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Reviews for Writers: Shiny Golden Spiral Journals

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Welcome to my Reviews for Writers series where I post reviews for materials aimed at writers, specifically those who write by hand.

There are a bunch of journals and pens and desk tools out there, and I want to give my thoughts on them specifically from an author’s perspective. I’ve gotten to where I write my first drafts almost exclusively by hand and I used to think that made me a unicorn in the writing arena because of it. Now, I realize how common it is, and I want to help my fellow authors find tools to make the job easier.

DWIYITTN Spiral Journal 4-Pack

My first thoughts? How shiny and golden these journals are! They lay flat with the spiral binding and even have an elastic closure. I was a little sad to see that the backs of these journal have no decor, just a solid color. But the front is quite beautiful. I could easily see these being an inspiration for journaling or for jotting down ideas about a fantastic world. They aren’t quite pocket sized, but they would fit nicely into a large purse, a bookbag, or a cross-body satchel. The front cover folds nicely behind it for taking notes while out at a library or while listening to a talk.

Next up, the pen test. These pages are a little thinner than I expected, but they still handled basic writing utensils nicely.

  • Fountain pen ink can smear, so make sure you let it sit for a few seconds. It doesn’t take long to dry, but could be problematic for lefties.
  • While a basic gel pen like the Pilot G2 has no problem drying and has only some bleed through the page, the Pentel Medium Roller Ball had lots of bleed through.
  • The Sharpie bled through the page and also could be seen on the next page.

Although the paper is a little more thin than I like, this is a wonderful notebook for jotting down notes, getting some rough ideas onto paper, or for casual journaling. I could see the golden cover design inspire younger authors too.

See my video below for my full breakdown and thoughts.

Disclaimer: I obtained these items through the Amazon Vine program. Other than receiving the items for free, I was not compensated in any way by Amazon or the manufacturer. All opinions here are my own.

Reviews for Writers: Beautiful Hardcover Notebooks

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Welcome to the first post in my new series: Reviews for Writers! Throughout this series, I’ll be posting my reviews for materials aimed at writers, specifically those who write by hand.

There are a bunch of journals and pens and desk tools out there, and I want to give my thoughts on them specifically from an author’s perspective. I don’t see enough of that out there.

Labkiss Hardcover Notebook

My first thoughts on the Labkiss Hardcover Notebook are how nice they feel! These hardback journals are smooth and remind me of some of my favorite journals to use growing up. They have a sturdy bookmark in them and a binding elastic that feels pretty solid too.

Most important (to me) are the pen tests. For those of us who write by hand, the feathering, bleed through, and drying time are some of the most important aspects of a potential writing journal. Here are my takeaways:

  • Fountain pen ink went down wonderfully and has hardly any shadowing on the opposite page
  • Highlighters might bleed through if you double your lines
  • Sharpie markers will bleed through to the opposite side of the page, but not onto the opposite page, which is really great for a Sharpie

See my video for my full breakdown and thoughts.

If you haven’t already, subscribe to my Youtube channel. I’ve been getting back into posting videos again. I post post a new video every week.

Disclaimer: I obtained these items through the Amazon Vine program. Other than receiving the items for free, I was not compensated in any way by Amazon or the manufacturer. All opinions here are my own.