Dear Lemmy fountain pen community,

I’m well over 50 and I started using a fountain pen in school, when I was still a little kid learning to write. That was back in the 70s. All those years, I’ve always been using a fountain pen of some sort for most of the stuff I write, and sketch.

I was wondering how many of us were still using a fountain pen to write long-form content? I mean, are you using one to write letters, keep a journal, or for any other form of content?

Even though I don’t have a nice handwriting, I know quite a few people who like receiving my handwritten letters more than a neatly typed letter, and so do I. It kinda feels more personal and unique.

Beside the now too rare handwritten letter, sketching and keeping a journal another thing I like doing when I work on a long text is to draft it using a pen. Only once I’m done with that draft I will switch to the computer for the final typed version. It sure is much slower to write longhand which is exactly what I’m looking for: less speed, aka more time to (try to) think. And less distractions too ;)

  • LibbOPEnglish
    4·
    2 months ago

    this was in 1996, which i just now realize is almost 30 years ago

    ;)

    I’ve had pretty good response, though a few people seemed puzzled.

    Indeed. I noticed a few people reaching to me when they see me writing longhand, asking me what I do (and then why). Most of them being friendly.

    I write essays and short fiction, and writing on paper is just better for me. On a word processor, i tinker with wording too much: one sentence can take me ten minutes to finish. On paper, i move on and fix things when i type it up later.** I think paper lets me build momentum**.

    100% this. And it has been like that since… even before I got my first computer (in the early 80s) when I was using a typewriter: I love writing longhand, it helps me connect with whatever it is I’m writing and get in the… vibe/mood (I don’t know what would be the way to say that in English). Oddly, it’s only recently I decided to also switch my blog to longhand writing/drafting. I don’t publish more often, that’s for sure, but what matters to me is that blogging is a much more pleasurable experience than using WP on computer or a tablet.