I can’t always explain why a set of currently inked pens drives me back to the page. This week’s seven are doing just that.

I added four new pens to the weekly kit. Pens I haven’t used in a while — the Ondoro and Pelikan, especially. All paired with old favorite inks. Spicy.

Novelty is key. Feeling out a new pen or ink or combination draws me back into writing. Returning to the same colors or nibs diminishes the novelty in my penvelope.

It’s easy to fall into cycles wherein I turn to the same ink colors time and again. This week, I escaped the cycle through a tried-and-true method for picking inks: asking my partner to pick ink numbers. Hooray sharing.

The week begins at an interesting juncture. I have six pens already inked. My ink palette, which was both functional and pretty, remains intact. Planning this week’s rotation was easy.

Last week found me with only one pen inked. Uno. Solo. Odd — for me. Clearly the time for a new currently inked has arrived.

Additionally, a full December of using Diamine’s Inkvent left me out of practice with choosing which inks to use. So I took the Gygax route to select this week’s pens and inks. I have a full write-up on the methodology here. It’s fun and well-worth trying out at least once. Dragons not required.