Writer's Bloc Blog

Do you keep lists? To-do lists, shopping lists, goals, action plans, appointments, what else do you keep lists of? Even though I have an iPhone and a lap top computer I still like to have my lists on paper. I find that the act of writing my thoughts down on paper helps me to remember things and to reorganize.

Daily to-do lists are really helpful if you’re busy like me. I like to write all of the most important to-do items at the top of my list, and write the less important tasks at the bottom. If I happen to be driving around that day I group my to-do items by location to make the most of my time and travel expenses. One of the most satisfying things about having a paper list is crossing the tasks off as they are completed! The next day I carry over any unfinished tasks to my new list.

A suggestion I recently heard but have yet to try is writing each of your to-do items on separate index cards. Then divide your index cards into two groups – the first group is for tasks you would like to get done today, the second group is for things to do tomorrow. When tomorrow comes, reorganize your index cards into the same two groups and repeat. Exacompta Index Cards would be great for this purpose since they are so wonderful to use with fountain pens. They also have a grid pattern on them so that any edge of the card can be the top.

One trick to making paper lists work is remembering to bring them with you! I often tape these lists to the door I go through when I leave in the morning so I’m sure not to forget them. Now, Bob’s Your Uncle has made this even simpler with their Handy Handle Pad. No more tape is required since this notepad hangs right on the door handle. If you’re the type that has a pretty extensive daily to-do list Bob’s Your Uncle also makes the No Tomorrow Planner Pad with generous space for appointments and other lists. Just tear off the page and go! If you like to make lists of pros and cons when making decisions there’s even a list pad for that, the Yeah…But List Pad has two columns especially for this purpose.

There are many shapes, sizes and styles of list pads to choose from. Behance, known for its Action Method product line, has a couple of pocket size options to help increase your productivity – the Action Runner and Action Cards. Padblocks makes magnetic list pads with birds or dogs as well as list pads decorated with cats and flowers. Rhodia has list pads in orange and black, and we even have a Googims Time is Money checklist. What’s your favorite list pad and what do you use it for?

Posted by Cheryl at 08:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

If you are particular about what you write with like me, you may agree that the following equation, when put together just right, adds up to a great writing experience:

Pen (A) + Ink (B) + Paper (C) = The Perfect Writing Experience (YAY)!

There is no right or wrong answer to this equation since the answer will depend on the preferences and tastes of the writer.

I’m still in the process of experimenting with pens, inks and papers to see what works for me. Being a Lefty adds some additional challenges since I’m always trying to avoid a big mess of smeared ink. Much to my dismay, I’ve discovered that I am not able to use Clairefontaine’s fabulously smooth 90g white paper for everyday writing with a fountain pen. Almost all fountain pen ink dries too slowly on this paper for my style of left-handed writing and I make a huge mess. *Sniff* However, I can use this paper successfully with a fine nib Platinum Preppy fountain pen using Platinum ink cartridges, Pentel Energel or Slicci gel pens, or some other non-fountain pens and pencils. I’m in the process of testing other types of Clairefontaine paper such as the Graf it sketch pads to see if I can use it regularly with fountain pens. It seems that I need a paper that is slightly absorbent and not too coated, that still resists ink feathering and bleed-through. Right now I am loving J. Herbin Ink since it seems to have a pretty decent drying time. As regards to the pen I use, well, is it possible to have too many pens? I tend to write with whatever I’m in the mood for that particular day.

This is where I need to hear from you. Please leave a comment and tell me what your perfect writing tools are. I’d love to get some valuable tips from other writers!

Posted by Cheryl at 04:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

Dot grid paper is a fun alternative to traditional ruled or graph paper. With a dot grid any edge of the page can be “up”.  This paper is visually less cluttered than graph or ruled paper, but still provides a guide for those who like to keep their writing in a straight line. A great choice for those who like to write and doodle on the same paper! It’s nice to see the variety of choices is increasing for those who prefer dot grid paper.

Rhodia just introduced the dotPad which is a top stapled notepad available in four different sizes. The Rhodia dotPad contains white paper with pale violet dots in a 5mm x 5mm grid. This paper is super smooth and loved by fountain pen users around the world. We have a handful of these notepads available with more to follow.

The Behance Dot Grid Book is a large spiral-bound notebook filled with white paper dotted by a light grey geometric dot matrix. Behance’s other notebooks such as the Action Book and Action Pad are designed to increase productivity and organization in your life and incorporate dot grids into their designs.

Bob’s Your Uncle Pretty Vacant spiral-bound notebook offers cream colored paper with pale green dots. Gotta love the green dots! Great for doodling, sketching, drafting, or writing and made from responsibly managed forests.

WRITERSBLOK notebooks have a stitched binding, are available in small, medium and large sizes and contain cream paper with a very subtle light grey 5mm x 5mm dot grid. You can feel good using these notebooks because a percentage of sales from WRITERSBLOK goes to literacy-related programs around the USA.

Do you love dot grid paper as much as we do? What do you use your dot grid notepads for?

Posted by Cheryl at 06:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

When paper has a weight of 90 g (or gm/m², gsm, g/m²), this means that one sheet of this paper that is one square meter in size weighs 90 grams. Paper that is 80 g would most often be lighter and thinner than 90 g paper, paper that is 100 g would be thicker and heavier. This European measurement is approximately equal to the English measurement of 24 lb. bond/writing or 60 lb. text paper. I'm not even going to attempt to explain the complicated English method of measuring paper density, but you can read about it on Wikipedia if you wish.

Clairefontaine 90 g paper is well-known and loved by fountain pen users the world over. The weight of this paper combined with Clairefontaine's super smooth finish performs very well with fountain pen nibs and ink. There is very minimal, if any, problems with fountain pen ink on this paper such as bleeding through the paper, feathering or showing through to the other side. If you haven't already tried Clairefontaine's famous paper why not add some to your collection. Your fountain pen and your hand will thank you!

Posted by Cheryl at 09:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

While shopping in Paris I discovered that Clairefontaine has partnered with Kawaiko to create a line of cute notebooks and more that combine Japanese and French fashion. The result is a flowery, funky mix featuring four very different but very fashionable girls who are students in a school of design - Kima, Miio, Elea and Lina.

I brought home a large notebook with Clairefontaine graph paper and a picture of Lina wearing a Kimono on the front cover. You can even purchase matching Kawaiko/Clairefontaine computer bags, makeup bags, backpacks, tote bags, pencil sharpeners, waste paper baskets, agendas, notepads and more. Wouldn't it be nice to see some of these things in the USA!

If you're wondering what Harajuku inspired French fashion looks like take a look at the Kawaiko store website.

Even though most of us can only drool over the enormous variety of Clairefontaine products in France, in the USA we can still enjoy a wide selection of Clairefontaine products with the famous super smooth paper writers love.

Posted by Cheryl at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It seems Clairefontaine is now printing notebooks with a new cover design that reminds me of computer graphics in the movie The Matrix. After picking up these notebooks in Paris and wondering whether or not this was an preview of what was to come in the USA, Writer's Bloc noticed a handful of one size of Clairefontaine notebooks coming in with similar cover designs. Perhaps the future line of laminated Clairefontaine covers will incorporate this style of design. We'll have to wait and see...

Clairefontaine Paris also sells notepads with colorful and durable translucent plastic covers. I grabbed a few of these notebooks in the 6 3/4" x 8 3/4" size with French ruled paper. These covers seem like they would be especially durable and resistant to creasing, great for a notebook with contents that you plan to save. In the future perhaps we'll see this line of Clairefontaine notebooks in the USA too. We'll be watching for them!

Posted by Cheryl at 08:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

After my recent visit to Paris during the height of back to school shopping I would have to say, YES,  students in France really do commonly use French rule paper. While shopping I observed parents and students busily filling their shopping baskets with loose sheets and notebooks filled with French rule, or Séyès paper.

I found the two most common sizes of paper were A4, or 8 1/4" x 11 3/4", and 6 5/8" x 8 5/8". The smaller size of paper was even available in loose sheets and there were nice compact size binders to hold these pages as well.

Clairefontaine paper was everywhere! Just look at these stacks of Clairefontaine French rule copies doubles perforees and loose sheets! The available quantity and variety of Clairefontaine paper was definitely enough to make this USA shopper jealous! I might just have to plan a return trip to France and bring an extra suitcase.

Posted by Cheryl at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Exaclair gives us some insight into famous fans of Clairefontaine paper. There's quite a list, and we know this isn't all inclusive:

Carla Bruni, Carrie Bradshaw, John Berendt, David Mamet, Claire Messud, Paul Auster, Christina Baldwin, Lillian Ross, Lyn Harris, Karine Moline, Kim France, Anne Stuart, J. Sperling Reich, Carol L. Skolnick, Susan Wiggs, Karen Traviss and Hawksley Workman all regularly use Clairefontaine paper.

In case you don't know who some of these people are, you can read about them on Exaclair's website. Many of them are well-known authors and writers who would know a quality notebook when they used one!

One of our favorite excerpts from Exaclair is the information about Susan Wiggs:

"Best selling author Susan Wiggs, in her recent novel, Passing through Paradise, devised a heroine who uses Clairefontaine tablets and peacock-blue ink. This is no surprise, since the author herself always writes her first drafts with a special fountain pen, peacock-blue ink, and, yes, Clairefontaine notebooks."

Even not-so-famous writers like ourselves have caught on to why Clairefontaine is simply the best paper in the world for writing!

Posted by Cheryl at 07:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Cheryl at 08:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Simply put, French ruled or Séyès paper is the standard lined paper used by students in France. It is as commonly used in France as college ruled paper is used in the USA.

French ruled paper consists of an 8mm x 8mm grid, with lighter or thinner horizontal lines spaced 2mm apart inside the main grid. There is a left margin, as well as some space without the horizontal lines at the top and bottom of the page.

This paper is useful for students to learn French cursive, and is an excellent tool for anyone to learn cursive writing, to improve their handwriting or practice calligraphy.

The vertical grid lines are useful to add a nice visual form to written essays etc. Indentations, such as at the beginning of a paragraph, can be kept consistent using these vertical lines.

Besides using this paper for regular writing and note taking, I have heard that some people use this paper to record lab results, do bookkeeping, create matrices, as well as creating grading rubrics. Others use it because they love paper with very narrow lines. I can't help but thinking that this would be good paper for creating crossword or sudoku puzzles, or maybe even for practicing Chinese or Korean writing. Whatever you want to use it for, Writer's Bloc now has an expanded line of Clairefontaine's French Ruled paper. Why not think outside the lines and give it a try to see why so many people love it!

Posted by Cheryl at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

First of all, can I point out that the covers of the Atomic Soda Minilabo and 2 Rouge polypro (short for polypropelene) notebooks are absolutely hilarious? Look at the eyes on that little green alien! I am actually using the "Love" notebook, which states, "product necessary for love." I'm not totally sure what it means, but it's funny. Really, I fell in love with these notebooks for their covers alone.

Turns out, the cover is only the beginning of how GREAT these notebooks are. The big spiral binding is ultra durable, never snags, and very practical. I use this notebook to take notes, sometimes in places where tables are not readily available so the spiral binding and plastic cover makes writing in my lap totally comfortable. The pages of the notebook are lined on one side and blank on the other, which obviously means you can write and/or draw, but it can be used other ways too. I've been using it so that I take notes from a talk or meeting on the lined side, and then use the blank side to write down how I can apply the information to myself. It's like having a sectioned notebook, but even more convenient! Finally the paper is great. It's thick and smooth, but not too glossy, which is great for writing with any kind of pen (even the free ones from your insurance agent or school secretary). Overall I am a BIG fan of this notebook cute, funny, and totally practical, what more could a girl ask for?

Posted by Kelly at 08:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have been using the Her Words notebook (part of the Live Inspired collection by Compendium) for a few weeks now, and I must say I am quite fond of it. I use it as my notebook for work so it is packed with notes and ideas written in dozens of different inks. So far the paper has performed fairly well. The only ink that has bleed through is a dark blue ink from a fountain pen that writes wet, otherwise all gel pens, dark pencils, and other inks have stayed where they were meant to be. The college ruled lines are perfect for my medium-small sized handwriting, and the narrow margins allow for maximum page use, which is important to me. Finally, I love that it is lightweight but super durable. I have thrown it in bags, backpacks, and even the backseat of my car, but the semi-hard cover has kept it from harm. In fact, it still really looks brand new! I would definitely recommend this notebook to any of my girlfriends, especially the ones that enjoy inspirational quotes and pretty designs.

Posted by Kelly at 08:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Thanks to all who participated in our Rhodia Treasure Box giveaway. There are many of you that love Rhodia and we appreciate all of your comments! We enjoyed reading your thoughts about which Rhodia products you use and why, as well as what your wish lists are.

The winner is Jill who posted a comment on February 10th. Congratulations Jill!

Posted by Cheryl at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Compendium is a Seattle-based company that has a line of inspiring, fresh and design-rich products including notebooks. I recently got my hands on the Hmm... Reporter Style Notebook and wondered how practical this notebook style would be and how suitable it would be for fountain pen use.

This notebook is 3.75” W x 5.5” H which is a nice size to fit in your purse and pocket. The elastic is snappy enough to keep the notebook securely closed and it is orange which is one of my favorite colors! The textured hard cover is a nice firm surface that allows me to write easily even when there is no desk or table nearby. The binding is sewn so the pages do not fall out and the pages open easily. As a left-handed writer I also appreciate that there are no spirals or rings or bulky binding to get in the way of my writing!

The paper is smooth and heavy weight, and in the Hmm... Notebook it is a nice ivory color with subtle pink dotted lines that are a nice guide, but aren't overpowering. On the bottom of random pages there are some inspiring and some humorous quotes such as "You're only given a spark of madness. You musn't lose it." by Robin Williams and "Ideas come from everywhere. Be open to them." by Alfred Hitchcock. For those of you that prefer blank pages, other designs of the Compendium Reporter Style Notebook are available with blank paper.

Compendium's heavy weight paper performed pretty well with fountain pens. There was no feathering and no see-through with my fountain pens, however, there was some bleed-through when I used a medium LAMY nib along with a very wet LAMY ink flow. The other fine or medium fountain pens I used with Noodlers, Platinum Preppy or Pelikan ink had no bleed-through and I could easily write smoothly on both sides of the paper.

Being left-handed I am rather particular about my pens and paper am often underwhelmed at their performance. For a long time I had no urge to try anything new since I wouldn't like it anyway. Since I've been working at Writer's Bloc I've realized there are pens and paper out there that I can actually enjoy. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed using fine tip gel pens with this notebook. The fine tips did not poke through the paper, the gel pens wrote smoothly and did not skip. I think the Pentel Slicci was my favorite pen to use in combination with Compendium's Reporter Style Notebook. Would I buy this notebook again? Yes!

Posted by Cheryl at 01:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

******CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED******

Rhodia's original notepad design dates all the way back to the 1930's and it hasn't changed since! These lovable orange notepads have a scored folding front cover that folds neatly behind the pad and they contain environmentally friendly Clairefontaine paper. The 80g paper is super-smooth, acid-free and fountain pen friendly. Although Rhodia paper is available as graph, blank and ruled, the graph paper remains the favorite of creative people who sketch, do hand drafting and take notes.

The Rhodia Treasure Box cleverly looks just like a large Rhodia notepad. Open the cover to find 4 Rhodia graph paper notepads of various sizes and 2 triangular shaped Rhodia pencils. These make great gifts!

HOW TO ENTER:

We want to hear from you! Leave a comment on our blog telling us (1) what Rhodia product is your personal favorite and (2) why you like it. If you've never used Rhodia, then we would appreciate knowing which Rhodia product you'd like to try first! One of you Commenters will be chosen to receive a Rhodia Treasure Box.

Comments must be received by February 28, 2009. Giveaway open to residents of the USA only. Winner will be chosen by March 7, 2009 and will be contacted by email. Giveaway is not open to employees of Writer's Bloc.

******CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED******

Posted by Cheryl at 09:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (63) | TrackBacks (0)

Ever since I heard about Staedtler's Ergosoft Aquarell Coloured Pencils I have been wanting to give them a try. These pencils have watercolor lead for dry and wet blending, providing a wide range of creative possibilities when coloring, drawing or watercoloring with water and brush. I'm not an artist, but this sounded like fun! Even though Clairefontaine makes a watercolor pad, I decided to pair the pencils up with a Clairefontaine Sketch Pad because the paper has a smoother finish. For my first experiment I doodled a picture of my cat, Mulder. Here is what the picture looked like before using a wet paintbrush:

Here is what the picture looked like after using a wet paintbrush:

This was created simply by making a pencil sketch first, and then applying a small wet paintbrush. As soon as the colors got wet they seemed to "melt" and became brighter and more intense. Different color shades could easily be blended. The paper did wrinkle a bit, so the heavier weight watercolor paper might have been better, but I felt the smoother sketch pad paper might be easier for making fine pencil lines. This was a fun project and I'm looking forward to trying some different techniques. Which picture looks better? I'll let you decide....

If any of you have artwork created by Staedtler Aquarell pencils you would like to share, please email it to us at info@shopwritersbloc.com. We'll share our favorites in a future blog post!

Posted by Cheryl at 01:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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Le Petit Prince, or as most of you might know it, The Little Prince, is a novella published in 1943 by French aviator Antoine de Saint Exupery. The Little Prince has been translated into over 180 languages and approximately 80 million copies have been sold which makes it one of the world's 50 best-selling books! 

The whimsical drawings reproduced in most versions of the book are done by Saint Exupery himself. One drawing gives us a view of The Prince on his house-sized planet, B612, which has three volcanoes (two active, and one dormant) and a rose. We also see him caring for his planet by digging up the baobab trees that are constantly trying to grow there. If the baobab trees become too many the asteroid is in danger of being split into pieces! Before travelling to earth, The Prince visits other asteroids, one of which is inhabited by a sleepless Lamplighter. The Prince shows much empathy for him as this Lamplighter must light and extinguish a lamp once a minute to keep up with his asteriod's speedy rotation.

A pilot lost in the Sahara Desert meets The Prince when he arrives on earth and creates a portrait of this young extraterrestrial with golden curly hair and princely robes. The Little Prince also meets and tames a fox who explains to The Prince that even though there are many roses, his rose is unique and special, because she is the one that he loves. In another drawing we see The Prince sitting on the ruins of a stone wall with a poisonous yellow snake at the bottom, and in case you haven't read the book we won't tell you what happens next! 

Le Petit Prince notepads and planners by Art Deco 7321 are decorated with many of these memorable drawings and are now available at our Writer's Bloc online store. If you are not yet familiar with it, why not pick up a copy of Le Petit Prince at your local library or bookstore and see for yourself why this book has such enduring popularity.

Posted by Cheryl at 01:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)