Writing

2013 Pen Resolutions!

First, I want to wish all my readers a Happy New Year.  Thank you for reading La Plume Etoile and sharing your comments and experiences with me.  I hope 2013 is a great year for you!

Now, onto today’s post topic:   I’ve been thinking about making changes to my pen maintenance routine for a while now, but didn’t necessarily think it was a post topic.  However, when I saw the Inkophile’s post about her 2013 pen resolutions, I decided to post my own as well.  (I didn’t think she would mind that I used her post as inspiration.)   Besides, announcing one’s resolutions makes one more accountable to follow through with them, right?

1.  Like the Inkophile, I resolve to be better about keeping my pens clean.  I went through a MAJOR overhaul of my pens recently and took weeks flushing and draining and soaking and draining them.  I followed that with more flushing and draining and soaking and draining.  I had groups of pens in about 10 plastic cups stuffed with tissues at one time all strewn on my counter.    Some cups even had more than one pen in them.  It thought this process would last forever, but eventually most pens were clean enough to refill or store.  Rather than go through that ordeal again, I will be more regular in cleaning them.

2.  Resolution #2 is to only fill the pens I am currently using.  I had a habit of keeping ALL pens in my rotation inked at all times.  I did this because all pens and inks were ready to use at my whim.  However, I found this to be less than ideal because ink dried inside the nib.  I couldn’t see it, but the extended flushing procedure told me it was there.  To avoid this in the future, I am going to only ink the pens I regularly use.  I will ink other pens as the mood strikes me, but will have to use that pen until all the ink is used before I fill another.  I will allow myself 2-3 “extra” inked pens outside of the few every day staples.

3.  Lately, I have been defaulting to some of the cheap plastic fountain pens on a regular basis.  So I will continue to make an effort to use the pretty pens more often.

What are your 2013 Pen/Ink/Paper Resolutions?

New Giveaway!

The authors of 365 Things to Write About have kindly sent me another copy of the book to giveaway to one lucky reader!  Here are the giveaway rules:

How to enter: Leave a comment here saying your favorite aspect of La Plume Etoile or what you would like to see on the site that is currently not featured.  You will get an extra entry if you Tweet or re-post about this giveaway, then come back here and add an additional comment with proof you posted the giveaway (e.g.  a link.)  I will pick one entry at random for the winner.

Contest run: Contest opens at 12:00 AM on Tuesday, November 1, 2011 and ends at 11:59 PM on Tuesday, November 8, 2011.

Additional rules: (Even though I don’t like excluding my international readers) this contest is open only to US applicants due to the cost of postage.

More reviews will be coming soon.  Good luck!

Book Review: 365 Things to Write About

I was kindly sent a copy of a great new book called 365 Things to Write About.

 

365 Things to Write About Cover - the inside format is the same!

The premise of the book is exactly as the title suggests, there are 365 topics about which to write.  Each page begins with a one to three word topic, and the rest of the page is blank except for lines on which to write.  The paper is not of Clairefontaine quality, but so far it has acted friendly with my Parker 45.  I have experienced minimal feathering and bleed through with the Parker ink.

You can use this book in a variety of ways.  Some suggested uses are for poems, descriptions, short scenes, short stories, or whatever other thoughts come to your mind.  I personally decided to use the book in a different way.  I am learning to speak Italian, so I decided to write about each topic in Italian as an additional way for me to practice.  The 365-topic format makes it a convenient way for me to incorporate daily writing into my life.

The book is also accompanied by a website at http://365thingstowriteabout.wordpress.com/, where the authors post some of their writings.  You can buy the book at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com and through October 31, 2011, the authors will donate 100% of their royalties to art programs in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The authors have also kindly offered to send me a copy for giveaway.  Dear Readers — is this something in which you would be interested?  Please leave comments with your answer and if you are interested, I will do a giveaway of one copy.