I spent decades using a fountain pen a minimum of five hours per day. Sometimes double that. Sometimes three times that. I did all sorts of writing, both at jobs, and as a writer. Two of the five western novels I sold were written with fountain pens, as well as three of the novels I ghosted. Because of very tight deadlines, I had to write the others on a typewriter. I also wrote and sold dozens of short stories, essays, poems, and you name it with a fountain pen. I wrote my first thousand dollar short story with a fountain pen in just five hours, from initial idea to final draft. I had a standalone word processor, and then a computer, but fountain pens and typewriters just worked better for me, with the exception of incredibly tight deadlines, which I tried to avoid. There's good scientific reasons for writing in longhand. The main reason is that we don't write letters and words, we draw them. Drawing is done with the creative center of the brain. which means that when you're actually writing, that center of your brain automatically fire up. This certainly doesn't mean that great novels can't be written with a keyboard, but it does mean there's a distinct and measurable advantage to writing in longhand. Oddly, mechanical typewriters are also very good at firing up this same center. Electric typewriter do the same, but not nearly as well. Keyboards do nothing, and firing up this center must be done by the person. You get no automatic rocket ignition. Now that we can actually watch the brain in real time as the brain's owner performs a task, this has all been verified. Anyway, I'm sixty-seven now. I "retired" for health reasons about eighteen years ago. But I'm bored, and am considering getting back into writing, at least to some degree. Everything in publishing has changed, though, and I'm not sure I can make myself fit into this new puzzle. But I still have fountain pens because I love them, and there is no escape from that particular rabbit hole. I also have a lot of good paper, and editors loved me because I wrote a LOT of first drafts that were good enough to sell without the need for revision, rewriting, or editing. As Isaac Asimov said, they always want good writers, but sometimes they want fast writers even more. And if you're both good and fast, you can sell what you write. I always followed Heinlein's Rules For Writing. I've found most successful writers do, even if they've never heard of them. Robert J. Sawyer explains these rules better than anyone. You can find his explanation here: sfwriter.com/ow05.htm Anyway, good video, and best of luck.

@michaelmelling9333

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks very much for your comments and the link; all very helpful! As a show of gratitude: Volva is running a contest in which they're going to give away two-million dollars worth of cars to people that sign up before the game and if there's a safety in the Super Bowl. ( "Safety" because they stress it in the design of their cars.) If a safety happens, then there'll be a random drawing ... making for good odds, especially if the QBs know about the contest and deliberately take one if their team is winning by a big margin! Good luck!😀

@rathodkaran6190

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your lovely comment dear sir, if you have any more tips or wisdom to pass, do share it!

@ArifGhostwriter

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for taking the time to write this! My big question is - how exactly do you reliably transpose written words into a Word document, or whatever bridge is needed, for ultimate printed publishing?

I'll find any excuse to use a fountain pen, but yeah it's a long process. Gaiman has published photos of his handwritten rough drafts and they're very rough. They look more like fleshed out outlines. He writes big, as well.

When writing by hand, fountain pen is the only viable option as it is so much faster then other pens. When I have to write texts, I sometimes write the first draft by hand - just because I like to work away from the computer (I‘m an IT consultant). Instead of a notebook I prefer loose cheats, so I can rearrange and annotate later.

@jamesaritchie1

3 жыл бұрын

There are some very nice fountain pen friendly notebooks that allow you to rearrange sheets. I have no need for them, but I have friends who swear by them.

@josephkauslick5034

Жыл бұрын

@@jamesaritchie1 I’d love to know where to get them or what brand to look for. Fountain pen friendly notebook and rearrangeable sheets is my holy grail.

I’m just now rediscovering my old novel drafting process from back in the day, which is to draft pages in longhand each morning and input those pages into a word processor later that night (or at least every few days) allowing myself a bit of an editorial pass to tweak things as I transcribe. I find that between the steady forward momentum and the far cleaner drafts, I save time over getting stuck in perfectionism, pausing a project, getting frustrated with longer and more complicated rewrites and revision drafts, etc. I may not turn out a mind-blowing number of words per day but I really feel I win out with this method when all is said or done. Great vid, thanks for sharing, even if I’m late to the party 👍

While I don't write novels, I do complete all my university exams using fountain pens. When I have to write fast and for up to three hour intervals, the fountain pen is the unrivalled choice. Something light, think aluminium or resin, with a big converter (like Pilot's CON-70), goes a long way to reduce hand strain and fatigue, as well as enabling a fluid writing motion to get down ideas as fast as you think them (albeit with slightly worsened handwriting). This is despite the fact that I normally like heavy fountain pens for the greater tactile feedback. Nevertheless, I think a properly used fountain pen could be a good way to write for an extended period of time, whether that be 3 hours in one sitting or for 1 hour every day for an entire year.

fountain pens are one of my hobbies. I've about 25 with about 50 different inks. It's fun to clean the pens and start a new with a new ink. I've as many as 8 inked up at a time. It's fun and I find my self looking for reasons to send notes and letters to relatives and friends. PEACE

I fell down the rabbit hole after that Neil Gaiman video, too! I'm using fountain pens to brainstorm and outline my first attempt at a novel. I think it's easier to look back over my notes when they are in in handwritten form. When it comes to drafting, if I ever get there, I think I will type. I still occasionally brainstorm on the computer -- it helps to type very fast and get all the ideas out. But the huge volume of text I have to sift through afterwards makes it not as efficient. The slowness and precision of fountain pen writing gives me more useable results.

I wrote a novel last November, about 51,000 words on 167 pages in an A5 Clairefontaine notebook. I did use the same pen and ink the entire way through but logged my progress in an index. I found it very productive but I have also been a dedicated fountain pen user for over a decade. I enjoyed the video. I will say for me slowing down my writing is helpful in crafting the details. No matter the speed at which I wrote my first novel, I have yet to edit and transcribe it. I am now working on my second novel and anticipate it to be twice as long as the first. Cheers!

@TrevorSchmidt

4 жыл бұрын

Hi Thomas. I agree that the simple act of hand writing is helpful in crafting the details. I actually have yet to try Clairefontaine paper, which I know is kind of the gold standard. Tisk, tisk. There's something therapeutic about writing with a fountain pen, so I'm definitely going to keep using them to journal and take notes.

@pendingnewname7232

4 жыл бұрын

Trevor Schmidt I don’t think handwriting a novel is for everyone, it worked for me, but surely we all have our own styles and needs. Kudos to you for getting through it. I try to journal every day and love using different pens and papers for it. For my next novel I am using a 52gsm Tomoe River Paper notebook that was custom made. 200 sheets of paper for a much longer novel!

DAMN. That's one tidy first draft. No scribbles, no nothing extra, perfection on paper. Do you use ink eraser? Did you get rid of entire pages? My impatient scatterbrain could never. But as of lately, I've been wondering if pen and paper could help train my focus. Yes, fountain pens are wonderful; I never stopped using them. My peers at uni treat it like a funny quirk of mine, and I don't know why. I just love the smooth feel of it, writing in my journal, or lecture notes, or whatever. I love watching rich ink dry. Using size M, I write normally and add tiny notes by simply flipping the fountain pen upside down. Anyhow, I'm rambling. Stumbled upon your video by accident while searching for people handwriting novels. Thank you for your input! And I'm neither into horror nor fantasy, but the title and the dark psychological elements of your handwritten book sound interesting, so I've put it on my overflowing list of books to read. Have a great day!

Pretty interesting way to go about things! Thanks much for sharing!

I use fountain pens to write most of my journals and write when I don't use dictation. While I can type decently, I can't maintain it for long without pain. I have repetitive motion injuries in both wrists, so writing with anything outside of a fountain pen is painful. The first fountain pen that I bought and still use is a TWSBI ECO too.

I prefer to write my first drafts by hand, for various reasons, one of them being the fact that I, like many others, already spend too much time looking at TV, computer and smartphone screens as it is, and my first drafts are always pure garbage that don't need to be typed up, so writing by hand does not mean extra work for me. I have to say, so far I prefer ballpoint pens.

@TrevorSchmidt

Жыл бұрын

Since this video I've tried again and I really do like the feel of writing by hand. When I'm not putting myself on a deadline it's definitely a preferred method of writing. I'm going to do my next book this way too and try to improve on the process of typing it up and staying consistent.

I have an old manuscript that was hand written - I’ve been patiently dictating it into scrivener for iPad using speech to text. It’s a little fussy but otherwise a lifesaver if you have repetitive stress problems with typing

@drshoggothshow

3 жыл бұрын

I never considered this. You are a genius.

@jamesaritchie1

3 жыл бұрын

It's possible to scan cursive into a computer, and technology is now good enough to turn cursive into a standard document file.

Yeah, that rabbit hole is… well… endless. Always wanting more pens and ink and paper. Fountains pens for journaling are great; I find them therapeutic. Once you go fountain pen, all other pens are peasant sticks. 😄

I agree about typing it up relatively often. I waiting until 130,000 words to type up my wip and it was daunting.

I got got my first fountain pen a few weeks ago . The TWSBI ECO in White with a medium Nib. And I got to say it’s a buttery smooth writer. I also got a LAMY SAFARI with a Fine Nib and that one is great as well but I really like the TWSBI

@jamesaritchie1

3 жыл бұрын

I think the Safari is the most overpriced pen on the market. I know what it costs to make one and get it to market, and the profit margin is criminal. Competition is finally bring the price down some, but it's stillo way overpriced. Doubly so when you look at what else is out there. The TWSBI, though, is a fantastic pen, and at a price that's actually lower than it really could be. The only other pen that costs far less than it should is the Pilot Metropolitan. This pen is Pilot's loss leader, so they sell it at or slightly above cost in order to draw in new fountain pen users. Anyway, I like my TWSBI pens as much, or more, than some of my gold nib pens, such as the 3776 or the Pilot Custom 74. I do prefer the TWSBI Diamond 580 because you can just unscrew the nib unit and scew on a new nib, but this isn't an issue for most people. I do have three TWSBI Eco pens, and they write every bit as well as the 580. I love them.

I don't know how i found this video but you are as cute as a but on a rug ... I've been writing a novel for years in a written journal fashion and it wont be out until its ready :)

@TrevorSchmidt

4 жыл бұрын

;-) If speed isn't an issue, then hand writing is fantastic! I'm definitely down to keep a journal, but I think one novel was enough for me in this style. Thanks for watching!

I’m such a chaotic writer that I could only write my novel on my computer. But for short stories I really enjoy writing my first drafts on paper using either a pencil or a fountain pen. Thanks for this video! Very informative and fun, and I wish you all the best in your writing career. My first novel (which is also my fourth book) will be out in April from Penguin Books. It’s called The Maps of Camarines.

I came across this video while searching for that Neil Gaiman interview. I wanted to watch it to help me remember some of the details of his process. I like what you have to say. I'm not a novel writer, but I have published various magazine pieces about haiku and Japanese culture, and I usually draft those in longhand. Many years ago I recall reading an interview with Stephen King where he said he does his writing with pencil on yellow legal pads. I don't remember how much writing (the entire draft or just notes) nor if his habits have changed, but at the time it led me to try, and that quest to write my articles by hand led me to fountain pens. And... you're right, it is a rabbit hole. But all things considered, it is one of the more benign and less wasteful hobbies out there, isn't it? (or maybe I just use that as an excuse 😅). Anyway, that's a bit of a ramble to just say I enjoyed the video. Will watch more from you. Keep up the good work.

Have you read "The Art of Slow Writing: Reflections on Time, Craft, and Creativity" This book might help change your 'efficiency" perspective.

@TrevorSchmidt

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll add it to my list.

Like you are saying, writing in pen and ink forces you to delay substantial editing as you write. I find it more productive. I never had an issue with hand exhaustion. And I can write as fast as I type. Do you print when your handwrite? Writing longhand is just faster.

My fourteenth novel was written in an Exceed black notebook too.

My eleventh novel had been written with a fountain pen, and I am trying to decide whether to write my next line up with it.

I just started writing a novel with a fountain pen. I’m finding that I can write faster because a pen matches my pace of thinking a lot better. I journaled every day at school my Junior year, so it feels about more like putting on a broken in pair of shoes

I'll try to write my own. I hate computers and oviously '' Word''. I always write by hand.

Four novels per year? Just editing a novel takes a whole year. You have a superpower, I think.

I love your handwriting. Do you ever write in unlined journals like the journal in your video?

@TrevorSchmidt

Жыл бұрын

I prefer lined for this kind of thing but I have some dotted ones for notes. Right now I'm using a lined Leuchtturm1917 lined journal and I'm trying it once again with some new perspective.

I remember how tiny your handwriting is from English class!

@TrevorSchmidt

4 жыл бұрын

Some things never change!

Exceed notebooks: just as good as the moleskins and leuchtturms of the world. But, great for bullet journaling, a bit small for novel writing.

Hey where are you? are you still writing? i’m writing longhand with a fountain pen and i’m scrivener. you still around? 🙂

What edition of the Mars series by ER Burroughs is on your shelf?

@TrevorSchmidt

Жыл бұрын

It's the Fall River Press John Carter of Mars First Five Novels. It's a pretty nice little collection.

Just got to measure it out, man. At 350 words, you need to do 9 pages to do your 3,000 daily count (assuming you want to write a million words a year.) Then you record yourself reading it, which is a benefit in itself, and then you playback the audio at half speed and type it out as you listen. It's way faster than you think. Getting it down on the computer is your draft 2. I only do up to draft 2, anyway. I'm one of those crazy "anti rewrites" writers.

The Varsity is trash. Glad you got better pens since then.

Volume is low

none of your social links are working

you look like ben affleck lol

Probably not but if you’re some kind of freak who just loves hand writing too much and keeps convincing themself it’s ok, that typing it all up later won’t really be such a big deal, then it’s the best kind of pen to use for your I curable creative masochism.

@spicypumpkins2640

2 жыл бұрын

Are you okay??

I wouldn't be caught dead with a twsbi

All those pens are shit tho