(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)
What are you writing for NaNoWriMo this November? That's the question I ask my writing students, and myself, at the end of September every year. Because if November is all about writing, then October is all about getting ready for writing. I'll certainly be spending October preparing, and there's one particular plan weighing on my mind. Which pen should I use?
Usually I pick a fun rotation of pens. This year I thought it might be fun to do the whole challenge with just one pen. But which one? Maybe you can help me.
I need a pen that:
Is durable. This task isn't for the weak.
Is comfortable. Heavy pens and 4-hour writing sessions don't mix.
Has a high ink capacity. It doesn't have to be a total tank, but I don't want to have to stop to clean it every other day.
Is easily obtainable. Nothing limited, rare, or not in production.
You're curious about. Is there a pen that you want to know how it would perform long-term, but don't want to wait long-term for the answer? I'll do a year's worth of writing in a month and let you know. I'll be blogging the whole experience, so we'll all be getting to know this pen very well. Suggest something that you want to see tested.
This pen and I will both be testing our mettle in November. I won't be starting a new project. I have a novel draft that's already over 50K words, but it needs at least another 70K words to be complete, so I'll be diving back into that project and trying to get it closer to finished. I also have five short stories due by the end of the year, and the re-write of the novel I did for NaNo a few years ago that I need to work on, as well. I'll try to do the stories and re-write in October and December, but there's no denying that November is going to be a busy writing month. Especially because I'll be traveling for the first week. But the beauty of analog tools is that they work no matter where you are, so I'll be writing in hotels and airport terminals, taxis and cafes.
Help me choose my pen for NaNo! Post suggestions in the comments, or hit me up on Twitter or Instagram @inkwellmonster. Please also tell me what you're working on for NaNoWriMo this year.
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