STYLE: Ink

STYLE

Ink

While I don't think it's necessary to buy the most expensive fountain pen, I do recommend using a very high quality ink.

For many years I used a mid-range ink in my fountain pen. It worked okay. Then I ran out and went to the local art supply store for more. The place had many finer supplies--but quality pen ink wasn't one of them. So I loaded my pen with a cheap ink that appeared in quality and consistency to be closer to a thick liquid used for brush painting.

Cheap inks are a bad idea. They gum up the mechanical parts of a fountain pen and dry out too quickly. I soon found my pen wouldn't write smoothly and I was stopping frequently to try to get it flowing again. I was pressing down harder on the tip, which was okay with my steel nib, but might have ruined a gold tip.

The answer was a good quality Mont Blanc ink. The sales clerk told me they add detergents to keep the ink running smoothly. She also talked me into trying colors. At first I was skeptical, but now I'm a total fan. I wrote most of my first novel in orange, a color that apparently is be discontinued. Too bad. I love the orange and still have half a small bottle left over.

My daughter has an emerald green, which works fine, but doesn't suit me. I tend to steal ink from her other bottle--Mystery Black, which has a touch of blue. Soon I plan to try out a couple other colors, like purple and gray. When fiction writing, I find it's easier to keep a consistent point of view by assigning each character a color. Orange is my character Nancy. I'm thinking her friend Fay should be something blue or gray. For Fay, maybe I will even splurge on fine, handmade writing paper.