8 Fountain Pen Alternatives

Fountain Pen Alternatives

Fountain pens are widely considered the ultimate in writing instruments, but as popular as they are, fountain pens just aren’t for everyone.but are there any alternatives?

If you’ve never used one, getting started can be intimidating, what with the complexities of maintenance and decisions to be made about nibs, inks, and filling options. Or, you just might not be interested in fountain pens as a matter of personal preference.

What will you be missing? Well, there are three primary reasons that people use fountain pens: the fluidity of the writing experience, the ability to vary line width and diversity of ink choices.

Unfortunately, you will have to give up access to a broad range of colors if you decide to write with something other than a fountain pen. While many gels offer some exciting and, in a few cases, even aromatic color options, none can match fountain pen ink for diversity and richness of color saturation.

However, just because you aren’t ready to get fully into the fountain pen experience yet, or don’t want to at all doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice an extremely smooth writing experience or even line variability.

There are alternatives to fountain pens that will give you very similar results without the added complexity that comes with fountain pen use.

Here are some suggestions.

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Interview: Rosemary Gemmell, Novelist

If the mind is a well of creativity, the trick is figuring out how to tap it.

For some writers, like Scottish novelist Rosemary Gemmell, the solution is as simple as a pen.

It becomes the conduit between thought and reality. As the ink flows, so do the ideas, and characters and story begin to take shape.

Today, Rosemary takes a little time to share how pen-and-paper work for her.

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Interview: Writer Femi Martin

Femi Martin

Femi Martin is a storyteller.

She’s created fiction inspired by Charles Dickens novels, shared her struggles with illness in the Achalasia Diaries on BBC 4, and captivated UK festival audiences with performances of her short stories about love, relationships, and stolen chocolate bars.

Her stories always start at the point of a pen, and Femi was kind enough recently to share with us how writing by hand guides her creative process.

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