Tools along my writing journey.

From fountain pens and inkwells, typewriters and laptops to fingers and elbows.

Writing tools have developed worldwide throughout my lifetime. Some remain in use, while others have become museum or collector’s items.

The pencil continues its practical task and has been joined by numerous colorful comrades. When I started school in Finland after my family finally returned from our seven-year journey around the world, I was surprised to see nibbed pens and inkwells on every child’s desk. Apart from learning to write in Finnish, I had to know how much ink to use each time I dipped the nib into the ink. Fountain pens were more straightforward to use, but even they could leak and make a mess.

When the ballpoint pen became available, it made writing more manageable. Also, transporting the pen was safer, with less risk of leakage. In the 1960s, the ballpoint pen was readily available and accepted everywhere, or so I thought.

In 1969, I was working as a volunteer in South India. I had to sign a cheque at a Madras (Chennai) bank. I took my ballpoint pen from my bag. (There were no pens on the teller’s desk.)

“No! No! You can’t sign with that kind of pen. Only the ink of a fountain pen is officially acceptable.”

“Do I have to go and buy a fountain pen to sign this check?” For the rest of my stay in India, I had to buy the right kind of pen for all official signatures.

I learned ten-finger typing in school in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), but I never owned a typewriter. Occasionally, I borrowed my mother’s typewriter when we happened to be in the same place. Later, when I was married, I shared my husband’s typewriter to write numerous newsletters from Thailand.

In 1990, my oldest brother gave me his first computer. He was a translator and needed a more modern one. I was thrilled. Since then, I’ve had different computers and laptops and can’t imagine being without one.

Gradually, I’ve realized that writing gets more challenging regardless of the tools I might have around me: pencils, pens, a laptop, or a smartphone. Somehow, I didn’t notice how I lost the ability to ten-finger typing through the advance of debilitating rheumatoid arthritis. Two TV documentaries from Sweden depicting (dying) persons who wrote their stories despite severe disabilities encouraged me to continue my writing journey even with one finger.

Lately, even my elbows have decided to remind me that they, too, are essential for my ability to write. Happily, my elbows give me some respite so I can share my story with you.