BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Journals Writing a Journal in Red Ink

I have eight colors of ink by my bed now, which you guys in the forum encouraged me to do. I really like it!

However despite my best efforts I just cannot bring myself to write with red. It seems angry, hostile, and it makes me think of blood. I've tried to write with it, and I always put it down.

Have you guys tried writing with red?

When I am ANGRY and planning to burn the letter/journal post. :-)

The red pen, evocative of grammar school---where the wrong answers bore an angry red mark when the papers were handed back---is a tool that is still used by editors to massage manuscripts. Red is used in publishing to arouse interest and excitement for the product. Red ink is used in bookkeeping to denote a negative balance. Red lights mean stop. Red signs mean danger.

Red is simply a color. It's a beautiful color. How about using it to write about love?

I love red! Yes, it was the color my papers were corrected with in school, however, it is the color I love to use to IMPROVE my previously written stuff ... improve, not correct .... improve, yep.

Yes, that's the spirit. What about the Red Hat Society? Redheads? Red sky at night, sailor's delight? Yes, it is much more in the spirit of the thing to use the red marks on our compositions to improve our work rather than to see red and get blue about a red mark on our permanent record.

This is what comes from having a super positive mom and being a cancer survivor! Take whatever you have and make it good!

I was really trying the "positive thinking" method, saying it was the color of love and romance, but then when I started writing with it it just seemed angry and upset. It would upset me to write with it!

Maybe I have to save that pen for when I'm already upset

Right now I'm using these markers my daughter bought home and never used. The color I'm using this week is orange. It doesn't matter to me what the color is as long as the pen doesn't skip. I find that ball point pens don't work as well for me as markers. Fine tipped markers that don't bleed through the page.

I haven't tried writing with markers Leah - I should give that a try. I think I'd worry that the tip was too fat, but maybe my markers are just fat-tip ones

I definitely agree about ball point pens. They were the only kind I'd ever written with and I thought it was just writing that was a chore for me. Now I realize it's those pens that were a real pain for me to use and I can write SO much better with gel pens. I should have discovered these things YEARS ago. You guys were the ones who inspired me to look!

I still can't write in red - I agree that it may be a hold over from school days. Most any other color will do, but must fairly dark - no light blue, green, yellow.

This discussion thread prompts me to go buy new pens!