Journal Writing Wednesday: 30 pages

Tags

delta journal, franklin christoph, jinhao 159, nanowrimo, parker urban, visconti rembrandt, zara.com

What I’m currently using: the Paperblanks Blue Filigree journal, Winnable Executive Journal, the Seven Seas Writer, and the Franklin Christoph Notebook, which I started during my recent trip to Phoenix.

Total pages written since this post (Nov 4): 30

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 1372

Total pages written in 2015: 532

My Jinhao 159 goes everywhere with me. I will announce the pen for December on November 25.

Purchases: I bought a few things in Phoenix but can’t decide what to review on Sunday. Check back and see!

Some points covered this week in my journals:

• I have not been successful at NaNoWriMo this year. I know the month isn’t over but I doubt I will be able to produce anything of significance this year. But I am ok with that. Before I left for Phoenix three friends and I attended three NaNoWriMo workshops at our local library, hosted by the Calgary chapter of NaNoWriMo: Wonderful Worlds, Electric Edits, and NaNoWriMo Q&A. They were very enthusiastic individuals and I learned alot. It was great to be in the company of so many writers. If you get a chance to attend a NaNoWriMo event in your area I strongly encourage you to do so.
• For me the pen(s) and notebook(s) I take with me while traveling are far more important than the clothes and shoes. So I take a lot of time, even when I’m only gone for six days, to choose the gear that is the right combination of writing instrument and paper. I wrote out my packing list using my Delta and my Rembrandt, so they came with me, along with my Jinhao 159 and my Parker Urban in black. Four pens for six days – sounds about right! And I wanted to show my sister the Franklin Christoph notebook so that went into the backpack too. It was an absolute joy to sit at my sister’s kitchen table and reflect on the days. We had a fantastic time in Phoenix, eating, sleeping, reading and pen shopping! Big thanks to my big sis for making it possible. Love you.
• Speaking of clothes, they are really the last thing on my priority list. Seriously, I hate clothes shopping. I force myself once a year, usually. So it came as a surprise to me when I spotted a coat in this month’s Hello magazine and it inspired me. I tore out the page (it’s ok, I own the magazine) and immediately pasted the picture in my journal and wrote about it. If you’re interested it is the Houndstooth Cape from Zara.com. It doesn’t come in my size but I love it. I may have to go on the hunt for one.
• Every day I fall a little bit more in love with my Delta. I am *slowly* learning how to NOT post the cap. It does not post as securely as I would like so I leave it off. And I would be very upset if I damaged the resin in any way. It feels so incredibly light without the cap but I’m getting used to it. I wrote alot with it when I was in Phoenix.

Until next post, happy writing!

Journal Writing Wednesday: 14 pages

Tags

blue jay, downton abbey, nanowrimo, pbs, phoenix, rhomany's realm, youtube

What I’m currently using: the Paperblanks Blue Filigree journal, Winnable Executive Journal, and the Seven Seas Writer.

Total pages written since this post (Oct 28): 14

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 1342

Total pages written in 2015: 502

Using my Jinhao 159 everyday. Really enjoy using that pen. Such a great pen for such a great price.

Purchases: I did buy a new pen this week but not sure if I will have time to write about it this weekend. I will try my best but I have writing workshops most of Saturday and I am flying to Phoenix on Sunday. So we shall see what I accomplish!

Some points covered this week in my journals:

• I’ve been trying to find time to sit down and start writing for NaNoWriMo but nothing yet. It will be a mad dash at the end of the month I’m sure.
• I’ve been watching Rhomany’s Realm on YouTube and she shared the blessing she wrote for her Book of Shadows. It’s beautiful and I wrote it in my journal:

In this tome I write my creed
Always minding word and deed
Ritual, knowledge, thought and spell
All within this book do dwell
When none but mine own eyes may see
As I will it so may it be.

• Season 6 of Downton Abbey will be starting soon (January?) and my wonderful husband recorded a PBS special for me that was a total and lovely surprise: Downton Abbey Revisited. It was a great show recapping the previous 5 seasons and now I’m all set for the new season to start!
• The annual sighting of a blue jay happened last week. I swear in Nova Scotia they are EVERYWHERE and here I’m lucky to see one or two once a year. And of course all three of my bird feeders were empty at the time he landed in our front tree so he stayed for 30 seconds and flew away. Maybe next year!
• As previously mentioned I am flying to Phoenix this weekend. My amazing and generous sister is playing Santa Claus early by inviting me down to visit her in Arizona again this year. I’m overwhelmed once again by the generosity of my family and counting my blessings. So not sure how many posts will go up next week but I will try.

Until next post, happy writing!

 

 

NaNoWriMo, World Mail Panel and Fountain Pen Day

Tags

fountain pen day, leuchtturm, nanowrimo, world mail panel

Today marks the beginning of NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. I am doing it this year and hope to achieve the 50,000 words but I’m not putting immense pressure on myself to do so. Some writerly friends of mine and I are attending a few writing workshops next weekend and I’m really looking forward to that. We’ll see how it goes. Anyone else doing it this year?

I mentioned in this post that World Mail Panel have asked me to send envelopes as well as log envelopes received. My first batch arrived last week and I spent a couple of hours today getting myself organized.

Sorry about the glare.

I record the letters I receive in the purple Leuchtturm Jottbook and now I’m going to record the letters I send in a black Leuchtturm Notebook.

Each envelope should be sent on a set date and I wrote the first batch in my notebook. If I don’t manage to send the envelope on the specific day I need to tell them what day the envelope actually went out. It’s fun to see the destinations.

Every two weeks I will receive the envelopes for the next week. Currently I have envelopes ready for Week 46. I thought separate plastic pouches for each batch of envelopes would help me keep track. We’ll see how it works as I get through them. Should be fun! If you would like to join the team, go to this page and fill in your details. If they need someone in your area they will contact you. I get paid about $16 per month to receive envelopes and now with sending envelopes as well that amount will rise to $21. It adds up over time, believe me. Each month I am awarded a set amount of points and once I reach a certain amount I can redeem them for Amazon giftcards or Paypal deposits. I can also donate them to Doctors Without Borders. It’s a great program.

Don’t forget Fountain Pen Day is coming up soon: November 6. Anything special planned? Whatever you do enjoy your pens, whether you are a long time fountain pen lover or just discovering the hobby. More on that from me on the day. 🙂

Journal Writing Wednesday: 13 pages

Tags

nanowrimo

What I’m currently using: the Paperblanks Blue Filigree journal, Winnable Executive Journal, the Believe In Yourself journal and the Seven Seas Writer.

Total pages written since this post (Oct 14): 13

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 1314

Total pages written in 2015: 474

Still using my Visconti Rembrandt with the Paradise Pen Vineyard Burgundy ink. I’m not taking it to work like I usually do with my monthly pens; I’m too scared I will drop it or leave it somewhere. But I am using it almost every day. I will choose the pen for November on Oct 28.

Purchases: I used a birthday gift card to purchase a pen on Amazon and it arrived this week. I plan to write about it this weekend.

Some points covered this week in my journals:

• I put my back out on Monday, trying to pick Halley up from my home office chair. She loves that chair and every time I get up she gets in. I bent over, didn’t use my legs, just picked her up and felt something give way in my lower back. And then the pain bloomed. Luckily I took some Advil and today it is almost back to normal. My chiropractor says that at this point in my treatment for my back issues we measure success by how quickly I bounce back from an episode, and I’m pleased with how quickly this episode is nearing it’s end.
• A great friend of mine was in Calgary on a 3 hour flight layover. So I jumped on the bus and headed to the airport. I haven’t seen him since 2008 so it was great to spend some time with him and catch up on our lives. He was the co-officiant at our wedding and he is a very special and inspiring man. Thank you Elliott for a wonderful visit!
• NaNoWriMo starts soon – are you ready? I have a few friends who are doing it this year and this week we signed up for some NaNoWriMo workshops at our local library. There were only 50 spots available so we were really worried about all of us getting in but we coordinated our online efforts and managed to get in! That’s coming up on Nov 7 and I’m super excited.

Until next post, happy writing!

Monday Miscellany

Tags

bring back paper, design sponge, mrporter.com, nanowrimo, postcard calendar journal, the reading residence

Hello, sorry for the lack of a post yesterday. Once again the young ones are married and we return to our regularly scheduled programming…

Wednesdays will be more papery from now on: I’ve discovered Jocelyn’s Bring Back Paper campaign over on her blog, The Reading Residence. Such a great idea. Who doesn’t love looking at pretty stationery??

All of us probably have a bunch of old postcards in drawers or boxes for which we have no earthly use but are reluctant to throw out. I came across this amazing project on Design Sponge which creates a Postcard Calendar Journal. It’s similar to the one-line-a-day journals but more personal and colourful. And easy!

And finally another dip into the Mr. Porter archives, this time on How To Be (And Stay) Creative, which can be exhausting at the best of times. Great ideas here. And they give a nod to NaNoWriMo!

Until next week, happy writing!

 

Journal Writing Wednesday: 8 pages

Tags

leuchtturm, literary gift company, nanowrimo, pilot metropolitan, reid's stationers

What I’m currently using: the Paperblanks Blue Filigree journal, Winnable Leather Journal and the Believe In Yourself journal

Total pages written since last JWW post (Nov 12): 8

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 699

Total pages written in 2014: 644

Total number of notebooks/pens/ink bought since self-imposed spending freeze observation experiment (it’s not much of a freeze these days!) (Jan 1/14): 36

• 1 pen + 1 bottle of ink = 2 items in a gift set on Jan 14
  
• 1 bottle of KoninginneNach-Blauw from Akkerman on Feb 5
• 1 Visconti Rembrandt Calligraphy set in Red = 2 items (pen and ink bottle) from Goldspot on May 15
• 1 bottle of J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche from Goldspot on May 15
• 1 bottle of De Atramentis Heather Violet from Goldspot on May 15
• 5 pens, 4 notebooks, 3 tins of ink cartridges from Reid’s on June 14
• 1 Jinhao X450 from ebay; received on June 19
• 1 bottle of De Atramentis William Shakespeare ink from Goulet Pens; received on June 25
• 1 Winnable Leather Notebook on July 10
• 1 Wreck This Journal on Aug 2
• 2 ink samples from Private Reserve: Avacado (sic) and DC Supershow Blue from Wonderpens on Aug 31
• 2 Leuchtturm 1917 notebooks, grid and lined from Wonderpens on Aug 31
• 1 Kaweco Sport Ink Roller Demonstrator from Wonderpens on Aug 31
• 1 Leaf Binder from eBay
• 1 Alphabet Journal from Suzi Q
• 1 Dragonfly Journal, 1 Wooden Fountain Pen, and 1 Zebra V-301 Fountain pen in September
• 1 Pilot Metropolitan pen from Amazon on Nov 7 to celebrate Fountain Pen Day
• 1 limited edition purple Pilot Metropolitan in Leopard on Nov 15 at Reid’s Stationers (blog post coming)
• 1 Leuchtturm 17 purple Jottbook on Nov 15 at Reid’s Stationers (blog post coming)

Some topics covered this week:

• I received my order from The Literary Gift Company, which I talk about here. So many great ideas for that reader/writer on your Christmas list!
• My friends and I went to Reid’s Stationers, my favorite Calgary pen and paper store, last weekend. I bought a number of things, two of which are mentioned above in bold. I will write a blog post about those items and other things I purchased.
• Lots of changes at work – layoffs and restructuring. Fun times.
• Still no updates for NaNoWriMo, much to my shame. This is just not my year.

Next week I will be on a little holiday so may not post regularly. But I will try.

Happy writing!

Journal Writing Wednesday: 15 pages

Tags

fountain pen day, nanowrimo, pilot metropolitan, sciatica, toxic raisins

What I’m currently using: the Paperblanks Blue Filigree journal, Winnable Leather Journal and the Believe In Yourself journal

Total pages written since last JWW post (Nov 5): 15

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 691

Total pages written in 2014: 636

Total number of notebooks/pens/ink bought since self-imposed spending freeze observation experiment (it’s not much of a freeze these days!) (Jan 1/14): 34

• 1 pen + 1 bottle of ink = 2 items in a gift set on Jan 14
  
• 1 bottle of KoninginneNach-Blauw from Akkerman on Feb 5
• 1 Visconti Rembrandt Calligraphy set in Red = 2 items (pen and ink bottle) from Goldspot on May 15
• 1 bottle of J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche from Goldspot on May 15
• 1 bottle of De Atramentis Heather Violet from Goldspot on May 15
• 5 pens, 4 notebooks, 3 tins of ink cartridges from Reid’s on June 14
• 1 Jinhao X450 from ebay; received on June 19
• 1 bottle of De Atramentis William Shakespeare ink from Goulet Pens; received on June 25
• 1 Winnable Leather Notebook on July 10
• 1 Wreck This Journal on Aug 2
• 2 ink samples from Private Reserve: Avacado (sic) and DC Supershow Blue from Wonderpens on Aug 31
• 2 Leuchtturm 1917 notebooks, grid and lined from Wonderpens on Aug 31
• 1 Kaweco Sport Ink Roller Demonstrator from Wonderpens on Aug 31
• 1 Leaf Binder from eBay
• 1 Alphabet Journal from Suzi Q
• 1 Dragonfly Journal, 1 Wooden Fountain Pen, and 1 Zebra V-301 Fountain pen in September
• 1 Pilot Metropolitan pen from Amazon on Nov 7 to celebrate Fountain Pen Day

Some topics covered this week:

• I have done NOTHING for NaNoWriMo this week and I feel such a failure. Maybe this weekend. I only have this weekend left as I am travelling at the end of the month. I think this may be beyond my capability this year. 😦
• My specific type of sciatica was diagnosed this week so I can finally research the correct exercises and get that moving. My back is better but I’m still dealing with a lot of pain. Hopefully the stretching will help that.
• I did not know that raisins are toxic to dogs and cats. Thanks to a friend’s experience (one I hope she never has to go through again) I understand how deadly this innocent-looking fruit can be. I’m glad I made her week bright again by giving her a fountain pen on Fountain Pen Day.

Happy writing everyone!

Journal Writing Wednesday: 9 pages

Tags

nanowrimo, vancouver island

What I’m currently using: the Paperblanks Blue Filigree journal, Winnable Leather Journal and the Believe In Yourself journal

Total pages written since last JWW post (Oct 29): 9

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 676

Total pages written in 2014: 621

Total number of notebooks/pens/ink bought since self-imposed spending freeze observation experiment (it’s not much of a freeze these days!) (Jan 1/14): 33

• 1 pen + 1 bottle of ink = 2 items in a gift set on Jan 14
  
• 1 bottle of KoninginneNach-Blauw from Akkerman on Feb 5
• 1 Visconti Rembrandt Calligraphy set in Red = 2 items (pen and ink bottle) from Goldspot on May 15
• 1 bottle of J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche from Goldspot on May 15
• 1 bottle of De Atramentis Heather Violet from Goldspot on May 15
• 5 pens, 4 notebooks, 3 tins of ink cartridges from Reid’s on June 14
• 1 Jinhao X450 from ebay; received on June 19
• 1 bottle of De Atramentis William Shakespeare ink from Goulet Pens; received on June 25
• 1 Winnable Leather Notebook on July 10
• 1 Wreck This Journal on Aug 2
• 2 ink samples from Private Reserve: Avacado (sic) and DC Supershow Blue from Wonderpens on Aug 31
• 2 Leuchtturm 1917 notebooks, grid and lined from Wonderpens on Aug 31
• 1 Kaweco Sport Ink Roller Demonstrator from Wonderpens on Aug 31
• 1 Leaf Binder from eBay
• 1 Alphabet Journal from Suzi Q
• 1 Dragonfly Journal, 1 Wooden Fountain Pen, and 1 Zebra V-301 Fountain pen in September

Some topics covered this week:

• I finished the record of our trip to Vancouver Island in the Winnable Journal. It took up a whopping 23 pages! It feels great to finish a trip journal as I so often fail in that department. Maybe having the trip journal within my everyday journal is the key. Huh. There could be something to learn there.
• I am officially “doing” NaNoWriMo. I have an underwhelming 1,320 words so far but that’s ok. I am finding it hard to write during the week; I want to meet up with some writing buddies on Sunday and maybe get some work done. Fingers crossed.
• I haven’t been writing in the Believe in Yourself journal as much, because I’m feeling better. I still have incredible pain in the morning when I’m getting out of bed, and sometimes during the day, but it is receding significantly. I have a chiropractic appointment this Saturday and I intend to sign up for acupuncture as well. Physio too, probably. My work and my husband’s work cover it so why not?

Until next week, happy writing!

NaNoWriMo 2014

Tags

nanowrimo, novel writing

Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought fleetingly about writing a novel. – from http://nanowrimo.org/about

Well I’ve done it. I just signed up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) 2014. I’m scared and excited at the same time. I doubt I will reach 50,000 words but that’s not really the point.

I talked last year about NaNoWriMo in this post. You can go to NaNoWriMo.org for all the info you’ll need. I thought about writing longhand, because that’s what my blog is all about, right? But I can type so much faster than I can write so I think I will be typing the novel. It is much easier to keep track of word count that way too.

I was initially hesitant when I read the requirements. You have to upload the text of your novel at the end, to verify final word count. I was nervous about sharing my idea (not that I think it is super original but still). But in the FAQs they assure me that my text will be filtered for word count purposes only and then promptly deleted. And there is also a word scrambler feature that is pretty neat which would put to rest any worries about idea stealing.

I will keep you posted on my progress during the month. My username on the NaNoWriMo.org is inlovewithjournals. If any of you are participating tap me to be a writing buddy. I am looking forward to spending the month of November with Charlotte and Tommy, and maybe James. See this post to see what I’m talking about. Wish me luck!

Writing Because It Is Fun

Tags

fountain pen, handwriting, jetpens, nanowrimo, notebooks, writing

I just read this heartwarming interview on Jetpens.com with Brent Acuff, a band teacher in Texas. He shares his love of fountain pens and fosters a love of writing by offering pens as prizes for writing competitions. This year he inspired more than 50 students to take part in NaNoWriMo’s Young Writer’s Program. We need more Brents!!

…the act of writing helps foster creativity by forcing you to slow down and take a little more time to get your thoughts in order. There is no ‘ding’ of email coming from your journal, no text message or updating blog to draw your attention away from the task at hand.

Well said Brent, and may you continue in your mission to foster the love of writing.