Day	What	How Much	Pen	Ink
18 June 19 June 20 June 21 June	Second draft of “Until Regrets Take the Place of Dreams”	2,826 words typed, and that’s done.	TWSBI Classic Faber-Castell e-motion Pelikan New Classic Parker 45	Diamine Marine Blue Herbin Pousièrre de Lune Pelikan Black Montblanc Royal Blue

Also, just a small note which I want to leave a future me in case he’s feeling blue– I got a rejection today which, while still a rejection, contained an expression of interest in other stories; it was simply the tone/specific theme of the story that drew the rejection, while the writing was good enough to intrigue. It’s a small thing, but it’s buoyant and worth clinging to.

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Day	What	How Much	Pen	Ink
18 June 19 June 20 June 21 June	Second draft of “Prolonging the Inevitable” (nee “Quest for El Dorado). Third draft of “No Easy Way Out.” Second draft of “Until Regrets Take the Place of Dreams”	A fine polish, and a title! Paragraphs moved about! Words reconsidered! 2,233 words typed.	Montblanc 32 Pelikan P1 Sheaffer Valiant Tuckaway Lamy 2000	Montblanc Racing Green Herbin Vert Empire Quink Washable Blue (vintage) Herbin Perle Noire

Also…

(Good heavens, the spectators gasp, can there be anything more in such a jam-packed week?)

…I got a positive swarm of story submissions out.  This is important for a couple of reasons:

1. Unsubmitted stories are unpublished stories;
2. Novel writing is, apparently, a big distraction from submitting.

I got a little out of the habit.  It’s one I should nurture, so I’m glad to have been at it so vigorously this week.

Day	What	How Much	Pen	Ink
18 June 19 June 20 June 21 June	First draft of “Quest for El Dorado” (which I must settle on the true name of, as it’s just shy of done).	1,801 typed words.	Lamy 2000 Sheaffer Sovereign II Montblanc 32 Pelikan P1	Herbin Perle Noire Herbin Bleu Myosotis Montblanc Racing Green Herbin Vert Empire

Day	What	How Much	Pen	Ink
11 June 12 June 13 June 7 June	First draft of “Quest for El Dorado” (working title)†	2350 typed words‡	Parker 180 Pelikan P1 Sheaffer Sovereign II Lamy 2000	Pelikan Brilliant Brown Herbin Vert Empire Herbin Bleu Myosotis Herbin Perle Noire

† The working title is because this story is not my own idea. I’m pursuing the Owl Creek Press Short Story Hackathon, which provides opening and closing paragraphs, and I don’t produce titles without a long gestation.  Since this thing has a deadline of 1 July, I’d better sort it out sooner than later.

‡ In the interest of brisk production, I’m stepping outside my usual policy of a hand-written first draft. So far, the deadline is providing sufficient forward momentum that the change isn’t too jarring; one of the reasons for the policy is the prevention of endless fiddling with one troublesome paragraph at the cost of never finishing the damn story. I have a sound historical basis for this policy.

Convention? Coven? Who Can Tell?

In my best Professor Farnsworth voice: Good news, everyone!

The wand mentioned two entries back has been waved, and there will a Pelikan Hub in what many people would call the middle of nowhere.  We who live here know better, though.  We’re slightly north-east of the geographical centre of North American nowhere.

ANYWAY, for today’s film, I’m just providing a link to an item our national broadcasting service, CBC, aired last week, which gives a sense of the sort of thing that goes one went you get a sufficient quantity of pen-fanciers hemmed into a closed space. No video, and you’ll have to scroll down a little to find the button that launches the audio.

It’s nice. But then, so are we generally (both Canadians and pen-folks).

Today’s pen: Sheaffer Sovereign II
Today’s ink: Herbin Bleu Myosotis

Day	What	How Much	Pen	Ink
4 June 5 June 6 June 7 June	First draft of “Until Regrets Take the Place of Dreams”	27 manuscript pages.	Lamy 2000 Wing Sung 601 Parker 180 Pelikan P1	Herbin Perle Noire Jentle blue-black Pelikan Brilliant Brown Herbin Vert Empire

Have you read the entry I made earlier today? You should. It’s far more interesting, and contains time-sensitive material.

PELIKAN HUB 2018

I AM SHOUTING IN THE TITLE BECAUSE I AM EXCITED!

I hope to infect you with my excitement, too, especially if you live within… oh, let’s say an hour’s drive of me.  Pelikan has just started registration for the 2018 version of Pelikan Hubs, which an even more Pelikan-positive person than myself explains in some depth on his own blog. In a nutshell, it’s a sponsored event for pen enthusiasts in a given area to get together and enthuse over pens.  As mentioned on The Pelikan’s Perch, it skews toward one maker’s stuff, because they’re the sponsor, but it’s also allowed to mention and even bring pens of other brands.

Pelikan’s Wand of Official Sanction (artist’s impression)

I am VERY EXCITED because there is a move afoot to bring about a hub right here in Regina; this would fill the yawning gap between the Edmonton and Winnipeg venues.  Paper Umbrella has even expressed a willingness to host the thing, which takes care of a big bunch of the planning chores.  Now, the only thing needed is… people.  There is a minimum number of people signed up for any given hub required by Pelikan before they will wave their Wand of Official Sanction over it and make it a real event, with real Pelikan stuff.

This means people like me, which is to say excited!! and already signed on, need to find others who have within them the potential to also be excited!! and have the willingness to sign on.  So, to those who live in a circle centered on Regina, Saskatchewan with a radius extending slightly past Moose Jaw, who are interested in writing instruments at all– I urge you, I plead, go to this site and let Pelikan know you are indeed one of us before 16 July.  That date is their cut-off; if we are insufficiently numerous at that time, no hub for us.

I suggest that circle because beyond that distance seems an awfully long drive. If you’re somewhat outside the circle and don’t mind the long drive, or have someone to stay with here, by all means, add your weight to our petition.

If you’re very far away from Regina (which is true for a lot of people), then sign up for one that’s more convenient to you.  Or have a go at making one that is more convenient to you.  They sound like a lot of fun!

Today’s pen: Pelikan P1
Today’s ink: Herbin Vert Empire

The End of an Era

I have mixed feelings as I type this entry.  Beginnings imply endings, of course, but after go on for so long, with seemingly endless resources… well, it’s a bit of a shock to find that the end has indeed come. Come it has, though, and it is my duty to mark the date.

I must now bid farewell to the bottle of ink which has supplied my desk pens since November of 2014.  Yes, the same one which I made such a fuss over when it reached its third anniversary in service. It kept on for another half of a year… and a week besides!… before running out.  Part of this longevity should be attributed to its companion since that anniversary, the Sheaffer 121SKD which was the only desk pen I had capable of filling from such a shallow pool. Not only does that have a fine point, but Snorkels have a deserved reputation for good miles per gallon.

When at last the probe on the pen made the gurgle of air ingestion on Friday, it was the announcement of the end of a long run indeed.  I can’t say I will mourn the bottle’s passing– it was, after all, an inanimate object– but I do honor it for its staying power.  I can only hope its successor, Diamine Midnight II, who was installed in office this morning, will follow the sterling example which has been set.

The final drops of the last bottle went home with me, along with the pen they reside in.  I’m going to use them for household writing duties so long as they last, which may be a week or more.  That pen was on station for more two full tours, since I like to swap out at the change of the seasons, and it has earned a rest.

The veteran I have brought in to replace it is going to be a bit of a test for D.M. Secundus; the point of my Touchdown 92SD,  is a good deal more profligate with ink than the Snorkel.  A bit of Falstaff & Hal action, I suppose, to initiate the new era, although I don’t think my Falstaff will end in quite the sort of way the literary version did.

In related news– I refilled the Wing Sung 3008 that I’m using for first drafts.  This is the fourth filling, and the pen still hasn’t fallen to bits! Amazing!

Today’s pen: Lamy 2000
Today’s ink: Herbin Perle Noire

Day	What	How Much	Pen	Ink
28 May 29 May 30 May 31 May	First draft of “Until Regrets Take the Place of Dreams”	23 manuscript pages.	Pelikan P1 Sheaffer Sovereign II Lamy 2000 Parker 180	Herbin Vert Empire Herbin Bleu Myosotis Herbin Perle Noire Pelikan Brilliant Brown

Get Over It!

The Atlantic ocean, that is.  I found myself watching this earlier in the week, and for once Youtube algorithms were not completely out to lunch, because I found it jolly interesting.  I hope you will too (even though he does a little bit of advertising in the middle for his sponsor).

None for me, thanks.  I’ll take my trans-Atlantic flying pressurized.

Today’s pen: Pelikan P1
Today’s ink: Herbin Vert Empire