On the Magical Editing Pen

I have a magical editing pen.

It is red.

It uses gel ink.

It writes smoother than any pen I have ever known.

It fits my hand like no other pen I have ever owned.

It is magical.

Gel ink is so beautiful. It’s vibrant. It’s heavy. It looks like absolutely nothing else. It’s a mark of distinction.

But!

There’s a problem with gel ink pens.

The gel ink runs through too quickly.

And worse, because the magical editing pen is red, replacement pens are difficult to come by.

You see, they seem to be sold only in packs with black pens and blue pens. I could end up with a surfeit of black and blue pens, which I don’t need quite as badly. When it’s the magical red editing pen that I need. And these pen packs &msdash; well, they’re not… cheap.

But I discovered something!

The dollar store in the mall sells gel pen packs. Two black pens, a blue pen, and a red pen. The pens themselves aren’t anything special. The caps feel weird. The pens don’t feel right in my mind.

They don’t feel magical.

However!

The gel ink cartridge inside?

It’s a perfect fit for the magical editing pen!

The magical editing pen ran dry yesterday. As I was in the midst of editing.

I was bereft. I was distraught. I was inconsolable.

I hadn’t thought to go by the dollar store and buy their gel pens for my replacement needs.

I rectified that last night. I bought two packs. So I will have a spare when the time comes.

My magical editing pen is magical once more.

I love my magical editing pen.

It’s magical.

Published by Allyn

A writer, editor, journalist, sometimes coder, occasional historian, and all-around scholar, Allyn Gibson is the writer for Diamond Comic Distributors' monthly PREVIEWS catalog, used by comic book shops and throughout the comics industry, and the editor for its monthly order forms. In his over fifteen years in the industry, Allyn has interviewed comics creators and pop culture celebrities, covered conventions, analyzed industry revenue trends, and written copy for comics, toys, and other pop culture merchandise. Allyn is also known for his short fiction (including the Star Trek story "Make-Believe,"the Doctor Who short story "The Spindle of Necessity," and the ReDeus story "The Ginger Kid"). Allyn has been blogging regularly with WordPress since 2004.

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