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Marsilius
March 8th, 2020, 10:44 AM
Thought of this forum when I read this essay this morning:
https://bookriot.com/2020/03/07/the-writers-perfect-pen/

Chuck Naill
March 9th, 2020, 04:34 AM
Thank you for posting. I was reminded of Steinbeck's Blackwing pencil being dark and requiring minimal pressure or the value of using longhand because it makes you stop to think.

Deb
March 9th, 2020, 05:34 AM
It's astounding that such a wordsmith as Ted Hughes couldn't spell Sheaffer. Why do people have so much trouble with that word? I've seen some very inventive spellings of it. Schaffer is a recent one.

Marsilius
March 9th, 2020, 10:06 AM
It's astounding that such a wordsmith as Ted Hughes couldn't spell Sheaffer. Why do people have so much trouble with that word? I've seen some very inventive spellings of it. Schaffer is a recent one.
As someone who deals with 15th-century Germanic spellings, and as one who can never remember how my friends (with the same name but different spellings) spell it, I am not astonished, but often embarrassed.

Paddler
March 10th, 2020, 02:04 PM
What writer writes with the "scratch of a raspy pen hitting paper"? What writer needs to?

calamus
March 31st, 2020, 10:13 PM
Ah, but I do write with a Waterman's 18k nib gliding smoothly across the page. In fact, my Charleston, which I use with Waterman blue-black ink, writes forever on one of those long cartridges, and has become my go-to pen for creative writing.

Marsilius
April 1st, 2020, 12:02 AM
What writer writes with the "scratch of a raspy pen hitting paper"? What writer needs to?
Some folks like a little tooth. My dip pens on watercolor paper can manage a bit of scritchy scratchy.

Chrissy
April 1st, 2020, 02:35 AM
It's astounding that such a wordsmith as Ted Hughes couldn't spell Sheaffer. Why do people have so much trouble with that word? I've seen some very inventive spellings of it. Schaffer is a recent one.
I've seen some very inventive spellings of the word Sheaffer too. I don't know if it's still the case but even ebay.co.uk had it spelled incorrectly in their list of pen brands.
Maybe it starts off with pronunciation? The person decides to pronounce it as "shay fer" then they try to spell it like they pronounce it. So they often make the first mistake of putting the a before the e. Some don't put an e in there. Then they don't know if it has one f or two. It all seems to go downhill from there.

It's probably better to not bother trying the pronunciation. Just start off with the word "sheaf" then add "fer" to the end of it. Simple. :)

Chuck Naill
April 1st, 2020, 03:50 AM
Forums are funny in how they can turn an interesting essay into a misspelling discussion. So, is it better to have something interesting to say/communicate or produce a collection of words that are spelled correctly?

Deb
April 1st, 2020, 04:05 AM
I would have thought one should always strive for spelling and grammar accuracy. Surely communication is important enough to make the effort to do it properly to ensure that what we have to say is easily understood by others?

Chuck Naill
April 1st, 2020, 05:55 AM
I don't disagree, Deb, but whether one spells the a before the e or reverse, we know the context. For months I have been spelling the Parker Aerometric as Aeromatic. It was based on ignorance and not from being sloppy. Yes, one should always strive, but at times we must forget the finger pointing and consider the intent.

Deb
April 1st, 2020, 06:19 AM
You do what you want. In these situations I tend to finger-point and that's not likely to change.

FredRydr
April 1st, 2020, 06:23 AM
...Yes, one should always strive, but at times we must forget the finger pointing and consider the intent.
There was discussion of this very concept in the book* I just finished: https://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/5209-What-Was-the-Last-Book-You-Read?p=287490&viewfull=1#post287490

*Free for postage if anyone would like to delve into the matter of precision versus intent for spelling and grammar in today's world.

Deb
April 1st, 2020, 07:09 AM
When it is clearly someone's second language I would not be critical of spelling errors. We have the most eccentric spelling of any language. I haven't seen it here very much but in FPN some years ago there was some spelling so bad the meaning was indecipherable and it was usually someone asking for help or advice. The unwillingness to use a spell checker and leave your readers to try to puzzle out what you want is just discourtesy.

I wouldn't nit-pick about the odd spelling mistake. My original comment was one of surprise. Words are a poet's stock-in-trade and they are not usually so word-blind. Sheaffer, for no reason that is convincing, appears to be one of the most commonly misspelled words in the language. It's almost a surprise to see it spelled as it should be.

Of corse thee abuv wil bee fild with speeling mistaiks. The doom of the pedant.

calamus
April 2nd, 2020, 11:55 AM
If language interest you, allow me to suggest one of the most delightful books on that or any other subject that I've ever read: The Mother Tongue -- English and How It Got that Way by Bill Bryson.

Deb
April 2nd, 2020, 12:25 PM
I've read that one - very good.

TSherbs
December 1st, 2020, 05:17 AM
I've been more interested in the rooms and desks that certain writers used. And their handwriting. Oddly, not so much their pens.

kazoolaw
December 5th, 2020, 05:23 AM
I've been more interested in the rooms and desks that certain writers used. And their handwriting. Oddly, not so much their pens.

links on my iPad is a pain, but...

I'm guessing you've found most of the sites a google search on "writers and their desks" turns up.

"The Writer's Desk" by Jill Krementz is good if you prefer to hold a real book.

MikeEMiller60
December 22nd, 2020, 08:08 AM
An ink pen tends to be the writer's choice. By and large, a pencil is the editor's writing implement of choice. That said: A pencil can be enormously enjoyable to use for writing on quality notebook paper.

An old bloke
December 22nd, 2020, 09:14 AM
An ink pen tends to be the writer's choice. By and large, a pencil is the editor's writing implement of choice. That said: A pencil can be enormously enjoyable to use for writing on quality notebook paper.
Strangely, a pen characteristic that I like is its smoothness the ease with which I slides across a page while what I like the most about using a pencil is the drag of the lead as it wears down to leave its mark. Both are pleasurable in very different ways.

I also seem to write better with a penci. That may be because it is more practiced.

sharmon202
April 28th, 2021, 01:37 PM
When I read articles on the internet or see writing on TV am amazed how awful the spelling and grammar are. Looks like these freelancers do a quick spell check and submit without taking time to proofread themselves. One tine there was a sentence I could not interpret at all. Spelling is bad even on the crawls on TV. Where are the editors? I have not read item at the top of the thread but I will.

sharmon202
April 28th, 2021, 01:45 PM
"The writers Perfect Pen" link was at start of thread.
I was not impressed by this essay. It seemed to go off on tangents and I don't think the poetry added anything. I did not get the essays purpose and was glad it was short.

An old bloke
April 28th, 2021, 02:58 PM
When I read articles on the internet or see writing on TV am amazed how awful the spelling and grammar are. Looks like these freelancers do a quick spell check and submit without taking time to proofread themselves. One tine there was a sentence I could not interpret at all. Spelling is bad even on the crawls on TV. Where are the editors? I have not read item at the top of the thread but I will.

If you want to see just how bad it is, try putting closed captioning on and watch a few TV shows comparing what is said and what is CC'ed.

Sandy
May 1st, 2021, 01:34 AM
1/ You are hoping that your grandmother/parishoners/pupils won't pick up a book you wrote that full of libidinous, salacious sex scenes, with your name on the cover.

2/ Some authors have more than one pen name. The pen name is a "brand" for a particular genre. Some authors write literary fiction undoer one name, and slushy romantic fiction/SF/westerns. It gives each series/style its own identity.

3/ J K Rowling used a pen name for her detective fiction to see if she could prove herself to be a writer of more than Harry Potter. The detective novels do get into the best seller lists, so maybe it works.

4/ You don't want the authorities to know that it is you that is accusing them of genocide.

5/ To avoid prosecution for obscentiy or whatever.

6/ Too many John Smiths.

7/ To add an air or mystery and intrigue. Sometimes foreign names sound better.

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January 27th, 2022, 01:11 PM
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An old bloke
January 27th, 2022, 02:10 PM
It's astounding that such a wordsmith as Ted Hughes couldn't spell Sheaffer. Why do people have so much trouble with that word? I've seen some very inventive spellings of it. Schaffer is a recent one.

G'day Deb,

My father used a Sheaffer fountain pen. The only time he didn't was when he needed a pencil, and on a rare occasion when he was in a bank and didn't have his own pen with him. Even so, with decades of daily exposure to his Sheaffer I had the habit of misspelling it simply because I spelt it as it is pronounced -- 'shay-fer'. Now, when I spell it, I mentally pronounce it as 'she-fer'.

I wonder it Ted Hughes had the same problem.

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June 30th, 2022, 12:04 AM
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September 12th, 2022, 01:10 PM
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September 26th, 2022, 12:06 PM
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Luiza92
February 17th, 2023, 11:34 PM
Yes, it's a very interesting topic.

emiliacarter
March 26th, 2023, 03:51 AM
Your writing is vivid and descriptive, and it really brought the experience of using a pen to life. One of the things that stood out to me in your essay was the idea of a pen is a tool for self-expression. I completely agree with this sentiment, as I believe that writing is one of the most powerful forms of self-expression. Whether you're writing a novel, a poem or it resume writer (https://skillhub.com/it-resume-writing-service) or just jotting down your thoughts in a journal, a pen allows you to take the thoughts and ideas in your mind and put them down on paper. And there's something really special about seeing your own thoughts and ideas take shape in front of you.

Marsilius
March 27th, 2023, 10:07 AM
I am wondering how well ChatGPT will write about canned ham products . . .

TSherbs
March 27th, 2023, 10:36 AM
I think we're learning :(

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