I have been asked a few times if I use any kind of writing software. I do and I don’t. Normally when I am drafting an outline I use a program called STORYBOOK, which is open source software.
Unfortunately, it is not being supported any longer and I believe it is no longer downloadable.
STORYBOOK helps me to log and then organize ideas, thoughts and character descriptions.
Before I get to that stage, however, I still use a simple leather bound note book and fountain pen. There is something comforting to me about the scratching sound a nib makes on good paper. It takes me back to public school when I first held a pen – which was nothing more than a red plastic thingy with a nib on one end. You had to constantly dip it into a bottle of ink.
Over the years I have owned a variety of fountain pens which usually ended up staining my fingers blue and ruining expensive dress shirts. The last one I bought was an really expensive European design that was both uncomfortable to hold and still leaked all over my clothes.
And then …
(Please forgive me for sounding like a TV commercial)
I discovered the Pilot V Pen. It is the most comfortable fountain pen I have ever held. And it doesn’t leak. Best of all, it doesn’t need to be refilled. Once it is empty just toss it in the garbage and open another.
It comes in a variety of ink colors to suit every mood. The one I am using currently is filled with green ink – which satisfies my sense of whimsy, I guess.
The Vs seem to last and last. I expect that I will get my full outline and pages of notes out of this one before it goes to its final resting place.
With my battered leather notebook and faithful V Pen in hand I somehow feel more like a writer. I am connected with my inner Faulkner in a simpler time when the act of writing slowed to a more thoughtful pace. Now, all I need is a set of sleeve garters to complete the effect.