--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I write with a Uni-Ball Onyx Micropoint…" description: "\"I write with a Uni-Ball Onyx Micropoint on nine-by-seven bound notebooks made by a Canadian company called Blueline. After I do a few drafts, I type up..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/233/billy-collins-3004_balls_i-write-with-a-uni-ball-onyx-micropoint_2127807.png" --- # I write with a Uni-Ball Onyx Micropoint on nine-by-seven… ![“I write with a Uni-Ball Onyx Micropoint on nine-by-seven bound notebooks made by a Canadian company called Blueline. After I do a few drafts, I type up the poem on a Macintosh G3 and then send it out the door.” quote by Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/233/billy-collins-3004_balls_i-write-with-a-uni-ball-onyx-micropoint_2127807.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/233/billy-collins-3004_balls_i-write-with-a-uni-ball-onyx-micropoint_2127807.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/233/billy-collins-3004_balls_i-write-with-a-uni-ball-onyx-micropoint_2127807.png) > “I write with a Uni-Ball Onyx Micropoint on nine-by-seven bound notebooks made by a Canadian company called Blueline. After I do a few drafts, I type up the poem on a Macintosh G3 and then send it out the door.” [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes his meticulous writing process, from drafting in a specific notebook to finalizing on a vintage computer before publishing. **In simple terms:** He writes by hand then types on a Mac before sharing his poems. Key Takeaway Embrace a disciplined, tactile workflow. Themes creativity process technology Mood reflective nostalgic Type practical inspirational When to use this quote - poetry writing - editing - submission - archiving Key Concepts handwriting digital transcription publishing Questions to Reflect On - How does the physical act of writing affect your ideas? - Does digital typing change the poem’s voice? A Different Perspective The method may limit spontaneity in revisions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Macintosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/macintosh/) [Notebook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notebook/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [My little notebooks were beginnings - they were the ground into which I dropped the seed... I would work in this way when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/my-little-notebooks-were-beginnings-they-were-the-ground-into-which-i/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Insights don't usually arrive at my desk, but go into notebooks when I'm on the move. Or half-asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/insights-don-t-usually-arrive-at-my-desk-but-go-into-notebooks-when-i/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [I've seen Leonardo Da Vinci notebooks which are filled with tiny, messy scrawls written in mirror image across the page. I'd love to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gurstelle/i-ve-seen-leonardo-da-vinci-notebooks-which-are-filled-with-tiny/) [William Gurstelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gurstelle/) > [I have filled 3 Mead notebooks trying to figure out whether it was Them or Just Me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-have-filled-3-mead-notebooks-trying-to-figure-out-whether-it-was/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Once I have the idea for a story. I start collecting all kinds of helpful information and storing it in three-ring notebooks. For example,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-reynolds-naylor/once-i-have-the-idea-for-a-story-i-start-collecting-all-kinds-of/) [Phyllis Reynolds Naylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-reynolds-naylor/) > ['ve had notebooks, but they are nondescript. All I care about is that they fit in my hand. I scribble down ideas. The problem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sefi-atta/ve-had-notebooks-but-they-are-nondescript-all-i-care-about-is-that/) [Sefi Atta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sefi-atta/) > [I keep threatening to keep a formal journal, but whenever I start one it instantly becomes an exercise in self-consciousness. Instead of a journal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/i-keep-threatening-to-keep-a-formal-journal-but-whenever-i-start-one/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [It never failed—I'd buy a new journal, write like a madwoman for ten pages, then lose total interest in the process. Three months later,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryjanice-davidson/it-never-failed-i-d-buy-a-new-journal-write-like-a-madwoman-for-ten/) [MaryJanice Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryjanice-davidson/) > [When I knew what I had to do / I took all my notebooks, all my manuscripts / and ate them page by page…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-blackman/when-i-knew-what-i-had-to-do-i-took-all-my-notebooks-all-my/) [Nicole Blackman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-blackman/) > [Although I have felt compelled to write things down since I was five years old, I doubt that my daughter ever will, for she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/although-i-have-felt-compelled-to-write-things-down-since-i-was-five/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I have a penchant for fresh notebooks and mechanical pencils. It seems every time I go to the store, I buy a new notebook.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/i-have-a-penchant-for-fresh-notebooks-and-mechanical-pencils-it-seems/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [I carry a small spiral notebook with me at all times and have been doing this for many years. There's a shoe box in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dewitt/i-carry-a-small-spiral-notebook-with-me-at-all-times-and-have-been/) [Patrick deWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dewitt/) > [Now I have notebooks that are filled up, mostly with Doom Patrol, but also angry letters to myself mixed in with the comic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-way/now-i-have-notebooks-that-are-filled-up-mostly-with-doom-patrol-but/) [Gerard Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-way/) > [I don't carry notebooks and I don't consciously store ideas. I try not to think that I am a writer and I am pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-don-t-carry-notebooks-and-i-don-t-consciously-store-ideas-i-try-not/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I keep a couple of notebooks too into which I record ideas for story titles or characters or situations, and these notes help me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-sneed/i-keep-a-couple-of-notebooks-too-into-which-i-record-ideas-for-story/) [Christine Sneed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-sneed/) ## More by Billy Collins > [“The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach ache Or the headaches I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-coming-down-with/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [I think clarity is the real risk in poetry because you are exposed. You're out in the open field. You're actually saying things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-think-clarity-is-the-real-risk-in-poetry-because-you-are-exposed/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [...pleasure, of course, is a slippery word… Our pleasures ultimately belong to us, not to the pleasure's so](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/pleasure-of-course-is-a-slippery-word-our-pleasures-ultimately-belong/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [I stared up at the ebbing quarter moon and the stars scattered like a handful of salt across the faraway sky...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-stared-up-at-the-ebbing-quarter-moon-and-the-stars-scattered-like-a/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Death is what makes life fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/death-is-what-makes-life-fun/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [A trouble with poetry is the presence of presumptuousness in poetry, the sense you get in a poem that the poet takes for granted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/a-trouble-with-poetry-is-the-presence-of-presumptuousness-in-poetry/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [You come by your style by learning what to leave out. At first you tend to overwrite—embellishment instead of insight. You either continue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/you-come-by-your-style-by-learning-what-to-leave-out-at-first-you/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [But my heart is always propped up in a field on its tripod, ready for the next arrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/but-my-heart-is-always-propped-up-in-a-field-on-its-tripod-ready-for/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [I can hear the library humming in the night, a choir of authors murmuring inside their books along the unlit, alphabetical shelves, Giovanni Pontano…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-can-hear-the-library-humming-in-the-night-a-choir-of-authors/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Every Day Is for the Thief is a vivid, episodic evocation of the truism that you can't go home again; but that doesn't mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/every-day-is-for-the-thief-is-a-vivid-episodic-evocation-of-the/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Humor, for me, is really a gate of departure. Its a way of enticing a reader into a poem so that less funny things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/humor-for-me-is-really-a-gate-of-departure-its-a-way-of-enticing-a/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [You know how sometimes you just have a memory of looking up and seeing a face looking over your crib and then remember nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/you-know-how-sometimes-you-just-have-a-memory-of-looking-up-and/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Usually the poems are written in one sitting. There's always a groping towards some satisfying ending. But I'd say the hardest part is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/usually-the-poems-are-written-in-one-sitting-there-s-always-a-groping/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [I was influenced by the Beats because I actually just began to commit adolescence around 1955, when "Howl" and Rebel Without a Cause and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-was-influenced-by-the-beats-because-i-actually-just-began-to-commit/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Some difficulty is warranted and other difficulty I think is gratuitous. And I think I can tell the difference. There are certainly very difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/some-difficulty-is-warranted-and-other-difficulty-i-think-is/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) [Explore all 141 Billy Collins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) ## More Balls quotes > [It's a lot harder to play football when you haven't got the ball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gray/it-s-a-lot-harder-to-play-football-when-you-haven-t-got-the-ball/) [Andy Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gray/) > [Once you pull the trigger, you've got to throw balls aggressively and with conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-smith/once-you-pull-the-trigger-you-ve-got-to-throw-balls-aggressively-and/) [Alex Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-smith/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. 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