S.L. Viehl's Blog, page 111
October 12, 2013
Way of the Spinyback
I was out in the yard snapping photos of the sunset when I noticed something glittering over my guy's spare trailer:
The web was enormous -- probably six by eight feet in size -- and glowed like spun gold:
I thought it might have been built by one of the big orb weavers in our yard, but on closer inspection I found the maker in the very center of the web:
We call these little critters crab spiders, although they're actually a type of orb weaver called a spinybacked, or properly known as Gasteracantha cancriformis (Linnaeus). These spiders are extremely small; the largest I've ever seen was about as big as an M&M. This spinner was even tinier; I'm guessing she could lounge comfortably atop a pencil eraser.
Why this crabby little gal feels compelled to build such huge, intricate webs, I can't tell you. There's probably some scientific reason to explain it all, but when you look at it common sense tells you it has to be exhausting for her. Why doesn't she spin something smaller and less ambitious? It would certainly be easier, less noticeable and she'd probably get by just fine. All this work she does instead seems almost foolish.
Almost.
Now imagine the spinybacked orb weaver as a writer, and the web she spins is the work. She could probably get by doing a third of the labor, sticking to modest expectations and producing something safe and sellable that won't attract a lot of notice. Many writers do, and make nice careers that way, and likely have comfortable, happy lives. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all glorious or memorable about it, either.
Anyway. There are no shortcuts for the spinybacked orb weaver. She stays true to her vision, does all the work involved and creates something extraordinary. For the short time she's here, she gives it her all, and I can't imagine she has any regrets. She might be small, and not particularly attractive, but she builds castles of silk and light in the air. Even better, she lives in them.
And as a template for the writing life, you don't get much better than that.
The web was enormous -- probably six by eight feet in size -- and glowed like spun gold:
I thought it might have been built by one of the big orb weavers in our yard, but on closer inspection I found the maker in the very center of the web:
We call these little critters crab spiders, although they're actually a type of orb weaver called a spinybacked, or properly known as Gasteracantha cancriformis (Linnaeus). These spiders are extremely small; the largest I've ever seen was about as big as an M&M. This spinner was even tinier; I'm guessing she could lounge comfortably atop a pencil eraser.
Why this crabby little gal feels compelled to build such huge, intricate webs, I can't tell you. There's probably some scientific reason to explain it all, but when you look at it common sense tells you it has to be exhausting for her. Why doesn't she spin something smaller and less ambitious? It would certainly be easier, less noticeable and she'd probably get by just fine. All this work she does instead seems almost foolish.
Almost.
Now imagine the spinybacked orb weaver as a writer, and the web she spins is the work. She could probably get by doing a third of the labor, sticking to modest expectations and producing something safe and sellable that won't attract a lot of notice. Many writers do, and make nice careers that way, and likely have comfortable, happy lives. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all glorious or memorable about it, either.
Anyway. There are no shortcuts for the spinybacked orb weaver. She stays true to her vision, does all the work involved and creates something extraordinary. For the short time she's here, she gives it her all, and I can't imagine she has any regrets. She might be small, and not particularly attractive, but she builds castles of silk and light in the air. Even better, she lives in them.
And as a template for the writing life, you don't get much better than that.
October 11, 2013
Dancing with Books
This delightful video from Type Books in Canada will make you wonder what your books do after you go to bed (some background music, for those of you at work):
October 10, 2013
Juniper Moon CSA Shares
This year I became a CSA share holder in Juniper Moon, an organic, no-kill farm that produces yarn and fiber from humanely-treated sheep and goats. I first read about Juniper Moon in Country Living magazine, and it's exactly the sort of enterprise I like to support. Also, I just thought it would be cool to get some yarn directly from the source.
In return for investing in the farm I receive a share of their clip, which arrived last week:
The wool is a lovely creamy white, and still smells like the sheep at the farm (this is because while it's beautifully milled it's not washed, and arrives with all the lanolin still intact.) To get it ready for my project, I had to first wash it in some Dawn and rinse with vinegar:
Once the skeins were clean they fluffed up quite a bit, as you can see from when I put them out on the back porch to dry:
After drying them in the sunshine I then began winding them up into balls (for crocheting it's easier for me to work with a ball versus a skein):
Now every morning I'm using my yarn to work on a holiday project. Crocheting is something I can usually do without thinking about it, especially if I use a simple, in-the-round pattern that I can easily memorize. This also gives me time/space to think about the current WIP and all my other writing projects, or just relax and think about nothing at all.
As you might guess with my crabby fingers it's slow going, but that's fine; I'm in no hurry. The wool is amazingly light and has a very smooth hand, and while now and then I have to pick out a stray dark hair or a tiny bit of grass it's been a lot of fun to use. As to what I'm making, you'll have to wait and see, but here's one block to give you a hint:
In return for investing in the farm I receive a share of their clip, which arrived last week:
The wool is a lovely creamy white, and still smells like the sheep at the farm (this is because while it's beautifully milled it's not washed, and arrives with all the lanolin still intact.) To get it ready for my project, I had to first wash it in some Dawn and rinse with vinegar:
Once the skeins were clean they fluffed up quite a bit, as you can see from when I put them out on the back porch to dry:
After drying them in the sunshine I then began winding them up into balls (for crocheting it's easier for me to work with a ball versus a skein):
Now every morning I'm using my yarn to work on a holiday project. Crocheting is something I can usually do without thinking about it, especially if I use a simple, in-the-round pattern that I can easily memorize. This also gives me time/space to think about the current WIP and all my other writing projects, or just relax and think about nothing at all.
As you might guess with my crabby fingers it's slow going, but that's fine; I'm in no hurry. The wool is amazingly light and has a very smooth hand, and while now and then I have to pick out a stray dark hair or a tiny bit of grass it's been a lot of fun to use. As to what I'm making, you'll have to wait and see, but here's one block to give you a hint:
October 9, 2013
Substitute NaNoWriMo Badges
I'm not really in love with the participant "Nano Flair" badges the folks over at National Novel Writing Month are offering for 2013, so instead of posting them on my Photobucket account as I do every year I've made up some artful substitutes (and to get the image link, hover your cursor over the image you want, or grab the links below):
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh...
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh...
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh...
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh...
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh...
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh...
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh...
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh...
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh...
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh...
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh...
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh...
October 8, 2013
Recycle X 5: Mini-Binder
For my fourth project with recycling cardboard I decided to make a mini-binder for some visual ephemera related to the Disechanted & Co. series. There were a couple of problems along the way (one stain never really dried, and I had trouble getting the duct tape on straight) so I need to repeat the project and work out a few bugs before I post directions for it.
In the meantime, here's a slideshow of how I worked on it from start to finish:
In the meantime, here's a slideshow of how I worked on it from start to finish:
October 7, 2013
Blues Buster Ten
Someone (you know who you are) asked if I would expand on my Anti-Slump ten list last month with more specifics on how to cope with depression. So here are
Ten More Things to Help Bust the Blues
Accept What You Can't Change: You probably won't make $95 million dollars from your writing, because you have to compete with 95 million other writers who want that. Or maybe you got 95 million rejection letters last year. Whatever is happening in the biz is going to happen and unless you're the CEO of a huge publishing house you can't do anything to change it (here's a secret: neither can most of those CEOs.) Getting upset, brooding and/or feeling despair over things you cannot possible change prevent you from changing what you can, and moving forward, and enjoying your writing life. So: let it go. Accept that there will always be things about Publishing that you can't change, and that will stop them from depressing you and getting between you and the page.
Attitude Shift: With all the challenges involved with the work it's easy to fall into the trap of a negative attitude toward it. Being creative on demand is tough enough without piling dread or despair or doubts on top of it, and when you do that, you're really fighting yourself. The next time you go into your writing space, leave the bad attitude outside. Don't think about writing and all the negative things you've been associating with it. Think about nothing but the work. Aka just sit your butt in the chair and write.
Do What You Can (Instead of Hating Yourself for What You Can't): I got a shot last week and had a minor reaction to it, which temporarily disabled my left arm and resulted in constant, nagging discomfort for four days. Every time I moved my arm, pain would shoot up into my shoulder and neck, so I couldn't get any of my housework or sewing done. Which frustrated me to no end, until I considered how lucky I am. It's true that I have to get shots every couple of months, but I have friends with diabetes who have to face the needle every single day. I needed the shot, and I knew from experience that the pain would eventually disappear, and I'd get back my arm. In the meantime, I could do other things that didn't require both arms. Which I did, and subsequently knocked out one major project for October before the month even started ( and I couldn't have done that if I was wallowing in misery.)
Help Someone Else: I bet you know a person who is having a tough time right now, too, and I also bet you could do something to help. Combat your blues by doing something for them -- write them an e-mail, ask how they're doing, and/or offer your shoulder for them to lean on. This will help you stop worrying about yourself by focusing on a friend's troubles. If you and your friend are writers and a good match for critiquing, offer to swap your latest chapters. If you're both readers, ask if they want to swap the latest good book you've each read. If you live close enough, meet up for coffee or lunch.
Learn Something New: There are tons of free tutorials and classes about innumerable subjects online, and I'm sure at least one of them covers a topic of interest to you. Do a search for a free class on something you want to learn and take it.
Makeover Your Writing Space: Cherstin mentioned in comments last week that she was rearranging her writing space, and I think as a one-day project that could be a great mood booster. Take a day off from writing to give your space a makeover, clean up any clutter, alter how your work area is arranged, and otherwise change things up.
Set More Reasonable Goals: It's tempting to try to write enormous amounts of new pages every time you go to the keyboard, but that's often a guaranteed recipe for burnout, too. If you're finding your writing time is becoming more of a burden every day, and/or you're not getting what you want on the page, reset your goals to more reasonable levels. Instead of trying to write 3000 words in one session, go for 1500; if you're spending four hours at the keyboard, cut it back to two. What you lose in quantity you'll probably gain back in quality.
Talk Shop: Every writer has particular areas of expertise with the craft as well as things about it that they love. Sharing insight into some element of the craft can shift your focus from what's depressing you to what you do very well or what you'd like to improve. Write up a post about it, invite your visitors to discuss the topic and contribute what you can to help them.
Vent Constructively: Unplug from the internet, which is probably the source of 75% of your frustration, and channel your negative feelings in another direction. I use the work and my journals on days when I'm really aggravated. Most often I write a really vicious action scene and pour all my ire onto the page. If I'm too upset for that, I'll shove everything aside, grab my anger journal and indulge in a long, private tirade over whatever is bothering me (and whenever I finish an anger journal I burn it, and that always feels wonderful, too.)
Wander Off Creatively: On my worst day last month some books arrived with a pile of brand-new cardboard used as packing. I hate waste like this, so at first it didn't improve my mood at all. Then I thought of that quotation Be the change you want to see in the world and wondered if I could make something out of it. I've never worked much with corrugated cardboard except as picture backing, so that was an immediate challenge, as was coming up with designs of things things I would actually use. That day I started my Recycle X 5 project. I know how silly it may sound to everyone else, but you can't believe how much fun I've had cooking up new ideas to recycle this cardboard. The project has also provided something positive for me to look forward to every week (and project #4, which I'll show you tomorrow, was especially fun.) Now I'm almost sorry I didn't get ten pieces of cardboard in that box. Creatively wandering off like this with a short-term, spontaneous project can recharge the batteries and give you a breather from whatever's plaguing you.
Ten More Things to Help Bust the Blues
Accept What You Can't Change: You probably won't make $95 million dollars from your writing, because you have to compete with 95 million other writers who want that. Or maybe you got 95 million rejection letters last year. Whatever is happening in the biz is going to happen and unless you're the CEO of a huge publishing house you can't do anything to change it (here's a secret: neither can most of those CEOs.) Getting upset, brooding and/or feeling despair over things you cannot possible change prevent you from changing what you can, and moving forward, and enjoying your writing life. So: let it go. Accept that there will always be things about Publishing that you can't change, and that will stop them from depressing you and getting between you and the page.
Attitude Shift: With all the challenges involved with the work it's easy to fall into the trap of a negative attitude toward it. Being creative on demand is tough enough without piling dread or despair or doubts on top of it, and when you do that, you're really fighting yourself. The next time you go into your writing space, leave the bad attitude outside. Don't think about writing and all the negative things you've been associating with it. Think about nothing but the work. Aka just sit your butt in the chair and write.
Do What You Can (Instead of Hating Yourself for What You Can't): I got a shot last week and had a minor reaction to it, which temporarily disabled my left arm and resulted in constant, nagging discomfort for four days. Every time I moved my arm, pain would shoot up into my shoulder and neck, so I couldn't get any of my housework or sewing done. Which frustrated me to no end, until I considered how lucky I am. It's true that I have to get shots every couple of months, but I have friends with diabetes who have to face the needle every single day. I needed the shot, and I knew from experience that the pain would eventually disappear, and I'd get back my arm. In the meantime, I could do other things that didn't require both arms. Which I did, and subsequently knocked out one major project for October before the month even started ( and I couldn't have done that if I was wallowing in misery.)
Help Someone Else: I bet you know a person who is having a tough time right now, too, and I also bet you could do something to help. Combat your blues by doing something for them -- write them an e-mail, ask how they're doing, and/or offer your shoulder for them to lean on. This will help you stop worrying about yourself by focusing on a friend's troubles. If you and your friend are writers and a good match for critiquing, offer to swap your latest chapters. If you're both readers, ask if they want to swap the latest good book you've each read. If you live close enough, meet up for coffee or lunch.
Learn Something New: There are tons of free tutorials and classes about innumerable subjects online, and I'm sure at least one of them covers a topic of interest to you. Do a search for a free class on something you want to learn and take it.
Makeover Your Writing Space: Cherstin mentioned in comments last week that she was rearranging her writing space, and I think as a one-day project that could be a great mood booster. Take a day off from writing to give your space a makeover, clean up any clutter, alter how your work area is arranged, and otherwise change things up.
Set More Reasonable Goals: It's tempting to try to write enormous amounts of new pages every time you go to the keyboard, but that's often a guaranteed recipe for burnout, too. If you're finding your writing time is becoming more of a burden every day, and/or you're not getting what you want on the page, reset your goals to more reasonable levels. Instead of trying to write 3000 words in one session, go for 1500; if you're spending four hours at the keyboard, cut it back to two. What you lose in quantity you'll probably gain back in quality.
Talk Shop: Every writer has particular areas of expertise with the craft as well as things about it that they love. Sharing insight into some element of the craft can shift your focus from what's depressing you to what you do very well or what you'd like to improve. Write up a post about it, invite your visitors to discuss the topic and contribute what you can to help them.
Vent Constructively: Unplug from the internet, which is probably the source of 75% of your frustration, and channel your negative feelings in another direction. I use the work and my journals on days when I'm really aggravated. Most often I write a really vicious action scene and pour all my ire onto the page. If I'm too upset for that, I'll shove everything aside, grab my anger journal and indulge in a long, private tirade over whatever is bothering me (and whenever I finish an anger journal I burn it, and that always feels wonderful, too.)
Wander Off Creatively: On my worst day last month some books arrived with a pile of brand-new cardboard used as packing. I hate waste like this, so at first it didn't improve my mood at all. Then I thought of that quotation Be the change you want to see in the world and wondered if I could make something out of it. I've never worked much with corrugated cardboard except as picture backing, so that was an immediate challenge, as was coming up with designs of things things I would actually use. That day I started my Recycle X 5 project. I know how silly it may sound to everyone else, but you can't believe how much fun I've had cooking up new ideas to recycle this cardboard. The project has also provided something positive for me to look forward to every week (and project #4, which I'll show you tomorrow, was especially fun.) Now I'm almost sorry I didn't get ten pieces of cardboard in that box. Creatively wandering off like this with a short-term, spontaneous project can recharge the batteries and give you a breather from whatever's plaguing you.
October 6, 2013
Comments Catchup Day
See you in comments.
October 5, 2013
SF Sub Op
Infinite Acacia has an open call for their upcoming Infinite Science Fiction antho: "We want good science fiction stories. We define SF as broadly as possible. However, please note that fantasy is NOT science fiction. Neither is horror or magical realism. If in doubt about your story's genre, please send it." They also note: "Science Fiction is burdened by a white male shadow hanging over the genre. If you are a woman, better yet if you are a non-white woman, please send in your story. It will be judged solely on quality, but we will be rooting for it to be excellent. If you're a white male, don't fret. We don't discriminate." [PBW notes: nicely put.] Length and payment: "Payment: 1 cent per word for the first 4,000 words." [PBW notes: Ralan.com has the length in the market listing as being from 2-6K, and since Ralan is usually right, I'd go with that, but query if you want to confirm.] No reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Deadline: December 31st, 2013.
October 4, 2013
Video Contest
No film for you all this week as I'm off to prepare for the latest tropical storm headed our way. However, I do have one elsewhere; the official book video for Disenchanted & Co. is being featured today over at You Gotta Read Reviews in a contest for, you guessed it, videos. I entered it because I think Jeff Somers (the producer) is a genius, plus it was a fun way to get more people to watch it.
Stop in if you have a chance, vote when you're able (I believe voting takes place at the end of October), and thanks in advance for your support.
Stop in if you have a chance, vote when you're able (I believe voting takes place at the end of October), and thanks in advance for your support.
October 3, 2013
Joy, Not So Much
Writers are always searching for the perfect pen, so I was quite interested when my friend Jill told me about a lovely commercial she saw for InkJoy, Paper Mate's "revolutionary" new retractable ink pen that promises "effortless" writing. Evidently these pens are so wonderful they practically write by themselves (as they did in the commercial, Jill insisted.) Since I have yet to find an effortless inexpensive writing instrument, and the arthritis in my hands makes finding one a perpetual quest, I had to check them out.
I found two different eight-packs of InkJoy pens at my local CVS store; one set of all-black and another with multicolor inks. As you see here, I bought the latter on sale for $3.99 and brough them home to test drive them.
According to the little story on the back of the package, Paper Mate designed Inkjoy to start "quickly without dragging" and writing with these pens "requires minimal pressure from your hand, and delivers crisp, clean lines every time." They also note "We hope that you feel the joy whenever you write with an InkJoy pen." I'm always prepared for writing joy, so I opened the package and tried out all of the pens.
As soon as I took out the black InkJoy pen the metal clip fell off, which was not a promising beginning. I tried a couple of times to wedge the clip component back in place with no luck. Then I discovered a small ball of soft, waxy goop on the tip, aka the "tip seal" the package claimed preserved the freshness of the pen. Unfortunately this substance had partially melted into the end of the barrel and took me three tries to remove completely. This resulted in ink smeared on my fingertips, something I did not find especially joyful.
The ink did start immediately once I put pen to paper, and flowed a bit better than most ball point pens I've used. Whatever substance or chemical Paper Mate used to make this joyful ink flow has a distinct smell I noticed immediately, rather like ballpoint ink on steroids. Disclaimer: I have a pretty sensitive nose so the ink stink may not bother most people.
I tested the light blue InkJoy next on a pad of writing paper, and again the waxy tip seal ball had partially melted into the barrel and took three tries to remove (wrestling with these tips seals obliged me to stop writing and go wash the ink off my hands several times, also not particularly joy-inspiring.) The ink of the light blue pen had the strongest smell, and the color itself was odd and a bit too light to be practical for writing purposes.
I then put all the pens to the ultimate test by using each in my current Moleskin writing journal. I love Moleskin journals, as they're beautifully made and have perfectly smooth pages, but the narrowness of the lines make them a challenge for me to write in. The ink continued to flow well from all the pens, with some globiness here and there. Pen weight and grip comfort does factor in when you're writing, and the lightness of the barrels and the plastic guards above the pen tips (if these are supposed to provide comfort, they're a total fail) didn't really help in that department at all.
I stopped using the InkJoy pens to switch to my Platinum Koi fountain pen, which is the most effortless pen I own, to compare the feel. The difference between InkJoy and my Koi in writing ease were pretty startling; the cramp that was beginning to set into my hand disappeared with the Koi, along with a lot of my tension. Disclaimer: the Koi has been my most faithful, dependable writing instrument for the last ten years; it has among other superb features a 14k gold nib, and a new one retails for about $300.00, so a 50₵ ball point really hasn't a hope in heaven of competing with it.
The colors of the ink were hit-and-miss for me. I liked the black and dark blue, which were the basic standard color of all ball point pens, but the other colors not so much. The red pen was not really red but more like a dark fuschia, which annoyed the hell out of me. I want red, not dark pink. The orange pen's ink was so light it rendered what I wrote almost unreadable. I then tried a smear test, and discovered the ink doesn't dry instantly. If you don't want to smear what you've written, you have to wait about five seconds for InkJoy to dry.
At no time during my testing of InkJoy did I experience a single moment of joy. Lots of annoyance, yes, a couple of moments of real aggravation, yes, but actual joy, nada.
I took apart the orange pen to look for the revolutionary ink technology I'd been promised, but found the components to be identical to any disposable ball point pen. Since InkJoy didn't deliver on most of Paper Mate's promises -- I think the pens really only provide decent ink flow, assuming you can get the tip seals off without tearing out your hair -- and you can usually find much bigger packs of ballpoint pens at your neighborhood dollar store, I can't recommend them as a good buy.
I found two different eight-packs of InkJoy pens at my local CVS store; one set of all-black and another with multicolor inks. As you see here, I bought the latter on sale for $3.99 and brough them home to test drive them.
According to the little story on the back of the package, Paper Mate designed Inkjoy to start "quickly without dragging" and writing with these pens "requires minimal pressure from your hand, and delivers crisp, clean lines every time." They also note "We hope that you feel the joy whenever you write with an InkJoy pen." I'm always prepared for writing joy, so I opened the package and tried out all of the pens.
As soon as I took out the black InkJoy pen the metal clip fell off, which was not a promising beginning. I tried a couple of times to wedge the clip component back in place with no luck. Then I discovered a small ball of soft, waxy goop on the tip, aka the "tip seal" the package claimed preserved the freshness of the pen. Unfortunately this substance had partially melted into the end of the barrel and took me three tries to remove completely. This resulted in ink smeared on my fingertips, something I did not find especially joyful.
The ink did start immediately once I put pen to paper, and flowed a bit better than most ball point pens I've used. Whatever substance or chemical Paper Mate used to make this joyful ink flow has a distinct smell I noticed immediately, rather like ballpoint ink on steroids. Disclaimer: I have a pretty sensitive nose so the ink stink may not bother most people.
I tested the light blue InkJoy next on a pad of writing paper, and again the waxy tip seal ball had partially melted into the barrel and took three tries to remove (wrestling with these tips seals obliged me to stop writing and go wash the ink off my hands several times, also not particularly joy-inspiring.) The ink of the light blue pen had the strongest smell, and the color itself was odd and a bit too light to be practical for writing purposes.
I then put all the pens to the ultimate test by using each in my current Moleskin writing journal. I love Moleskin journals, as they're beautifully made and have perfectly smooth pages, but the narrowness of the lines make them a challenge for me to write in. The ink continued to flow well from all the pens, with some globiness here and there. Pen weight and grip comfort does factor in when you're writing, and the lightness of the barrels and the plastic guards above the pen tips (if these are supposed to provide comfort, they're a total fail) didn't really help in that department at all.
I stopped using the InkJoy pens to switch to my Platinum Koi fountain pen, which is the most effortless pen I own, to compare the feel. The difference between InkJoy and my Koi in writing ease were pretty startling; the cramp that was beginning to set into my hand disappeared with the Koi, along with a lot of my tension. Disclaimer: the Koi has been my most faithful, dependable writing instrument for the last ten years; it has among other superb features a 14k gold nib, and a new one retails for about $300.00, so a 50₵ ball point really hasn't a hope in heaven of competing with it.
The colors of the ink were hit-and-miss for me. I liked the black and dark blue, which were the basic standard color of all ball point pens, but the other colors not so much. The red pen was not really red but more like a dark fuschia, which annoyed the hell out of me. I want red, not dark pink. The orange pen's ink was so light it rendered what I wrote almost unreadable. I then tried a smear test, and discovered the ink doesn't dry instantly. If you don't want to smear what you've written, you have to wait about five seconds for InkJoy to dry.
At no time during my testing of InkJoy did I experience a single moment of joy. Lots of annoyance, yes, a couple of moments of real aggravation, yes, but actual joy, nada.
I took apart the orange pen to look for the revolutionary ink technology I'd been promised, but found the components to be identical to any disposable ball point pen. Since InkJoy didn't deliver on most of Paper Mate's promises -- I think the pens really only provide decent ink flow, assuming you can get the tip seals off without tearing out your hair -- and you can usually find much bigger packs of ballpoint pens at your neighborhood dollar store, I can't recommend them as a good buy.
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