Posts filed under NaNoWriMo

The Plot is Afoot

(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!)

Two weeks ago, I asked you all for recommendations about what one--singular--pen I should use to write with for the entirety of NaNoWriMo. You all had some amazing suggestions!

By far the most popular suggestion was the Pilot 823, and I agree with you. It really is the perfect pen with which to write a novel! But one of my aims was to try something less well known. My Pilot 823 was actually my first "nice" pen that my husband bought for our fifth wedding anniversary. We're about to have our sixteenth, so I've been writing books with the Pilot 823 for over a decade. It's absolutely an excellent pen for the job! But it's far from unknown.

Another common suggestion was the Opus 88, which I've also reviewed before, and think is an excellent choice. But the most commonly recommended pen that I haven't ever tried was the Aurora 88. I've never even held an Aurora 88, but not for lack of admiration. Y'all just made some very fancy suggestions. But with big thanks to Brad, Kenro Industries, and Pen Chalet, there is now an Aurora 88 Unica Nera in my house, inked up, and prepped for its ultimate test.

I confess, my first reaction when the pen arrived was concern. This is a NICE pen, y'all. I got that gut reaction we all know too well. Is this pen too nice to use? But of course not, right? Pens were meant to be used. This one is about to run the pen equivalent of a marathon. How will it do? I don't know! I have no experience with the brand.

Based on a first impression, what I do know is that I'm going to really enjoy finding out. This pen fits all my criteria. It holds a lot of ink in its piston-filled mechanism, so I won't have to clean and refill it often. It's very lightweight, so I won't get hand fatigue. It has a smooth writing nib. It's not too big. The only question mark is the durability, and that will have an answer by the end of November. I do have it in a Musubi case for transport, so it's getting babied a little bit. But it is going on the road with me--first to the World Fantasy Convention in New Orleans, where I'll be doing readings/signings, speaking on panels, and eating my way through the city. Oh, and writing. That, too. NaNoWriMo waits for no one. And then my annual retreat to an inn on the shore of Lake Michigan, where all I do is write for three days straight over Thanksgiving weekend, listening to the waves and ordering nachos for room service.

I want to thank you all for your input, and for recommending such a nice pen! You've helped set me up for success and I'm really looking forward to getting started.

Now, tell me what you're working on! Are you doing NaNoWriMo? What tools are you using?

PS: The Aurora 88 was designed by Marcello Nizzoli, who has designs in the MOMA and who is most renowned for his design work on...typewriters. Will the ghost of Marcello lean over my shoulder as I write and whisper, "You know I designed a much more efficient way to do this?" I know, Marcello. I know. But that's not the point.

(Kenro Industries provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on October 13, 2022 by Sarah Read and filed under Aurora, Fountain Pens, NaNoWriMo.

NaNo Plan-O

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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Posted on September 29, 2022 by Sarah Read and filed under NaNoWriMo.

NaNoWrapUp

If you’re reading this, you survived NaNoWriMo! And since I’m writing it, I suppose I did, too. I did not win this year, but I didn’t think I would. What I did do is write about 30k words, which I certainly would not have done if I hadn’t given myself the extra productivity nudge that NaNoWriMo provides. I’m happy with that!

My book is still far from done, but progress is progress and momentum begets momentum, and despite the fact that I spent most of my spare time on that project this past month, I’m excited to keep moving forward with it and keep devoting time to this manuscript till it’s a full draft. Usually I’m sick of a project by the end of November, but I’m ready to NaNo my way through December as well. And probably January. This is going to be a long book.

The best part of NaNoWriMo this year was getting to see some writing friends in person again. I attended five group write-ins this month, and a huge chunk of my progress is a result of that revelry. Working quietly in a room with other writers, with chat breaks and snacks and prizes, is the perfect blend of friendship and accountability to keep the words flowing.

Another highlight, of course, is getting to use my pens and paper. I emptied eight pens and made good progress emptying another three that were all eyedropper pens (my Omas will never empty. I’m convinced). I rotated a new pen for each writing sprint or session, so they all got equal use. As I emptied them, I added them to my to-be-cleaned pile, which was already WAY out of hand. Now I have a mountain of pen cleaning to do. Maybe December should always be NaPeCleMo. I am now left with only five pens inked, which is a very low number, for me! I’m going to try and empty the rest before I ink any more…

The last highlight of the month for me was my now traditional holiday weekend writing escape. The hardest part of writing is finding the time, space, and silence to actually do it. I now make a point of claiming all three by running away to a quiet hotel by myself for a long weekend where I can devote all my time to writing for those days. It became necessary last year when I was home-schooling my kids through the pandemic and hadn’t had time to write for a number of important deadlines. This year hasn’t been any easier, turns out. My youngest was home in quarantine most of the month, so daylight hours were spent with him and night hours had to be for my own grad school homework, leaving no more hours for writing. More than a third of my writing for the month happened at the lake.

My NaNo kit worked well for me this year. The pens I used were all excellent. I thought for a long time about which one I enjoyed writing with the most this month, but it was impossible to choose. Each one was the best while I was using it. I did realize that my planning notebook for this project, the FIeld Notes Dime Novel Edition, will be a bit too small to contain all of the notes for this book, so I’ll have to add an additional volume. It’s not ideal, as it will mean carrying an extra notebook around, but it does mean I’ll get to use up another fun notebook from my stash.

And speaking of carrying around, my writing kit has now been effectively wrangled by a new bag, the Tom Bihn Parental Unit. I resisted this bag for a long time, as it’s marketed as a diaper bag and my kids are out of diapers, but when they announced that this recent update might be the last run of it for a while, I decided to cave. I’m so glad I did. This is the perfect writing bag. I won’t launch into a full review here, especially as I’m not sure if/when it will be available again, but it is now my favorite bag that I own, and I do not say that lightly.

I hope your NaNoWriMo was successful by any measure, even if not by words. Remember that you get to decide your own definition of success when it comes to art. Whether you participated or not, I hope you got to spend some quality time with your writing tools this month.

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