Category: Share & Learn

Pen-sive moment #1 – When is a pen not a pen?

When it’s going to sign all those autographs at all those book signing events, of course.

That got me thinking (if you haven’t figured out already, I tend to over-think things) what style of pen do I want for my very first book signing event?

What sort of things do I need to consider: Colour? Smudge factor? Comfort? (coz I intend signing lots of autographs!)

So off I went to my local Office National store where I learnt something about myself.

I’m apparently a fat pen person! (Although the lady in the stationery shop changed it to ‘broad-point pen’ person. Perhaps because of the look on my face at the time. Perhaps because the term ‘fat pen’ is politically incorrect these days. (Perhaps all the other pens bully the fat pens.)

I tried several pens: Parker, Pilot (there is a penchant for ‘P’ in the pen biz obviously). I tried fine points, medium points and fountain nibs, but for me the fat pen added flair. My curlies were suddenly curlier, my strike-throughs stronger, my running almost carefree, my loops loopier (as was I at this point). Most importantly, my signature looked suitably serious and influential (not fine and flimsy) and more befitting a serious author!!

Here it is. My pen!

Okay, seriously, I had no idea there was so much to consider: acid free, felt-tipped, ball point, fountain, old favourite, family heirloom? Clicky style, lidded, pocket clip?

Argh! Pen science needs to be a degree course.

This writing implement impasse lead me to another dilemma …

Pen-sive moment #2 – How does one sign an autograph: Print? Cursive? Calligraphy? What name do I use: First name only? Both names? My bank signature perhaps? Which page do I sign: Cover? Inside front cover? Title page?

Pensive moment #3 – What else (aside from my name) do I write? “All the best”?(sounds ominous), “Happy reading”? (sounds flippant) “I hope you …” (No, I don’t hope anything I KNOW you will enjoy it!)

Hmm, still none the wiser I Googled (then I asked Bronwyn Parry – who is as good or better than Google when it comes to all things writerly!)

Bron’s five top tips:

1. Avoid RSI (yes, she signs a lot) by having something the same depth as your book to rest your wrist on.
2. Minimise spelling errors and waiting times for autograph-seekers (wow, she really signs a lot of books!) by having ‘someone’ hand out Post it Notes for people to stick on their book with their name before they get to the front of the queue.
3. Test your pen choice suits the paper you are writing on (glossy covers, recycled stock) and have a back up pen.
4. Add a small plastic or paper piece under your wrist to protect the page.
5. Write it over and over and over before the big day so you look like a pen pro.

Pen-sive moment #4 – Not convinced I had quite enough information regarding type of pen, choice of words, etc, I went to that wonderful wizard of wisdom–Wiki–only to discover I had another problem. Motor skills! Did I still have what it takes to use a pen after years of pounding a keyboard to write everything from manuscripts to shopping lists?

Penmanship apparently requires motor control and motor memory. (Huston, we may have a problem.)

Handwriting requires the motor coordination of multiple joints in the hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder to form letters and to arrange them on the page. Holding the pen and guiding it across paper depends mostly upon sensory information from skin, joints and muscles of the hand and this adjusts movement to changes in the friction between pen and paper.With practice and familiarity, handwriting becomes highly automated using motor programs stored in motor memory. Compared to other complex motor skills handwriting is far less dependent on a moment-to-moment visual guidance.

Research in individuals with complete peripheral ‘deafferentation’ with and without vision of their writing hand finds increase of number of pen touches, increase in number of inversions in velocity, decrease of mean stroke frequency and longer writing movement duration. The changes show that cutaneous and ‘proprioceptive’ feedback play a critical role in updating the motor memories and internal models that underlie handwriting. In contrast, sight provides a secondary role in adjusting motor commands. (Wiki)

Sight? Oh no, now I have to go and choose reading glasses! Sure hope I’m not a fat glasses person. Wish me luck. (Oh and maybe buy a book and make me send you a signed bookplate!)