In Praise of the Pen

I had to smile at a network contact's recent observation: "Writers like pens."

I was glad to know that others share my affinity for what may seem like outdated instruments in these keyboard-centric times. Although I write faster by typing on a keyboard than by putting pen to paper, I still like pens.

Over the years, friends have given me high-quality pens as gifts. My definition of a high-quality pen is one that you refill with ink instead of just tossing the whole pen when the ink's gone. While these pens look shiny and pretty on my desk, they don't always measure up to the cheap ones. For one thing, the metal of a more expensive pen can make it heavy to hold.

For me, the true test of a good pen is how easily it glides across the page. The ideal pen is lightweight and drops ink in a smooth, non-globby, non-skipping way that doesn't impede the flow of words.

When I was reporting, I found a pen that met my standards. It was a cheap Office Plus pen that I bought by the box at a local office supply store. Nothing could fly across my reporter's notebook like those babies. And believe me, when you're taking notes, you need a fast pen. You could miss a good quote while waiting for the pen to catch up.

Although I'm not taking notes for a living right now, I still use pens every day. Most people do; they just don't think much about them...unless they're writers.