Changing journals and changing headings for change’s sake
No plan survives a week entirely intact. The first two weeks of summer break strayed widely from my original plan of reading and commonplacing. Yet, there’s a strong silver lining. Summer months offer me the time and freedom to follow projects as they capture my attention.
And put them into new journals. Definite perk.
More to the point, I’m trying on new formats in my personal journal. Life is for tinkering.
Personal journal entries now begin with ruler-wide crossed lines. One horizontal at full ruler width. Another vertically down the outermost margin at half my ruler’s width.
Simple with such handy markings
These lines are easy to spot while flipping quickly through the notebook. And making consistent lines requires a minimum of tools: a ruler and a pen.
Oohs and aahs and right angles
My old journals used two center lines, one from a nib’s normal writing width and a second, below the first, in a narrower line from reverse writing.
Clear and simple
The old headings are centered in the page. While equally easy to make with a ruler and pen, my book-wide searches for past entries were a hunt for negative space — the third-of-a-page above the header and dual centered lines.
This was especially true with the poetry and reading excerpts I leave strewn at the ends of journal entries.
I now leave an artsy heading at the top of pages where I write out poems and lyrics that speak to me on the day I write a journal entry. Now I can hunt for big blocks of color when searching for poems. A breeze to notice while skimming through the notebook.
Pretty noticeable and pretty cool looking
Another reason for the heading changes is because I wanted something new. Novelty is, itself, a pathway back to the desk; into wanting to write. And any strategy that invites me to open my notebook is worthwhile.
So, now I search for those margin-side lines in my new notebook. Differently easy. Invitingly refreshing. Go get ‘em, mnmlscholar.
This week’s Inked Tines update includes last week’s currently inked writing tools.
Toolset
Pens. Last week’s standout combo is most definitely the Narwhal Schuylkill in Chromis Teal paired, as it was, with Robert Oster’s rose-gold shimmery Rose Schwarz. The soft titanium nib provides consistently wet lines capable of carrying shimmer without clogging. 1/3 remaining.
TWSBI 580-ALR (Predator Hybrid) — 1/5. Koiame brought a welcome contrast to the TWSBI’s dark Prussian Blue colorway. The M side of the predator grind was my go-to writing choice. Commonplace notes, journaling, and aquarium planning.
Kaweco Sport (F) — 1/5. An excellent pairing for my daily pocket carry. Made two trips to the local shops, another as primary notetaker during a mid-week brewing session, and multiple long walks. Still wrote reliable every time. Narrow, needlepoint-width lines. Excellent for pocket notes, reading notes, journaling, and commonplace reflections.
Pilot Custom Heritage 912 (SF) — 1/2. I added too much White Lightning to the Walden ink. The result is a pairing that feathers like a bird. Unusable. And my fault. Next time, I’ll need to mix a smaller drop into the ink, perhaps with a wood skewer instead of the dropper Vanness includes with their bottle.
Parker Vacumatic (F) — 1/2. My daily task manager. And my primary writer for direct quotes (commonplace and reading notes), and for structure in my new bullet journal. Consistent, true-to-size F lines. The slim section, with its strong flare out above the nib, suited longer quotes. Smooth EF line on reverse offered great detailed task keeping. Age isn’t everything.
Sailor Pro Gear (Z) — 3/4. A fun journaling combo — especially for extended reflections. Broad lines with a hint of line variation. Sabimidori was wet enough to write strongly blue and dry a musky-green. Would repeat this pairing.
Notebooks. Journal. LIFE Nobe Note x Kleid (B6). I’ve taken a different tack this week by reviewing my personal writing since July 1. Seven new entries over ten days. 23 pages of writing, lists, and writing samples.
Good paper keeps me writing
Five entries are longform reflections. Two are scratch work. Sketching and scribbling out ephemeral notes while reading and during yesterday’s local pen group meetup.
Moreover, LIFE’s collaboration with Kleid relies on a 2mm grid. Tiny. Teeny-tiny. The diminutive grid is comfortable for writing if I consider every three rows to be one line: one 2mm row of padding below the line above and 4mm of writing space.
2+2= a happy line height
Every pen met paper during the span of my journaling. Sabimidori stands out as it took exceptionally well to covering LIFE’s printed grid lines. The resulting clean look makes me smile.
Aquarium bujo. LIFE Noble Note N28 (B6). I also started this notebook as a bullet journal to aid my transition into a new 9-gallon aquarium. Twenty pages of notes, reference information, and a running log tracking the status of the tank.
Planning with Mildliner accents
Bullet journals are great repositories for research into plants and fish. And also for rendering settings and maintenance schedules easily recoverable.
And a meaningful way to blend my two hobbies: stationery and keeping an aquarium.
A healthy fish tank balances light, fauna, flora, carbon dioxide and water quality. Finding that balance is an adventure in tinkering with levels, recording results, and then re-tinkering.
My most-revisited pages are collections of other hobbyists’ lessons. Proper amounts of fertilizer, and lighting, and how much water to change. Numbers and levels that warrant periodic revision.
The opening four-page index is key to finding the information I need. All recorded with a Baron Fig Squire — not a fountain pen.
That’s one noble ghoul
I change inks frequently. Selecting a single ballpoint ink ensures that my finished index contains only one ink color. One, uniform black hue helps me to quickly scan for the page(s) I want to reference. Without distracting thoughts like, “Oh! What ink color was that? I should use it next week.”
Commonplace. Elemental Paper Iodine (A5). A lovely notebook from a science-themed maker Elemental Paper. A maker that is sadly no longer with us.
Seven more pages of commonplace notes made their way into my Iodine last week. Primarily focused on Balkin’s conceptual chapters. Ideas like: on-the-wall and off-the-wall Supreme Court reasoning, and the relationship between SCOTUS decisions and broader public politics. Nerdy fun. And important.
The Parker’s healthy F line keeps my direct quotes clear and legible. Reliable.
Otherwise, I reached for every other pen. And the Narwhal twice.
Written dry. A healthy rotation of my six inked pens led all six pairings to remain inked a week later. A victory all-the-sweeter since I’m still finding joy in five of the six combos.
Ready for the after-party
Newly inked. I behaved — and while weathering an ocean of US-centered holiday sales. An endurance victory.
The collection
Incoming / new orders. A new LIFE Noble Note joined my rotation. A red-covered N28 in a 5mm green-grey grid.
A rare warm-toned colorway for my desk
LIFE’s paper is quite yellow. The paper handles liquid inks well. A great majority of my writing in this bullet journal is for later reference and, so, will be in grey ink. As such, the yellow color has few opportunities to warm colorful inks’ hues.
I consider the purchase as allowed within the pen show embargo as I have a pressing use for the notebook. That counts. Right? Please?
Outgoing / trades or sales. No movement related to downsizing my collection.
Currently reading and listening
Fiction. I charted my way through 21% of Ada Palmer’s Too Like the Lightning — all read on my iPhone.
Palmer’s world building is phenomenal. The political and societal histories into which she tosses her characters is rich and layered. I’m still waiting for the story to take off.
Nonfiction. I wrapped up Balkin’s excellent What Obergefell v. Hodges Should Have Said.
Balkin pulled a cadre of legal scholars together to each write their own legal opinions on the case. William Eskridge Jr. is of particular interest to me. I used to regularly cite his legal histories back in my days as a publishing researcher.
Overall, the book is a thoughtful experiment in legal, social, and historical analysis. Especially those decisions with which I disagree. It’s important to read the reasoning and explore the evidence you find uncompelling.
I finished with excellent ideas for my own writing and teaching.
Music. One of my favorite pianists, Olafur Arnalds, dropped a new single. My listening quickly returned to my two favorite albums by Arnalds: “re:member” and “… And They Have Escaped the Weight of Darkness.”
Arnalds’ work makes for excellent background music while reading and while writing. His work is a staple of my reading playlists.
