Writing Notes by Today, I Wrote…

Passionate prose is my PARAMOUR.

November 22

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Purposeful Paper (or Why I Heart Photoshop and My Personal Laser Printer)

by Ann-Kat

Writing by hand can be exhilarating. It’s my preferred method for starting a story and I’ll write until I feel comfortable enough to continue on the computer.

Custom PaperThere are many pens with which I love to write. Lately, I’ve been using the one I purchased abroad. It’s a Zebra Techno Line 0.4mm ballpoint (it’s smaller than any ballpoint pen readily available in the US).

My handwriting varies based on the writing instrument. With such a fine point, my writing becomes “microscopic”, to quote a friend.

That’s not the problem. The problem is my anal retentiveness when it comes to whitespace on a sheet of paper. Frankly, I prefer to avoid an excess of it between rows and considering that I can fit three lines of writing per single college-ruled line, it was becoming a problem.

After searching high, low, and somewhere in the middle for a narrow(er) ruled paper, I decided enough was enough and fired up Photoshop. The result was a striking success. I even took the liberty of creating a space up top for the project title, session date (which I’m always forgetting to jot down), and page number.

The exact specs of the paper are:

  • 1” margins all around
  • Line height is a little less than half the size of college rule (0.125” or ~3mm)
  • Faint grey lines

The rows may seem excessively narrow, but I can assure you they are the perfect size for ultra-tiny writers. I can even squeeze about 800 words on a page.

Here’s how the finished sheet looks:Custom Paper Example (Click image for full-sized view. And since I’m praying I know I’m not the only writer out there with tiny handwriting, I’m providing a printable version for download.)

In the future, I may even add some custom illustrations or decorative nuances to help jolt my muse from slumber.

Comments on Purposeful Paper (or Why I Heart Photoshop and My Personal Laser Printer)

  1. # Alas Poor Bookmark, I Knew It Well (or The Evolution of Index Cards) - Today, I Read… wrote on April 15, 2010 at 6:39 pm:

    [...] wasn’t lying when I said I have tiny handwriting and it only gets tinier the faster I [...]

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