'The Art of Using A Quill"

I thought writing with a quill would be hard, and it is! I began by preparing with a bit of newspaper underneath and then I removed my quill from it's covering. I placed the ink in my new ink well and grabbed a piece of paper from the printer to practise with. The results were a little different than I thought.

I started out writing and the words resembled the font of my own pen, however, I did progress with a more stroke driven action, which resulted with a more consistent line. I found that writing with a quill can take a lot longer than I anticipated. I needed to refill the quill every couple of words; which of course was extremely annoying!
I must say though I was having fun and I now am a convert to using a quill and ink.

What I have also found is that ink is very messy; I cannot even contemplate what it would be like to write a whole novel this way! I am now very appreciative of the intense pain Jane Austen must have gone through, to pen her wonderful works!

I am entusiastic about how this activity will fit into the project and I am also happy that maybe my dearest friends will receive letters from me, hand written by quill and ink.

My practise letter begins like this...

Dearest Elizabeth,

I hope this letter finds you well. I have thought it unfortunate that you have been ill in recent days. With the season change upon us, it is without malice that I plead for God's good sense that he gives you a reprieve from your ill health...