In my post about the book Writers on Writing, I didn’t mention my favorite essay in the book because I thought it deserved it’s own post. It’s by Mary Gordon, and a link to the complete essay is here.
I found this essay illuminating, if only because I saw a reflection of myself in the mirror of her words.
“Who of us brought up before the progressive 60’s can forget the thrill of the Palmer method, the up strokes and down strokes, the loops and curlicues. Mastering “script” was an entry into the real, adult world. It harnessed two primitive instincts: the desires to make marks and to communicate thoughts.”.
I remember doing this on the blackboard under the watchful eye of Miss Valentine, one of my elementary school teachers.
“But let me tell you about my notebooks and my pens.”
I have several of each, but my most used pen is a Pelican M800 and my most used notebooks contain Tomoe River paper.
“I had to decide about points: fine, medium, thick. Medium was modest, self-effacing, a “don’t worry, be happy” partner. Thick asserted its authority and mine. But I chose fine; there was something about its resistance, the hint of a scratch, the brief reluctance to move on to the next thing that provided the taste of austerity and discretion I seemed (although I had not known it till that moment) to be after.”
I used to use exclusively Medium nibs in my pens, and usually either blue or brown ink. I’ve since started favoring Fine nibs, and have begun branching out into other colors in the fountain pen spectrum.
“In my closet there is a shelf entirely devoted to notebooks. I choose among them for the perfect relationship between container and the thing contained.” She goes on to explain that she finds notebooks to be different among different geographies.
I have notebooks dedicated to different purposes. A bullet journal for keeping track of daily plans and activities. A notebook for daily free writing exercises. A notebook for notes taken from books, podcasts, and Youtube videos. A notebook for deep thinking writings. A commonplace book dedicated to philosophical logic readings. A small notebook I almost always have with me to capture whatever I need to capture. Could be a note about something, supplies I need from the grocery store, a poem, a sketch. Whatever.
“I don’t know what people who work on computers do to get themselves started. I hope never to learn firsthand.”
I usually start my day with a free writing exercise, just letting the words flow for 20-30 minutes, with whatever comes to mind. Always with a fountain pen and notebook. I’ve been doing this for quite a long time, and the last time I counted I had 22 notebooks on my shelf, mostly containing these writings from the past decade or so.