it works whether there's power or not. (The newest computers have to be recharged at some point, and if there's no power, there's no recharging.) Plus I have a hard copy to work with when it's time to put a story in a computer file for submission somewhere.

Yeah, ink cartridges are expensive, so printing a computer copy is rarely an option for me, too, Bethany.

But when I really need to think about a story's depths or when I'm working with a more challenging construction than a straightforward A-B-C story, then it's pencil/pen. It's a discipline that forces me to slow down into the artistry of creation rather than hurrying through it. I liken it to the discipline of mastering brushstrokes rather than pushing keys to mimic brushstrokes.

**giggle** And speaking of ink, yes, I do make my own. Either all natural (walnut hull, oak gall, berries, etc.) or grinding it with my inkstick & inkstone. The old, nearly lost/forgotten arts don't lend themselves to instant gratification, but their processes have a serene beauty unto themselves that enhances the totality of creativity.

Besides, I have a strong DIY streak.

[Bainespal]

Jun 1, 2013 12:50:36 GMT -5 This Baron of Mora said:

One of the things I hated the most about 'writing' (typing) on a computer is how unreal it seems, all you do is push a button and some digital pixels appear; you don't get anything 'concrete' until you print it out, sometimes even writing with a pen gives the same result.
But now I have got solutions to both sides; quill/dip pens and typewriters.

Ah... the inner conflict between the luddite and the techie. I'm both a luddite and a techie at the same time. I love computers, but I understand the sense that thoughts flow better on real paper. I often do prefer to draft things by hand, and then I find that typing and editing simultaneously is efficient. But I only write with ballpoint pens and pencils; and I've only seen typewriters, never used one.

I get that feeling of unreality about travelling by car. I walk and bike almost everywhere, and I still don't have a driver's license. Now, I finally have come to the point where I really do need to get one. Driving feels extremely surreal; behind the wheel, I feel so removed from the action of the vehicle that I am controlling. Driving truly feels more like playing a videogame to me than anything else.

Tolkien reportedly disliked both automobiles and typewriters. We can only guess what he would have thought of the Internet.