> I write so cramped, perhaps I am holding the pen too hard. And my writing deteriorated over the years. This was me until I discovered fountain pens and good

> I write so cramped, perhaps I am holding the pen too hard. And my writing deteriorated over the years. This was me until I discovered fountain pens and good paper. I used to write on cheap ballpoints and my hands would be throbbing after about 6 pages of notes (I was taking a class with lots of readings). Fountain pens are a rabbit hole of their own, but if you have good paper and a pen with smooth flowing ink (doesn't have to be fountain, gel pens work great too) and a nib size that matches the size of your handwriting (mine is small so I prefer Fine nibs), writing becomes pleasurable. Also I'm big on scribbling marginalia, but cheap hotel ballpoints, small margins and my own bad handwriting have always made it hard to make annotations (I often write things like "This is STUPID" but with cheap ballpoints I run out of room and have to squeeze words to the point of illegibility which leads to me giving up). I recently discovered Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.3mm pens from Japan, and they've been a dream for scribbling more substantial thoughts in book margins. P.s. arguing with the authors of nonfiction books in the margins is fun. I recommend it.