Pencil vs pen for monthly spreads - pencil won me over after a messy accident with a leaky pen in my journal last month

I always used pen because it looked cleaner, but after a cheap gel pen leaked all over my September spread, I tried pencil instead. The ability to erase and adjust layouts without scratching things out is huge. Plus, pencil smudges less than I thought if you let it sit for a minute. Has anyone else switched media and stuck with it?

3 comments

3 Comments

zara_hill462mo ago

@amybarnes my friend used pen once, cried, and now swears by a cheap 0.5mm mechanical pencil forever.

taylor.paige27d ago

Hold up, you spelled Tuesday wrong in the middle of a fancy fountain pen border? @zara_hill46 is right, that kind of trauma is exactly why I'd never trust a pen for a whole month spread again. Pencil gives you that full control to mess up freely and still end up with something that looks good.

amybarnes2mo ago

Oh man, I totally get the pencil thing! I actually started using those gray mechanical pencils with the 0.7mm lead for my weekly spreads and now I can't go back. I had this one time where I drew this whole fancy border with a fountain pen and then realized I spelled Tuesday wrong right in the middle of it. Had to scrap the whole page and start over. Pencil just gives you that freedom to mess up and fix it without feeling like you're ruining your journal.