Posts filed under Writing

Another Writing Retreat in the Books (Literally)

(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!)

Memorial Day weekend is always my busiest writing time. As a horror writer, everything is scheduled to come out around Halloween, which means everything is due by June. Sometimes I spend the weekend hiding at the lake and writing, and sometimes I spend it at a convention in Madison. This year I attended the convention, though I hid and wrote most of the time.

I usually set myself a minimalistic travel goal. But when you're running on four deadlines, maximalism rules. There was no thoughtful process about which pen to bring. Is it inked? Bring it! Oh, you're writing stories in three different notebooks? Bring them all! And you have to type them and turn them in??? Better bring the computer! I usually travel with a backpack only for any amount of time, but this trip took three bags, and it was only three days. Granted, I had to have a ballgown and heels with me, but still. I also adopted a small cactus on the first day of my trip, which added an interesting daily carry challenge that I did not anticipate.

My clothes and toiletries traveled in my Tom Bihn Tri-Star; my computer, tech, and heels were in the Tom Bihn Swift; and my daily carry, including all writing gear, was the Tom Bihn Parental Unit. The Tri-Star is usually all I need, with the addition of a sling to use as a purse. But the Parental Unit is 99.99% the perfect bag for me. If it had an external grab handle, it would be unbeatable. The internal organization makes my heart sing, and it never fails to amaze me how much I can fit into it while not feeling overburdened. It's the most carried bag I own. For daily use, I just don't zip it, and make use of the inexplicably placed interior grab handles. I need it zipped when I travel, though, so it drove me a little nuts on this trip.

For my most-used writing gear, I defaulted to my Hobonichi Cousin. I'm terrible at using the daily pages for daily things, so I use the unused daily pages as rough draft pages. It works out to be the perfect system for me, as I have the monthly and weekly planner pages that I use all the time, and then the rest is essentially a regular notebook, which I always need to have with me anyway. The pen I reached for most was my Hardy Penwrights that I got at the Chicago Pen Show a few weeks ago. Granted, it was so pretty it distracted me and inspired a whole pen glamour-shot photoshoot for later blog use, and it even distracted some nearby writers who have now been penabled. It happens.

I also spent a good amount of time drafting in my Seven Seas Writer, and for that I used my Sailor 4am that I reviewed last week. Most of the rest of my writing was done on the computer. Alas.

To carry my precious pens safely, I used a Rickshaw Bagworks case I got from Carolina Pen Company--their Unicorn Autopsy design. Inside that I have a three-pen Rickshaw sleeve, a two-pen Rickshaw sleeve, and two single-pen Rickshaw sleeves. I'm a fan.

Overall, it was a lot to carry, and I didn't use it all, because I didn't hit all my deadlines. I'm still working on it! I hit the road again in a week, for another author conference. I'm going more minimal this time--though I still need the ballgown and heels. And I'm taking a train halfway across the country, so I'm hoping for some chill writing time. I'm bringing two fountain pens (a Schon DSGN pocket pen and a Kaweco Liliput), two non-fountain pens (a Spoke Roady and a Pen Type-B), and two notebooks (my Hobonichi and the Plotter Mini). That doesn't sound too minimal when I list it all out, but who needs clothes when you can pack stationery? I'll just wear the gown every day.

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Posted on June 1, 2023 by Sarah Read and filed under Writing, Travel.

InCoWriMo, AKA International Correspondence Writing Month

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

I know that it’s already a few days into February but did you know that February is a month that celebrates letter writing?! International Correspondence Writing Month, or InCoWriMo for short, is basically a month-long opportunity for folks to hand-write and mail something every day.

The idea of InCoWriMo was born 10 years ago on January 25, 2013, with the first InCoWriMo in February 2013, so this is going to be the 11th InCoWriMo with people from all over the world writing notes to each other! There are more details on the InCoWriMo website, but people basically try to write and mail one letter/note/postcard every day of the month. And if you can’t do it every day, that’s ok too! It’s just a great way to connect with folks via mail as well as catching up on reply piles (yes, that’s directed at me, lol).

Who am I gonna write to?

There is an InCoWriMo address exchange if you want to share your address. Note that since you are commenting with your address on the page, it is available for people to see. I am not a member of the website and I’m able to see addresses, so if privacy is a concern, read on for other options.

If you are in any pen or stationery (or other) enthusiast groups, whether on Facebook, Slack, Discord, etc., you may want to search for snail mail channels, groups, etc. If you are on the Pen Addict Slack, there is a #snailmail channel. There is also a fountain pen penpal group on Facebook called Fountain Pen Friends where I’m one of the moderators. I actually started my penpal journey in that group 5+ years ago and have since added more from the PA Slack. There are also groups like PostCrossing that connect folks who want to swap postcards too.

If you are not in any groups, or you’re uncomfortable with sharing your address with strangers, you can always start with friends and family. Maybe folks on your holiday card list, or folks that send cards to you that you might want to check in on, or people you haven’t talked to since your graduation, last job, wedding, Vegas trip, etc. Don’t forget vendors and businesses that you interact with (and presumably like, lol)! In short, pretty sure everyone likes to get happy mail that isn’t spam, ads and bills!

What do I need to write?

A writing instrument (pen of any kind, but you know me, I’m gonna use fountain pens for my letters), paper, an envelope and stamps. You can also use postcards if the thought of writing a letter or card is too daunting. Check your local postal service for prices on stamps, but in the US, a “forever” stamp costs $0.60 and is good for sending up to a one ounce letter anywhere in the US. For most people that’s plenty; even for a long-winded person like myself, I rarely need two stamps. The cost to mail to international destinations is $1.65 per ounce. You can also send a postcard for $0.44. Pro tip: “Forever” stamps are worth the current value regardless of how much it was worth when you bought them. So stamps from 2018 cost $0.50 but are worth $0.60 now. If you plan on doing more letter writing, it’s worth buying extras, especially if a price hike is coming up (the most recent one took effect a couple weeks ago). Forever stamps exist for regular mail, postcard and international mail.

You don’t have to be a philatelist (aka, stamp collector) to get started with letter writing.

What am I supposed to say?

You can write about anything but if you are stuck, you can go with something simple like this:

Greeting - “Hi there!”, “Dear B-rad”, “Hello Grandma!!” - however you want to greet the recipient!
Introduction - You might want to mention why you’re writing - “I’m doing a crazy thing this month by handwriting letters throughout the month of February. How are you?” If you’re writing to a stranger, or someone you don’t know well, you could also include a short intro about yourself - “I’m Kimberly and I’m writing to you from sunny California, where the temperature is currently 54 degrees”.
Any other info - You can let friends know what you’ve been up to recently or tell new friends a little more about you, like your hobbies or family. “I’m married with a 12 year old son who is currently in middle school and likes video games. In addition to pens, I enjoy running, knitting and reading.”
Closing - “Yours truly”, “All the best”, “Take Care”, etc. are simple ways to end a note.
Signature - make it legible so they know who it’s from :-)

Recipients will be thrilled to get snail mail, so try not to sweat it too much. And if that feels like too much, a postcard is great because you can just say hi and talk about the postcard and wish them a nice day.

If writing a letter seems too daunting, a postcard is a great option! I always end up buying more postcards than I send out - time to fix that!

”Dear Bossman…”

Miscellaneous tips

If you just want to send a note without getting a letter in return, you should mention that so you don’t end up with a whole slew of new penpals or have your recipient feel pressured to reply.
If it is super rainy (like the recent atmospheric river storms in my neck of the woods), consider using permanent ink on your envelopes (there are waterproof fountain pen inks as well as other options like Sharpie, rollerball, etc.)
I store envelopes, stamps and stickers in an A5 pouch which I keep in my purse along with my letters and paper so I can work on a letter whenever I want.
You don’t have to keep letters that you receive, nor do you have to take notes about what you wrote (or what they wrote). You don’t have to scan your letters before you send them (though it’s not a bad idea if you’re sending a 40 page novella like I once did, lol). I treat letters like conversations - I don’t take notes when I talk to my friends and yes, that may mean I retell stories or get details mixed up, but that’s ok!
Make sure your name and address is on the envelope (preferably in the upper left corner on the same side as the recipient address), in case the recipient has moved or if they want to write back. Pro tip: If you donate to charities, eventually you will get plenty of address labels! I haven’t bought address labels since I moved nearly 15 years ago!

Since we are Pen Addicts here, I wanted to share some fountain-pen friendly options as well as other things you can do if you want to be a little “extra”. You can get started with any pen, any paper and any envelope, so don’t let lack of these items hold you back!

Paper

There are looseleaf, pad and perforated versions of Tomoe River, Cosmo Air Light, Midori Paper, Rhodia, Clairefontaine, Ayush, Black n Red (or Optik Paper in Europe) and other fountain pen-friendly papers.
You can also find fp-friendly envelopes from Clairefontaine, Midori and others.
You can also get letter sets or card sets with matching envelopes. Midori makes many cute options. Peter Pauper Press (which you can find at Barnes and Noble stores as well as on Amazon and other line retailers) have a good selection of sets, and while the paper is generally fp-friendly, their envelopes are hit and miss (especially the coated ones which are definitely NOT useable with FPs).

Clockwise from left: Italian stationery kit, Clairefontaine Triomphe, Midori Cat letter set, G Lalo paper/envelopes, Unicorn card set from Peter Pauper Press.

Make your own envelope

You can use an envelope maker like this envelope maker (affiliate link) and some heavier paper/cardstock to make your own envelopes. You can reuse paper from old wall calendars or thicker scrapbook paper. Just be sure that the creases won’t break easily (which is what happened when I tried using wrapping paper) and that the seams are glued/taped well. You can put a white label on it for the recipient’s address.

Envelope decoration

Washi tape - This is a really simple way to decorate your envelope! It is perfect for not-very-creative people like me!

Plain and simple gets the job done, right, Mr. Downdly? 🙂

A little bit of washi adds a nice touch

Stickers - Another super easy option for envelope decoration, stickers are an inexpensive way to spruce up your envelope. You can even reuse free stickers from vendor packages or Trader Joes, or get inexpensive stickers from the dollar store.
Rubber Stamps - Another rabbit hole is that of rubber stamps! You can even get snail mail-themed stamps!

It’s fun picking random stamps to fill in the gaps.

You can put stickers and stamps on the front too!

Wax seals - This is a neat way to literally seal an envelope! Some post offices will tell you that it needs extra postage, while others don’t have that restriction, so it’s best to add another stamp just in case. Also, depending on the wax and the location of the seal (e.g. if it is closer to the sorting machine rollers, etc.), the seal might not make it fully intact, but it’s usually mostly good! You can get wax and wax seals from shops like Vanness, Papier Plume as well as Amazon and Etsy.

Melting some wax beads (be sure to do this in an area without flammables nearby.)

Probably could’ve used a wee bit more wax but it turned out alright!

This seal is from one of my penpals and it survived the journey to my mailbox!

Having the opportunity to slow down and have written conversations with friends from all over is such a treasure in this hustle and bustle world. Whether you decided to jump into InCoWriMo and write 28 letters in 28 days or you just want to write a few postcards, I hope you give it a try. Good luck and happy writing!

Posted on February 3, 2023 by Kimberly Lau and filed under InCoWriMo, Writing.

My Seven-Notebook Writing System

Last week I reviewed the Midori MD 70th Anniversary set of seven notebooks and I had a lot of fun thinking about all the ways I could put them to good use. I knew I didn't want to split up the set--the rainbow stitching is everything! Normally I'd use them for school, but I'm in my last two classes now--there are no future semesters to save them for! But the thing I'm most excited about being done with school is returning to full-time writing.

Being an author really means running a small business and there can be a lot to keep track of. I have, in the past, used one notebook to track all my writerly business, but they fill up fast when you're keeping busy. Enter a big set of seven lovely notebooks...

Also enter the fabulous Lochby Field Journal, which is robust enough to contain this ambitious plan.

I assigned each of the notebooks to a different aspect of writerly business: Deadline and submission tracking, listing and outlining ideas, jotting down bits of story drafts, making notes about critiques and edits, listing publication and contract details, notes about the craft of writing, and keeping track of the classes I teach or readings/signings, etc.

Keeping track of deadlines is important for obvious reasons, but it will be helpful to keep them listed in one place, alongside due dates for other open calls for submissions that look interesting. That way I can glance at that list and make a more informed decision about how busy I am when I'm approached for a project. Since many deadlines can be six months to a year out, tracking them on a calendar isn't a good way to get an overview. This way I'll have a list I can reference to confirm that I should definitely not take on any more work in the month of April! I can also keep track of where I send work and when. Some publishers don't send rejections--you're meant to assume you were rejected after not hearing back after a certain amount of time passes, so it's important to know when that time is. Most publishers also don't allow you to submit the same work more than once, so it's crucial to keep track of where you've sent each piece.

Keeping track of ideas is also important. Ideas are everywhere, and some are more demanding than others. Sometimes a good idea tries to butt in when I'm working on something else that has a due date and I don't have time to set it aside to focus on the shiny new idea. I've always kept an idea notebook, so this isn't a new one for me, but hopefully this will help me keep them in better order. They do tend to show up on the backs of receipts or scribbled in the margins of school notes. Sometimes I need a place to just jot down a single-sentence concept, and sometimes I need to write the whole outline. This book will hold both/either.

If whole sections of a story jump into my head, but they aren't ready to be fully written yet, I need a place to write down that bit until I'm ready for it. That will go in the next notebook, Draft Bits. Stories often come to me out of order, so this is a place where I can write scenes down when I need to come back to them.

I am part of a monthly critique group, as well as a more sporadic workshop, so I need a place to write down the feedback I receive on my work, as well as any ideas I have for edits to a piece. The Critique and Edit Notes notebook will be the home for that info.

Publication information goes in the next one. This is where I'll keep track of contract terms (Do I retain audio rights to this story or does the publisher? When does the exclusive printing period end? Is it a flat rate payment or are their royalties to track?). This way I won't have to go combing through contract files every time I want to reprint a piece.

In the next notebook, I'll record bits of wisdom about the craft of writing. When I attend panels or author talks, I like to write down anything educational or interesting, or notes about what particular editors are looking for in work submitted to them.

In the last notebook, I'll keep track of my own gigs--when I lead workshops or teach classes, do readings, speak on panels, do interviews, or appear on podcasts. I haven't always been good at tracking that, and then a friend mentioned how important that info is for a potential CV if I ever want to get a teaching job or archive my work. This will give me a good way to plan for and track all those appearances.

To cram all this content into one notebook cover, I used skills gleaned from Traveler's Notebook journalers. I used sewing thread (because that's what I had--I'll get elastics eventually) to tie notebooks 1 and 3 together, with the back cover of 1 and the front cover of 3 facing each other. Then I slid notebook 1 through the first elastic on the Lochby so that the elastic fit between the two notebooks, holding them by the threads. Then I slid notebook 2 through that same elastic at its halfway point. I repeated that process by tying notebooks 4 and 6 together, sliding them though another elastic, and then putting notebook five on that same elastic between them. Notebook 7 is on its own elastic at the end. They all fit quite well! There's enough movement that each notebook is still easy to write in, and there's even still room for me to stuff a bunch of writing note scraps in the pockets of the notebook cover. The thick spine and adjustable clasp on the Lochby are my friend, here.

I'm eagerly anticipating the shift from writing research papers to writing more stories and novels. I've still written a handful, but not nearly as much as I want. For the past two years, the notebook that's been filling up fastest is the one where I list all the ideas I don't have time to write. I'm excited to start filling up all these notebooks, replacing the inserts, and filling those up, too. 93 more days. (In fact, my last ever day of class is the first day of the Chicago Pen Show.) I'm so ready.