The Interplay of Information Architecture and Fictional Storytelling

As humans, we’ve been telling stories for a very long time. We’ve grown ourselves out of the various phases of human evolution because of the untapped contribution of stories in our lives. In this article, we discuss the interplay of stories and information architecture.

Insights from information architecture

Information architecture is the structure in which we produce information for consumption. It means that I must invest myself in understanding how I, as a content designer, can understand something before I help my readers put it to use. I understand this by using an analogy of online maps, for example. To reach anywhere, you input the destination, choose your mode of transport, and supply other conditions. Your route is your information architecture. Your choice of vehicle is your persona. Each persona has its set of conditions, speed of learning, and a preferred alternative (more than one route, in the case of online maps).

Let us look at what insights we can glean from information architecture and if we can apply those insights in fictional storytelling.

On perspectives

The following words are from a poem I wrote in 2021:
“Just as you have companions, my friend,
I have stories to keep me company.
The cat has only nine lives, remember?
As a writer, I realize, I’ve rather one too many.”
 

Sometimes, I am the user; sometimes, I am the project manager; sometimes, someone from the third party or vendors; I am everyone. I can assume any voice depending on the information I want to convey. I can adopt the indicative, imperative, or subjunctive mood. I can use the third-person perspective, much like Dr Watson’s voice that plays Sherlock Holmes’ mysteries in the reported speech. Or I can refer to the reader by a generic pronoun called “you”. I can sound encouraging through my words, such as “We recommend using this method for configuration”. Sometimes, I can sound cautious and be didactic, “Wear protective glasses when operating this machine”. I can also be someone who tells how the information must be accessed. Or I can be someone who tags the information for translation and use.

Each perspective has its way with words and will appeal to a specific set of readers, accordingly. I will explain things differently if you are an administrator and not a business user. As a technical writer, I can assume any role and adopt any voice to get my point across. We’ve discussed how we can make more believable characters and how we can use world-building to create contextually meaningful messages. The same thing can be applied using information architecture to create categories of contextually driven content.

On feedback

The reason feedback is often called a gift is because it lends you invaluable insights into the seeker’s brain. If a user story helps you step into the seeker’s shoes, feedback lends you an insight into their reactions and responses. Did the feature deliver what the users need? Did the users find what they were looking for? Did the users configure it correctly? Did the users accomplish what they had set out to? Will the users remember where to find the feature and its information again? Numerous such questions help draw invaluable insights. However, gathering feedback can be difficult. Therefore, to implement documentation and gather feedback, some organizations have begun using chatbots. Soon, we might use technologies like chatbots, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) to drive company-specific generative content, to help improve the findability of information. This translates to fewer support tickets and improved results from our cost-to-benefit equations: a better bottom line. All successful fiction authors follow the same or similar breadcrumbs from their readers. They are keen to glean such insights and implement them into their works. And much like fiction authors, we use the user’s footprints to lead us to the right design.

On clarity of thought

Of the many things that mire out my editor’s brain is the absolute thoughtlessness and absence of clarity that sometimes drips through a writer’s work. I infer, “If that’s how they write, that’s how they must think.” But sometimes, it is not the writer’s fault. It is the fault of the premise with which they begin to think. It turns out there is an order in which we must fix such issues. Begin, that is, with defining the customer’s expectations. We often get into this habit of describing our products’ features. But is not useless to tell what the product does? I can vouch that users are not bothered about the features. All they want is the underlying benefit.

In the context of fictional storytelling, this is much like the cliché, “show, don’t tell”. We must begin with the feature, yes, but we must end with the benefit. Perhaps, this is why, in the context of technical writing and information architecture, we focus on the underlying benefits. As a rule of thumb, ensure that your content doesn’t tell what the product does but what the users can do with it.

On techniques

Amongst the few techniques that help me write better are:

* Progressive disclosure: This involves spreading the message such that it unwraps itself over time. It unravels itself before dear readers such that its learning curve remains relatively flat. I prefer to use this structure when I am creating conceptual content. I lead the users to explore the concept before they delve deeper into the content. Consider this as an inverted pyramid where the tip of the pyramid­—which, in this case, is toward the bottom—denotes the most important message. The focus is on comprehension. In fictional storytelling, we use progressive disclosure for world-building and suspense revelation.

* Pyramid approach: This is easily the most used method in technical communication. I reserve it for all referential content and tasks. I share the most important information before I share the remaining content. This means the content is more usable. In fictional storytelling, we use the pyramid approach when describing an important event or narrating anything that involves a lot of action and drama. It helps create gripping content.

On copyediting

Seldom do we come across a better job than one that pays us to find other’s faults. I kind of love and hate it at the same time: On one hand, I speak of it in delight, but on the other, I abhor the idea of finding faults. However, I do like the idea of making things better. Besides, the task of editing makes me a better thinker. As the copyeditor for my team, I cannot afford to be slippery in my approach, thoughts, and words. At the same time, as a content designer, I cannot undermine the benefits of my copyeditor’s vision. The same skilled artistry that (sometimes) irritates my teammates also empowers my users. I cannot fathom not applying it in fictional storytelling, either.

Speaking of which, let us look at the insights that we can glean from fictional storytelling.

Insights from Fictional Storytelling

Fiction is imaginary literature that is written in the form of prose. It can be short stories, full-length novels, and epics that create a series of novels surrounding the life of your fictional characters. Fiction writing and storytelling both are about the art of writing stories. The difference is that writing is an art and storytelling is a skill.

Let us look at what fictional storytelling teaches us about our profession woven around writing, and if we can apply the insights in information architecture.

On characters

I cannot deny the power that our everyday conflicts have lent to our mental decision-making system. Conflicts trigger response, which triggers action; that passive sense of purpose (of resolving the conflict) is reassuring to us. It is even more useful if we can summarise our conflict in a single sentence. From start to finish, we can take our readers on a journey where they move from a mere thought to a compelling urge. We can drive their imagination to wherever our words take them—with them following us compulsively and unconditionally.

I also like to couple a character’s conflicts with their character sketches and motives. In all kinds of writing, those writers who do not characterize motives tend to lose their readers. Only when your characters can passively show why they are the way they are, your readers will understand why the characters feel or do things a certain way. Bear in mind that the readers don’t have to agree with the characters but must only understand them.


In the context of technical writing, personas are often detailed descriptions of who our users are and how they behave in a certain way. We use these personas to create content that matches the users’ requirements. Such writing has a twofold advantage. One, persona-based documentation is findable. Two, it passively empowers the readers by lending them the power to choose whether they agree with the persona. They understand the persona’s perspective and find common threads.

On choices

Writing fiction is difficult. It is a daunting task to find your way through emotions to seek the right description that matches the little bracket of word choices you and your readers are blessed with. To make the readers bleed through their eyes, you must first bleed your way through words.

You must consciously choose to rewrite repeatedly until you get to those core words that move your readers. Brevity in describing emotions is the key to this transaction. A character’s pain, for example, might make us feel that our pain is a lot lesser. In this way, writing is compassion woven into words. But this has a flip side. There is another type of people who find others’ lives as joyously painful and theirs to be painfully joyous. In another way, writing is decisive; it makes you take a stand. It must.

While I agree that there is no place for compassion in technical writing, I see the sense in which it is applied. All troubleshooting information and, sometimes, error messages are written in the same format: what happened, why it happened, and how to fix it.

On observation

We all uniquely understand reality. Each of us has a design, a pattern in which we comprehend this world. The fictionist within me is enamored by the enormous amount of detail that goes into this kind of world-building. I am fascinated by the works of writers like Charles Dickens whose novels are decorated with characters that speak who they are. For such writers, Babu from Mumbai doesn’t sound like John from England.

I want to make my characters believable, otherwise, how might you—my dear readers—will become the invisible observers of the characters’ lives? How will you believe that you are witnessing everything in real-time?

World-building does not apply to technical writing. At least not directly. But we do create documents that contain information built around the insights from world-building. We have different product and installation specifications for on-premises versus Software as a Service (SaaS) products. We have prerequisites for installation and requirements that might help our users in creating and deploying a virtual environment for testing. The more accurately we can describe the details of the environment, the more accurate the user experience is.

Conclusion

The art of information architecture is primarily restricted to setting the design right. What it lacks is often supplied by the insights gleaned from imagination. This is where the faculties of fiction and information architecture meet.

On conflicts and resolutions

To create a brilliant design, you must pare usability down to its simplest form. And, unless you understand the user’s point of view, it is difficult to know what matters to them the most. I am always curious to know what my application’s users think and want. I break those insights down into ‘manageable chunks of workload’. The input of workload contains cues to help me quantify output.

When I say, ‘manageable chunks of workload’, observe this hierarchy: User stories are divided into user scenarios, and user scenarios are divided into use cases. Each use case, therefore, has specific steps to reproduce, assess, improve, implement, and measure—in the same order. Much like with fictional storytelling, each use case, user scenario, or user story has a unique design in which the user comprehends, refers to, searches for, and builds their understanding.

On skilled storytelling

A world of masterful storytelling involves the elements of good content and good intent. It is not just how you do things, but also why you do them that impacts the people around you. Good content is “what and how” (underpinned by information architecture), whereas good intent is “why” (underpinned by fictional storytelling).

People often say that you eat first with your eyes and then your mouth. Likewise, you first listen to a story with your ears and then your heart. If the structure isn’t right, it might never reach your heart. A good design is like a delightful recipe that not only tastes good but also looks mouth-watering.

On wording

The art of writing is in meeting shifting targets. We all learn as uniquely as we explore. Yet, when it comes to reading, we all move in one direction: From the logical start to the logical finish. Yes, we sometimes skip the timeline to introduce or understand topics of interest. However, it all still points in only one direction. This “shifting target” of moving from the figurative Point A to Point B is immensely fulfilling for the human mind. It lends a sense of satisfaction. In one sense, writing is so much like life itself. We all learn life lessons before we glean the benefits. Likewise, while reading, we learn from wise words before the story fructifies.

Such is this mix-and-match of information architecture and fictional storytelling that leads us to invaluable insights into both fictional and functional worlds.

“Hand-writing” and the sweet spot

I’ve often wondered if we’ve lost the charm of living to the added convenience called the digital life that we’ve constructed around us. I say that because in my increasingly busy life as a content designer at a software company, I spend the majority of my time in front of screens. Therefore, sitting down to practice handwriting is a much-needed relief for me.

So, here I pen (drumrolls for the obvious pun!) my thoughts on why I think writing (by hand), the analog experience, is the sweet spot.

The sweet spot between fiction and function

I am yet to hand-write my first fiction. All I know is that I am a compulsive re-writer. I re-write more than I write. So, typing away is easy. Writing by hand can be difficult. But I do not deny the possibility it lends, for I can think at a pace that matches my pen strokes. This lends me that extra second to compose my thoughts in a better way.

While I agree that I cannot always come up with suitable articulations, expressions, metaphors, phrases, or words, I do not want to be too bogged down by the pressure of editing just yet. I do not want to become so busy re-writing and editing that I forget to write. To reach new shores, I must first set sail. All I need is a pen, some paper, and a determination to begin the voyage.

Of the many pages I have proudly inked with quotes from popular authors.
Featured here is Ranga Abhimanyu (ebonite) with Magna Carta titanium nib and inked with Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-Kai.

The sweet spot between being an introvert and an extrovert

All textbook definitions of introvert are incorrect. Yes, by design, I am an introvert; I am principally concerned with my affairs. Yet I like to flaunt how my favorite ink flows through the pen and shades away or sheens as it dries on a paper. I like to show off my earned collection of fountain pens. I like telling people why using a fountain pen is a hobby they too must cultivate. The topic of fountain pens gets me started. I WILLINGLY talk.

Does that sound like “someone who is pushed to oneself” to you? But then why would I talk about fountain pens to those who don’t even know how to hold one properly? “What a wasteful transition, that is,” the ambivert within me opines.

The sweet spot between the analog and digital worlds

For once, it is nice to see the world go schmoozing past while you perch by languidly on your thoughts. It is comforting beyond belief. Calming. Like cracking the neck or stretching your back. One moment, you are in chaos. In another, you are mentally on a different planet. If chaos is where I had lost myself, calmness is where I rediscover myself. Amidst that calmness, I run my fingers along those carefully curated curves. In my hands is that unmatched, machined (or hand-turned) delight that, whenever meets paper, translates my wordless thoughts into tangible volumes of pages. Oh, that crack of the neck. Oh, that pen put to paper.

Wayfinding through Everyday Challenges at Work

“Do working hours drive you crazy too?
Often there is a lot of work to finish or even in normal days there are late eve meetings or some deadline to meet. Have you faced such a situation? If yes, what are such situations and how do you manage the work-life balance?”

Someone posted the questions on a regional WhatsApp group. I can hardly be blind to the question. And since there is so much to say, I thought of sharing it in a post here.

Yes, the prolonged work hours have now begun to show their effect, especially because I have not had the opportunity or window to go on a vacation. It has been some years since I took a leave for a few days at a stretch—and have purposely been away from work. Within this time, I’ve noticed that my capacity and productivity have gone up. However, my boiling point has considerably lowered. This means I get more angry more easily and more frequently. Even the fact that someone put up this question annoyed the hell out of me. 😀

However, with an emphasis on the word “However”, I have also noticed a few unexpected changes in me. I have become more patient with myself. I take time to understand things and I excuse myself for it. I feel tired, drained out, fatigued by the end of the day and I can barely crawl to my bed, but my quality of sleep has tremendously increased because I know that all I have to recharge myself are those five hours. I have entered into my automatic zone where I can barely feel myself doing my work-related tasks, it just comes naturally. In fact, if anything, I feel bothered and uneasy if I do not face any challenges on a given day. Each passing day reminds me of the “Hamdard’s Chinkara” advertisements that were aired when we all were young. Challenges or not, I feel I must pay either way; either with my callousness and lack of experience or with my dexterity and lack of time.

A lot of it depends on how you approach your work. AND a lot of it depends on how dependable your manager thinks you are. If they believe in “leading by example”, they can give you the authority, responsibility, and ownership of your products. It is an unsaid agreement that has mutual benefits and mutually dependent conditions. If I were an individual contributor, I’d choose to step up to match my role, expectations, and work. I’d clearly communicate how my doing my work impacts MY performance and MY life. But, if I were the team lead/manager, I’d communicate how my sharing the ownership and flexibility will help the TEAM grow. I’d share how little contributions from the team contribute to making a huge impact.

I’ve observed that unforeseen challenges, scope creep, new tools and methodologies, and more products/projects/features, all make me a better “me” every day. I am increasingly becoming efficient at compartmentalizing my thoughts and tasks, accordingly. Sometimes, I can foresee and plan for challenges and work items based on the product roadmap. Sometimes, I can accommodate last-minute challenges. Much like everyone else, I am guilty of letting my work creep into my personal schedule on a few occasions. But I can be flexible with how I approach my work. I can log off for some time for lunch. I do not have to worry about my login and logout timings. I can step out of meetings. And I can catch up with my work on Saturdays if required.

As for the work-life balance:
Set aside some time in the work schedule for:

  • Create (and stick to) a work schedule. Have definite login and logout times.
  • Ensure that you’re consistent and predictable in your work and work schedule.
  • Keep Fridays for only yourselves. Clear backlogs. Listen to recordings. Learn and share. Speaking of learning…
  • Learn something every day.
  • Listen to stakeholders. Tell them what you need. Help them with their last-minute tasks. Even a tiny help goes a long way. Remember, language is your forte and their challenge. Capitalize on it.
  • Make a list of work items for each day, each week, and each upcoming week.
  • Sort things/resources for you to use them the next day/week.

The key is to learn to communicate. Everyone feels burnout. We must voice our opinions when we feel fatigued. We must learn to say No. We must learn to listen to and consider the other side of the story. We must learn to look at the bigger picture. We must learn to listen to our hearts and follow our judgment. It is as simple as that; it is as difficult as that. Still, there always is something unaccounted for, unforeseen, or unplanned. But then, isn’t life more about the moments that take our breath away than about the ones that don’t?

I’d be curious to know your opinion. Please feel free to add to the Comments section.

In Conversation with Bookish Bubble

Akanksha, from Bookish Bubble, recently had a detailed conversation with me. She sent me a long list of questions and we were happy to chat over those. The questions were, to begin with, about my books. And then we also talked about a lot of other related things, such as my perspective on publishing and writing.

She has recently published my answers on her website. You can find those here.

Let me know how you find the interview.

Happy writing.

Product review: Pilot Custom 823

Of the many grail pens I have yearned for a long time, the least I have swooned over is Pilot Custom 823. Not just me, but probably the pen community in general, didn’t realize the steady ascent of Pilot’s vacuum filler. Pilot Custom 823 is easily the most underrated workhorse of a pen that performs like a champion when it costs about a half or third of the pens it competes against. This pen is everything that you might have hoped for. In this post, I discuss why.

Built and construction

The built quality is a notch above Pilot’s second-best Custom line-up, right above the 912s. Right from the overall aesthetic of the pen, which is well-balanced, to the threads, everything is as precise as it should be. The pen unscrews in less than one-and-half turns, and the threads never get in the way of writing.

The pen has an air of sophistication about it. I got the amber finish, which intensifies the beauty of gold accents. The body is made of premium acrylic, which is semi-transparent. Of all the three color combinations, amber happens to be the most eye-catching. But, in terms of quality construction, you cannot go wrong with either of the other two color options.

The pen contains a safety valve that regulates the flow of ink from the barrel to the nib. Once the valve is shut, you can safely carry it upside down, of course, on a flight with you. It is precisely this function that, when shut, negates the ink flow. Of the few reviews I read before I bought the pen, some raised a bothersome complaint about the way the pen works. But, more than an impediment, I find it to be rather a feature. That’s the least you can expect from a well-made, (rather) expensive fountain pen in the 2020s.

Nib and nibbling

The highlight of the pen is the 14K gold nib. It is a standard international number 6 size nib (number 15 is Pilot’s company-specific nib size equivalent for international number 6 size). The nib is juicy and wet and the nib performs outstanding right out of the box. I didn’t need to get it tuned to my preferences.

The ink just oozes out as you put the nib on the paper. The experience is exhilarating for the nib truly writes like a Medium yet glides like a Broad. You can use shading inks to enjoy moderate-to-extreme shading without any hiccups. The nib never skipped once, and the sweet spot is also quite widespread for a Medium nib.

The nib has a bit of bounce to it, which comes to it more as a nature than a design. You can naturally get some line variation if you are into a habit of pressing down slightly as you write. However, the pen is designed beautifully to write perfectly under its own weight.

Observations and opinions

Since it is a vacuum filler, the refill cap must be unscrewed by about 2mm before you begin to write. However, this is applicable only when you are investing yourself in a long writing session. For a signature or quick note-taking, you can just unscrew the cap and start writing.

The high-capacity vacuum filler has sufficient capacity for the pen to last a good couple of weeks before I refill it. I have paired it with Krishna Bronze Leaf and Daytone Chocolate inks. Both inks have paired and performed superbly with the pen.

The feed is channeled sufficiently for the pen to not starve even during high-speed note-taking. I found that the section is comfortable to hold during longer writing sessions and the length of the pen is such that it will suit all palm sizes, whether posted or not.

Of the numerous reasons I’d consider when I’d title any pen as the ‘grail pen’ are:

  • Construction: specifically, the look and feel, color choices, dimensions, and feel of the material
  • Ink’s behavior
  • Nib’s performance
  • Pen’s behavior during a long writing session

The pen hits the sweet spot between classy and sassy, office-style and personal-styled, and lively yet not-over-the-top color combinations. If you are new to the hobby of using fountain pens and are keen on not hoarding pens, I’d boldly say that the Pilot Custom 823 is a worthy representative of your one-pen collection. It is my everyday carry (EDC) fountain pen, which I’d love to carry and brag about whether I am at my office or at a party.

The only gripe(?), so far

The only negative aspect of this pen is the time it takes to clean. I have used four different colors of inks in about two months of owning it: blue, blue-black, and two shades of brown inks.

Each time, I’ve had to clean the pen several times and let it sit to dry before refilling it with new ink. That is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process. But, as it is with any vacuum filler—why, I’d say fountain pens, in general—it requires a certain level of commitment. So, before you make up your mind about buying this pen, keep in mind the extra time you might have to invest in taking care of it.

Where to buy

I bought my pen from Makoba India. I got it on Fountain Pen Day, at a discount. The pen arrived, as it should, in multiple layers of a sealed, well-secured package. The package contained a warranty card, the pen (neatly tucked in a sleeve), and a 70 ml Pilot Black ink bottle. I have paired Pilot Black with my Beena Lincoln and Guider Medium Ebonite—both are black colored pens.

Makoba owners were kind enough to send me writing samples and patient enough for me to choose between Fine, Medium, and Broad nib choices. Over multiple interactions that then followed, I chose for myself the Medium nib. Although looking at the nib’s performance, I wouldn’t have faltered had I gone with Fine, either.

If you are in India, I’d highly recommend Makoba.

That’s my experience with Pilot Custom 823, so far. I’d be curious to know what you think.

Product review: Daytone Extra Fine Inks for Fountain Pens

I recently paid a visit to Daytone industries, Indore. I wanted to visit the manufacturing facility. However, the owner informed me that he wasn’t available for a walkthrough. So, we reserved it for a later date. However, I could not stop myself from buying their assorted collection of the ‘Extra Fine’ inks for fountain pens. Since I had reserved myself a visit, I also got a nice discount from them.

Even for the asking price of roughly 900 INR, a pack of fifteen colors of inks is a deal. However, you can get yourself the inks at much lesser prices on websites like Amazon and Flipkart.

The owner informed me that he was happy to see a steady increase in demand. And, within the last 5-10 years, he has seen a trend shifting in favor of using and soliciting the use of ink (or fountain) pens.

Here, in this post, I have sampled all fifteen inks for you. Some I really liked. Some I reserved for later use.

Crimson Violet
Dark Storm
Sapphire Blue
Cerulean Blue
Bottle Green
Leaf Green
Yellow
Orange
Coral
Ruby
Scarlet
Magenta
Purple
Chocolate
Jet Black

Most of the colors are matt finish and do not shade or sheen. However, some shading naturally occurs because of a single or double pass of ink.

I especially like that, at the price point those inks are sold, you can play around with different colors. I am using Chocolate, for instance in my Pilot Custom 823. It is a relatively cheap ink for a pricey pen—a rather unlikely combination. However, in the little time I used the combination, I changed the ink. So, I didn’t, purposely, let the ink dry within the pen. I’m really not sure how will the ink behave if the pen is left unused for a long time. But I’d prefer experimenting by using a pocket-friendly pen.

Sapphire Blue and Orange
My Pilot Custom 823 in Amber inked with Chocolate

In daily use, I have found the inks to be pen friendly. The inks may not always be paper friendly, insomuch as they will require a fountain pen-friendly paper. You can view more writing samples on my Instagram feed:

  • Kanwrite Heritage inked with Cerulean Blue here
  • Pilot Custom 823 in Amber inked with Sapphire Blue here.

Let me know how you find this review.

What conducting interviews taught me about life

By definition, an interview is an interaction. By nature, it is an interrogation, where people question one another to explore mutual interests or growth goals. By application, I found it to be rather exhausting. Fortunately, by design, this all is purely subjective. Be it may, that is how we began searching for potential teammates. In this post, I mostly talk about what I learnt. I also rant about a few noticeable things.

The assessments and the shortlisting

It isn’t the first time I have helped my team in hiring. And, I assume, it wouldn’t be the last, either. But, unlike previously, I have encountered a few things that I had never encountered before.

In the post-COVID world, we send the questions online. And candidates are instructed to submit their answers in a couple of days. The submissions we received were based on two separate sets of written assessments (or question papers). We know that our written assessment isn’t easy. So, we selected those who showed even a little bit of promise. After all, the assessment is only an initial test, and we use it for sieving through to the candidates that might show some potential. I say ‘might’ because, in this case, we still had a lot of unanswered questions.

The interviews

We conducted several interviews over a couple of weeks. Yet, surprisingly, we did not find the candidates we were looking for.

For reference, we have a list of questions that can help create a conversation. On a ‘happy path’, candidates can expect us to crack a conversation with them, where we ask open-ended questions. When we do expect them to be exact, candidates can be specific. And we usher them to those questions appropriately.

The feedback

This one is interesting. A couple of weeks back, when we couldn’t select anyone, we chose to share the information on a (technical writer’s) regional WhatsApp group. After we shared this work opportunity, someone from within the technical writer’s community commented on the post. Here is an excerpt of it, “One feedback – Few of my friends and acquittances applied. Once single exam papers comes. I have see that too. and then one round and then poof… nothing happens. This is the 3rd time I am hearing this in the last one and half year. Has anyone from this group successfully got into from AHM (sic)? Am really curious. If no, then is playing pranks. or AHM TW are not up their standards, which i doubt. If anyone has got selected from AHM, please put here. I might be wrong in my notion.” (Please note that AHM, here, is an acronym for Ahmedabad, the location for which we were recruiting.)

Later, toward the end of the week, we received an email from one of the candidates whom we had interviewed. He had written, “I understood from today’s interview that I can’t be a potential candidate for further processes, as I haven’t don’t have relevant experience in developing technical write-ups (documentation). No problems with the decision, I respect that. However, wouldn’t it have been a better decision if this was considered before I was asked to develop content and attend a technical round? My whole purpose behind writing this email is to bring to your notice that there are some candidates like me, who do preparations before attending an interview — and the preparations take time. So my earnest request is that before you start screening a candidate, the top management should have a look at the resume before proceeding with any assessment process.”

The ranting

We took the feedback with due respect and diligence, and we will refine our hiring processes.

None of the writers had the skills we were looking for. Simple. The reverse of it, however, is equally true. Our attitude is subject to the side of the interview table we occupy. As recruiters, we take a few things for granted. But, sadly, as candidates, we assume a lot of things. The question is not if one side is more important than the other or who is right and more ‘just’ than the other. The question is whether we are ready to accommodate the other side in our own story.

If, for example, we email all those candidates whom we might have rejected in written assessments, will that not create an unwanted additional liability? Will the candidate, who raised this request, be able to justify the cost (in terms of time, effort, and money)? I agree that it makes sense to inform at least those whom we might have interviewed irrespective of their selection. I have been on the other side and it hurts when you do not receive any communication (good or bad, favourable or not). This questioning has no end. Would you not ask them why they rejected you if and when they tell?

In reply to the comments and questions, I have a few questions of my own:

  • Is the question paper (the written assessment, that is) the only round in the selection process? Even if it was, would we (as either candidates or assessors) be able to highlight all the mistakes, oversights, and shortcomings based on the written assessment itself? If only the resume or written assessment could guarantee success, we all would have hired robots for writing.
  • If we don’t select anyone based on the written assessments, people come back to us saying something similar to, “this is the 3rd time I am hearing this in the last one and half year”. If we consider them for the interview and then don’t find them fit for the role, the candidates might say, “wouldn’t it have been a better decision if this was considered before I was asked to develop content and attend a technical round?” These are two contradictory opinions. Is it wrong to give everyone a fair chance that is based entirely on their performance?
  • Did the preparation for the technical round not teach you anything? Candidates prepare for interviews, I agree. They must. They invest a lot of time and effort, I understand. How is the learning subject to the selection, then? Irrespective of the result of the selection process, did you not learn? If you have, the rejection email (or its absence) mustn’t bother you. If you haven’t, it is good that you didn’t make it.
  • If you get a better offer from another company, would you bother to give us a call or send us an email stating that you are rejecting our offer (and why)? I have seen cases when people didn’t turn up on the day of their joining. Only after they were given a call did they confirm that they joined elsewhere. Besides, what is the guarantee that you will not use an offer to bargain for another one? In such a case, do you inform the companies?
  • If all companies share their feedback on why they rejected you, what would that do to your confidence? Would you take all the feedback positively? What is the assurance that you wouldn’t bad-mouth the company or its selection process?
  • In most cases, people can learn from introspection. But did that happen here?

That’s enough ranting.

The takeaway

To begin with, the episode has taught me an invaluable lesson: hiring is tiring. The interview process seems similar to searching for alliances for an arranged marriage. Everything from behaviour to qualification to skills is taken into consideration.

Life is a race, and I don’t deny that you must run. And run fast. You must project yourself as a sprinter and a marathoner. What surprises me is that some of us don’t see the obvious. We are just too busy running after the outcome to even pay attention to the joy of running itself. Why can’t we enjoy the view as we run past our milestones of growth? This episode has taught me to not overrate success by equating it with heavier brand names, higher salaries, or longer titles. It has also taught me to not underrate or ignore my countless little successes. Each release, every new tool, and all the work items I closed in a sprint were extremely joyful moments. Every time I pumped my fist, a moment got added to my bucket of memories. I’ll say, stop running. Or, at least, learn to slow down every once in a while.

You didn’t plan to be ‘here’: you didn’t plan to be born as a technical communicator—a good majority of you, that is. You did not plan to be an employee of a certain company. You simply hope to do so. And that’s all the difference there can be. People, places, companies, designations, and salaries don’t define your success. They cannot. Life is not an outcome of only accomplishments. Life is a grand total of experiences. You don’t define your life by when you die, but by how wholesome you’re finding it to be. The episode has taught me to not bother about the destination when I can enjoy the journey.

Each company has its template for candidates. Selection or not, it still is an experience. Let us learn to acknowledge that difference. The episode has also taught me to be a bit more considerate. I purposely wish to create some room for someone else’s micro-story within my own success story. I have also realised that my success cannot define my path. But my path will define my success. And, while that’s how I choose to forge ahead, I am still looking for teammates.

Product Review: Pelikan 4001 Blau-Schwarz (Blue-Black) Ink

Sometimes, to beat the rather mundane blue and black ink colors of your fountain pen, the easiest escape is in using a combination of the two colors. And when the ink has iron-gall-like properties, it is all the more enough to amuse yourself with.

Shade and swab

The ink has a good, rich color and shades beautifully as you write through pages. It has the right combination of the extremes of blue-black. So, it goes from the liveliest of midnight blues to the smoothest shades of blue-grey.

This is a shading ink and not a sheening one. So, despite how much amount of ink I poured on the paper, I could not find any signs of either purple or blue.

Also, I find this to be correctly leaning toward the blue-grey side. There are a few blue-blacks that I find to be bluer (and sometimes, more blue-green-black) than just blue-black.

Even on the normal notebook and photocopy paper, I don’t see any signs of feathering or bleedthrough when writing. For reference, note that I am using a Broad nib for the writing sample.

Drying time and water resistance

The ink takes anywhere between 20-35 seconds to dry depending on your paper choice. On an everyday, photocopy paper, it took 15 seconds. But on a more fountain-pen-friendly paper, it took 30-ish seconds to dry.

Even though it is a bit on the drier side, I am a bit shocked (pleasantly, that is) to see that it still takes that much time to dry. The sample was left to dry for at least one full day before testing.

It is fairly water-resistant, which means it is relatively safe to use for your office work. I would not call it waterproof, but it has much better water resistance than some of the inks I have used in the past.

The ink might look darker in the photographs, but it (perfectly) leans towards blue.

Observations and conclusion

I have used it in two pens in which the ink has behaved completely differently. For the ink tests, I used my Magna Carta Denima (M) and Guider Medium Ebonite (B) on regular photocopy paper. In Denima, the shading didn’t come through.

When the nib was sufficiently wet, I got a dark shade. But when the nib was starving, I got a lighter shade. While this should be normal for any ink-paper-pen combination, I found that the ink dried faster in my Denima. I never had such an issue with my Denima before; it never skipped and I never had a hard start before. But now I do.

On the flip side, my Guider Medium Ebonite is a gusher. It has a broad nib that writes like it is a Double Broad. Although I tuned the nib a bit, I still see that the nib is sufficiently wet to produce darker shades of letters as I write.

What surprises me is that even though the ink is drier, it doesn’t behave so when I use it in a pen with a broad nib. I can safely conclude that that is so because almost all German pens use one-size broader nibs when compared with Japanese pens. So, a medium nib on a German pen will behave like a Broad nib on a Japanese pen.

To make up for this, I assume, Pelikan has made its Blue-Black just a little bit drier. And, therefore, it doesn’t misbehave on my Guider Medium that dons a Broad nib. I’d like to reserve this ink for my Guider pen, but I will buy a wetter ink for my Denima. Maybe it is time for me to try another blue-black ink. This time, though, I am thinking of buying Japanese ink. I think it will be Pilor Iroshizuku Shin-Kai.

Overall experience

I bought this ink from writeway.in. My shopping experience was smooth. The site didn’t charge me anything for nationwide shipping. Even though the 30ml bottle was a bit overpriced, I didn’t mind paying extra, since there wasn’t any minimum order price to qualify for free shipping.

Although, I will say I am a bit disappointed with the ink. It is a lot drier than I expected. But I still love how it brought one of my smoothest writers back into my pocket. What’s more? The ink made me learn an invaluable lesson: use German inks for pens with Broad or Double Broad nibs. 🙂

I will be curious to know your experience with the Pelikan inks, especially the 4001 series, Blau-Schwarz ink.
Happy writing.

Product Review: Magna Carta Denima Fountain Pen

I’ve been using fountain pens for over 15 years now. And even though I considered it more as a habit, it—in a way—continued to pen the story (pun intended) of the long-cherished hobby of writing.

This new pen from Magna Carta caught my attention when—this was just before the Baltimore pen show last month. “A pen that’s made out of old, worn-out denim… so many stories might reside within the layers of it,” I thought to myself. Of course, the intention was never to buy the pen to unfold those stories but to buy an experience of using a pen that’s made out of a material less thought of.

The Construction

The pen is made entirely of denim—almost entirely, that is. It seems layered denim bound using resin and ground and semi-polished into a smooth-surfaced pen. The pen has quite a girth. And, because it is made of stacked, bound, and lathed pieces of denim, it is a bit on the heavier side, as well.

Here are the dimensions of the pen:

  • Capped: 149 mm
  • Uncapped: 137 mm
  • Cap length: 69 mm
  • Section length: 25 mm, excluding the threads

The top finial widens as we continue to travel down from the top of the cap to the bottom of the cap. The cap’s end is marked with a shining stainless steel ring that dons the name and logo of Magna Carta Pens on either side. But aside from that one adornment, the pen lacks any branding—a good sign.

The nib screws into a lipped section that widens and meets the well-rounded steel threads that fit the cap. I like the posh, soft touch of the threads. The combination of steel and denim gives it just the right kind of look that I’d to carry to my office every day.

The barrel begins to taper down till the end. Such a design choice is both time-tested and well-thought. However, you cannot post the pen. I wouldn’t recommend it anyway, given the girth and weight of the pen. Besides, the threads inside the cap don’t allow you to post the pen. Overall, the design is such that it might just remind you of a pen you’ve seen before… in denim this time.

The Nib

I asked for a Titanium nib with a Medium point. Within the limited testing I’ve done, I’ve found the nib to be performing quite well out of the box. So far, the pen is a joy to write with. There isn’t any hint of a hard start or skipping.

A fountain pen, by definition, must write under its own pressure. This means, that when the nib meets the paper, it must create a gap for the ink to travel down from its feed, through the tines, and onto the paper. It does just that, with understated ease. It is my first titanium nib. So far, I’d say it writes a lot smoother than the stainless steel ones (the out-of-the-box experience). I would have liked to see the Magna Carta branding on the nib, too.

The nib unit is manufactured locally (Magna Carta is manufacturing titanium nibs!), and the nib is sufficiently wet. The ink flow is smooth and consistent, and the strokes are uniform. Also, the nib has a nice sweet spot to suit your writing style. Although I’d not recommend reverse writing. It successfully fails at that; and for good. You can create thinner strokes, but there is barely enough on the paper for us to call it writing.

By design, the pen supports #6 international nibs and nib units. But the pen is thick enough for the manufacturers to experiment with a #8 nib unit as well. Anyway, given that they have begun manufacturing #8 nibs now, it could be a matter of time before we see that.

Here are a few images of the nib. I compared the nib with a Parker Frontier #4 size nib and a Kanwrite Heritage pen with a #6 international size nib. Both Kanwrite and Magna Carta nib units are equipped with an ebonite feed. Even though I like the ebonite feed from Magna Carta, I am attracted to the Kanwrite nib shape for some reason.

The Initial Impressions

The pen opens in exactly 1.25 turns, which is way less than what I am used to. So, all is good there. The threads do not get in the way of the writing experience.

When I filled the ink for the first time, the section absorbed a bit of it. And I see that some of the ink has also spilled onto the inner walls of the cap. Because it is made from denim, I am sure that the section will eventually change its color. Magna Carta could have resorted to applying an additional layer of epoxy resin or a binding agent to avoid such things.

Also, there were tiny holes throughout the barrel in the unit I received. It may be a standard across Denima, as there might be air bubbles. Applying a layer of resin could have resolved this issue, as well. But I could be happily wrong.

The pen arrived in a poorly packaged, broken box. The box was practically unusable and had shattered into pieces even before I unwrapped the foam, self-sticking plastic, and sticky tape. Somehow it held itself long enough to protect the pen. There wasn’t any branding on the box, and the cartridges were missing too. Basically, it seemed a hurried, lackluster job from the person who sent the parcel. Although when I opened the box, I could see that the pen did come with a standard international Schmidt converter, it was insufficient to console my broken heart (and the broken box).

I am told that this is a limited edition pen, and there will only be about 250 pens of such a kind. I assume the manufacturer will use the feedback to improve the quality of the product. But, given its asking price, I’d wish the manufacturer to supply me with a well-thought, matured product and leave the testing part for their internal reference.

Also, because the section absorbed some ink after I filled it for the first time, I ran out of ink by the end of the day. It might be because of air gaps and other reasons that remain undetected. Still, I’d be curious to see how the section fairs over time—after absorbing some ink, that is.

The Next Impression

After I reported it to the manufacturer, Mr. Hardik Kankhara, they sent me a spare barrel and cap. As is, I choose to retain the new ones, for they are a bit better. The manufacturer spoke to me and listened to all my complaints with all their intent. He listened to what I had to say and addressed every single issue I had raised. Overall, I am satisfied with the response.

A few points continue to grab my attention as I use this pen every day:

  • The overall build quality and nib feedback leave little to yearn for. That’s fantastic. The pen is a SMMOOOTH writer.
  • The clip aligns with the brand name on the ring. Those little things matter. Also, the clip is functional, tight, and yet easy to slide over shirt pockets.
  • The lathing is done such that the grains on the cap align with the grains on the barrel. A nice little touch.
  • The overall fit-and-finish is top-notch. The nib unit sits absolutely flush with the section—neither a thread more nor less.

The Opinion

For me, the pen comes at a relatively higher asking price of 9500 INR (including standard shipping across India). Recently, some really enthusiastic pen manufacturers are coming up with futuristic, cool, or different designs. And, undoubtedly, Magna Carta Pens is very much a promising member of that list.

It is a nice addition to my collection. I feel that I will need to carefully choose a suiting ink for this pen. As of now, I am using Parker Quink with it. But I feel it is a little too dark for the pen.

This has been quite a journey to pen so far: The absence of cartridges, the broken box, the visible holes, and the overall delay in shipping just made the experience shift from first apprehensive to worst, and then from worst to worth-another-look. A

As I mentioned previously, the manufacturer noted all those points with the utmost care, for he sent another pen to me after personally ensuring that all quality checkpoints were met.

These little somethings always interest me, or anybody, for subsequent purchases. But that is a long way ahead. Speaking of purchases, you can visit them here in case you are interested:

  • Magna Carta Pens (Website): I don’t see the pen on their website, yet. But you can contact the owner and buy it from them directly.
  • Instagram channel
  • Hardik Kankhara (Instagram channel)

In summary, it is a king-sized pen for my medium-sized handwriting. For now, I can only hope that the pen is as rugged and tough as my good-old pair of denim. But then, isn’t that the main selling point?

A Place to Be

Hi!

So, to continue contributing to my creativity (and to my website), I’ve decided to participate in the #52WeekWritingChallenge, where I plan to contribute as many poems as I can. StoryMirror has been organizing the competition for the last five years now.

As part of the challenge, the jury will provide a prompt for each week.

For this week, the prompt was a poem on the most beautiful place you ever visited.

Here is my submission for Week 13 (the link opens in a new tab).

You can participate, too.

#StoryMirror #52WeekWritingChallenge #Poetry #Inspiration #Prompt #Week13