InCoWriMo Freebies

Happy InCoWriMo!

Two InCoWriMo letters I just sent out

Much like my first experience with NaNoWriMo, I didn't discover this event until the day it began. Still, I'm definitely participating. Why?

Well, firstly because letter  writing is a good thing. It's good for the writer but also for the recipient (even my 8 year old video game loving nephew is thrilled when he  gets mail). Secondly, I'm not very good at letter writing, I freeze at the thought of having to select just the right words and tone. Yes, you read that correctly: I'm participating in International Correspondence Writing Month because I put off writing letters. That is the beauty of this type of event, the combined power of a  deadline and a camaraderie remove the excuses we normally give for not doing things we care about like sending a note or even writing a novel.

For some of the correspondence I'm sending out this month I painted cards just for the recipient, but I also painted a few things to print onto fountain pen friendly paper. In the name of drawing more people into this event & helping out those struggling to keep it up, I've decided to share two of those paintings.

Below are the images I'm sharing: a Noodler's fountain pen & a blue "Ink-a- Rhino" with a bow tie. To print these images on your own paper follow the links below to download the full size image to your computer. When printing select letter-sized paper (I actually set it up to use 8.3x 11.7 Rhodia paper) and either "Print entire image" for a slightly larger image or "Scale to fit page" for a slightly smaller image.

I hope you enjoy these and writing letters!

Click Here to download the Fountain Pen                               Click Here to download the Rhino

Morning Meditations

I've long thought that mornings should start slowly with a warm drink and a book in hand. Over the years I went back and forth between thinking that it had to be a Bible and accepting devotional books as a substitute. But this past year and a half it has been hard to spend time with either type.


Late last Spring I was introduced to the writings of Rowan Williams (currently Lord of Oystermouth). I savored The Lion's World and then Tokens of Trust. Neither  of these books would be considered "devotional" by my old standards, but they were both of great help to me. Lord Williams has many more writings that I hope to read, but of late I've found following arguments and reasons hard. Last week I sat staring at a page that I'd read twice with no memory of its contents and decided that perhaps I should try another approach.

Making marks on paper is one of my favorite things. When I get a new pen or put a new ink in my fountain pen I love to sit and draw, write, and generally doodle. In fact when I was too busy to do so in the fall, I eventually had to make time for it so the ink on the page could soothe the itch in my soul.

Enter my new morning meditations. Each day I sit with a warm beverage, my pen, a scrap of paper, and the order of service from the previous Sunday.  I read until I find a phrase that jumps off at me (or I go straight to one that caught my attention during the service.)  Then I turn the phrase over in my mind to get a sense of what is most striking to me in the phrase.  From there I try to write the phrase in a way that will enrich the phrase. That means bringing attention to specific words over others and also giving shape and gesture.

No, I'm not a brilliant hand lettering artist. No, my penmanship isn't lovely. Yes, my lines wobble and tilt. No, those things don't matter for this. This is about me savoring the beauty of the words in a prayer or song and scratching that itch to push ink across a page.