How to Improve Your Writing

Right about now my friend writer/producer Dave Topping is worried that I’m going to give you pointers on how to put him out of business 😯   Don’t worry Dave, I’m not.

I’m talking about how to improve the look of your writing and how to gain a new sort of nirvana in the process.  I’m talking about using a fountain pen.

A beautiful swirled acrylic fountain pen created by the Edison Pen Company.

I’ve been a fan of fountain pens for years.  Some say that the act of physically putting pen to paper has all but died.  To those people I say: “Get yourself a fountain pen!”  A good fountain pen elevates your message.  It communicates something to the person reading the correspondence and it communicates something to you.  Writing with a fountain pen shows that you care about what’s being written and that you’ve taken time to thoughtfully write it – after all, you didn’t just reach for any ol’ pen or hurriedly type something on your computer.  A fountain pen says “purposeful” “sophisticated” “quality” “attention to detail” – it says as much about you as what you write on the page.

Selecting the right fountain pen to purchase can be tricky.  A poorly made pen is a source of frustration that rarely works properly and ends up languishing away in a desk drawer never to be used.  Ah, but a well-made pen is an indescribable pleasure to write with.  It can feel as if your pen is gliding across ice.  There is simply no comparison to writing with a ballpoint pen.

This Montblanc fountain pen has been modified with a flexible nib that allows greater variations in line width.

Unfortunately, you can’t tell the quality of a fountain pen by looking at it or by its price.  So how do you figure out if a fountain pen is a great fountain pen before you purchase it?  One way is by the reputation of the pen manufacturer.  Any Montblanc pen is going to be a great pen. But there are also less expensive and more interesting pens available.  The Edison Pen Company is a relatively small company in Ohio started by penmaker extraordinaire Brian Gray.  There is an attention to detail as well as beauty in the pens made by Brian and they function flawlessly.  They are not inexpensive, but they are wonderful pens that look and perform the way you want them to.

One of the least expensive fountain pens I’ve found that consistently performs flawlessly is the TWSBI 540.  TWSBI pens are manufactured in China.   The 540 doesn’t scream “old money” like a Montblanc but it works perfectly every time you pick it up to write with it.   In short, you can count on it to deliver.

So, what do fountain pens have to do with video production and miano.tv?  Try rereading this post but think of it in terms of video production.  Very similar rules and qualities apply.  There are a lot of people who can “do a video for you” just like there are many nice looking fountain pens.  They may present themselves well on the outside, but it’s their ability to effectively communicate your message that really counts.  Just like a fine writing instrument, miano.tv elevates your message with purpose, sophistication, quality and attention to detail.