William Zinsser's book On Writing Well emphasizes clarity and brevity. He urges writers to cut excess, avoid jargon, and express ideas simply. Don't fret about style. Strip your sentences, and your voice will emerge. I’ve read it three times and it always pays off.  — MF

My dad gave my daughter his Montblanc fountain pen that’s 50 years old. She went to a Montblanc store nearby, and they cleaned out the dried ink for free. They also mentioned the free online calligraphy classes Montblanc offers. Anyone can join, even if you only have a Bic pen. We took the one-hour French Cursive class together and loved it. You can also watch past sessions. Be sure to download and print the exercise sheets for the classes. — MF

I like this hi-tech mechanical pencil from Japan because it sharpens itself so that it produces a very consistent line, no matter how long you use it. The Uni Kurutoga Advance ($9) contains a novel mechanism that rotates the pencil lead each time it touches the paper, so that it wears evenly and maintains a uniform point. So clever! It currently is only available for very fine 0.5mm lead. — KK

When I needed to label some cardboard boxes and my regular Sharpie ran out of ink, I discovered a Magnum Sharpie in my daughter's art supplies. This oversized marker features a 5/8" wide chisel tip, perfect for writing large, bold letters. Plus, its larger barrel holds twice as much ink as a standard Sharpie. – MF

I write poetry and I’ve never found a writing app that is conducive to writing poems until now. Poke!Book is nearly perfect: it's free, and it stores everything locally in your browser. Having two notepads side by side—one for notes and the other for my working poem—is incredibly helpful. The lined notepad expands infinitely, and makes it painless to delete and change line breaks. And best of all, it doesn't auto-capitalize when you start a new line. — CD 

About twice a year I will treat myself and buy Sampler Packs from JetPens (as previously mentioned). In 2023, I bought 4 Sampler Packs and my favorite pen to have discovered is the Pentel EnerGel RTX Gel Pen (0.7 mm). I can’t describe it better than the very talented JetPens copywriter does, so here is their very accurate description: Boasting buttery smooth writing, crisp lines, and intensely pigmented color, the Pentel EnerGel is a workhorse pen that even the choosiest pen enthusiasts enjoy. You can buy single pens from JetPens for $2.90 each, but the larger packs are cheaper on Amazon right now. — CD 

This advice on How to Title Your Art is written for gallery artists, but I think it’s useful for anyone who writes titles or headlines. The most interesting takeaways for me are: 

• Think of titles like keywords. What kinds of words do you use when talking the work? These types of words are excellent starting points for titles.

• Titles should save time. A title gives them a starting point, a reason to slow down and take a closer look.

• Good titles help people to recognize what may not be immediately obvious. Titles help viewers see what you want them to see.

• Unusual words or word combinations tend to attract more interest and attention than ordinary ones.

— CD

It’s a small thing, but in my workshop and studio I use Paper Mate Sharpwriter mechanical pencils to mark and measure. They are cheap (35 cents), super lightweight, very finely precise, have a good eraser, and are forever sharp by simply rotating the end. They are cheap enough that I have them everywhere, and wouldn’t care if I lost one, but they are bright yellow and none of them have ever broken. I hear they are favored by students as well. — KK

Right now my most used AI tool is AudioPen.ai, a voice note recorder that I use in my browser and phone to turn my ramblings into clear text. It’s free to use, but I pay for an Prime account ($60, annual pass) so I can upload audio files, write in my own style, and record voice notes up to 15 minutes. The most useful and surprising ways I’ve been using AudioPen is to record my dreams while I’m half awake, and to upload audio files of my therapy sessions (only my audio). AudioPen does such a great job of cleaning up my confusing, long winded introspections and summarizing the most important points. — CD

My secret to journaling every day is using custom notebooks. I previously recommended Papier as a source for beautifully designed journals that you could customize with a title and name, but I've now moved on to Denik.com for full customization. I uploaded a design I created using Midjourney and Canva and received my notebook within 10 days after ordering. Here's what my diary looks like.— CD 

If you're a pen fanatic, JetPens has a very comprehensive list of the 42 best pens for 2023 which is worth checking out. I love to splurge on stationery and pens. The novelty of discovering a new favorite pen eventually wears off, so every few months or so I'll check out the JetPens Samplers packs and order a new bundle (prices vary from $15-$35). I also think these make great gifts!  — CD

Screenplays.io is the ultimate repository of movie and tv screenplays. It’s easy to search and filter by genre and there are thousands of scripts available to read for free. I like to read them for fun, but it’s also a useful learning resource. — CD

As a frequent user of Google Docs, I appreciated these tips from the Wonder Tools newsletter. For instance, you can display a live word count at Tools > Word count and checking “Display word count while typing.” — MF

Language evolves fast and it’s easy to slip up and say the wrong thing. Language, please is an up-to-date resource for writers navigating sensitive subjects like trauma, substance use, race, disabilities, gender, etc. I searched for the word “homeless” and I agree that “people without housing,” or a “person experiencing homelessness” is a lot less stigmatizing and a better term to use. — CD

Even if you’re not a copywriter, knowing the psychology of persuasive speech is helpful for everyone. We all write emails, and sometimes we have to sell people on ourselves or ask for something. Nick Kolenda created this 7-minute video on clever techniques in copywriting to boost sales. He explains how to replace vagueness with concrete examples, positive framing, and how to create mental imagery in the reader by adjusting the distance between words. It’s interesting and informative and I’ll probably rewatch it a few times. — CD

Someone asked on Reddit recently “What is the piece of writing advice that has helped you most, personally?” and these were my favorite because I had never heard them before:

• “Make the familiar seem exotic and the exotic seem familiar.”

• On process, Chuck Wendig: “The work doesn’t need your confidence. The work just needs the work.”

• “It’s easier to write something cool and then figure out how it makes sense than it is to write something that makes sense and then figure out how to make it cool.”

I didn’t contribute to the thread, but if I would have I would have shared Derek Sivers’ recent advice: Write one sentence per line. — CD

I needed to figure out how long it would take a stamped letter to reach the other side of the country and an initial google search buried this very helpful, color-coded “delivery days” map of the US. You can filter by originating zip code or the destination, as well as class of mail. You might never need this, but in the off chance that you do it’s useful to bookmark. — CD

My favorite small notebook is the inexpensive Muji W-ring dot-grid notebook with a clear plastic cover. The ring binding is great because the notebook lies flat. Muji seems to have run out of them, but I found an excellent knock-off from Yansanido on Amazon. I bought a 6-pack for less than $3 per notebook. The paper seems to be a bit thinner than the Muji version, but pen ink is crisp on the pages. — MF

I love slow correspondence and any excuse to connect with a friend through a letter or card. These tips from Hallmark Card writer Courtney Faye Taylor on letter writing reminded me of all the things to keep in mind when penning a message, like leading with vulnerability and curiosity. She suggests not just sharing facts about your life, but the feelings behind them, because when you give someone a window into your personal experience you’re also creating a space for them to do the same. — CD

Grammarly is a super grammar helper that is much smarter than the default ones in most applications. I use it all the time. I’ve quickly come to depend on its artificial intelligence to improve my grammar and find more than the obvious typos. It seems context aware. And it runs at the OS level, so it works in most apps such as Slack, email, Discord, Evernote, Twitter, Facebook, etc. (It does not work in Google Docs for me.) Right now the basic model is free. — KK