Choose a sharpened feather. Turkey, goose and swan feathers work best. The feather is sharpened to a point over a cutting block. High-end stationery shops stock quills with metal points attached, but the traditional quill was a stray feather sharpened at one end.
Choose the ink. Calligraphy ink has the best flow over the paper and enough adhesive quality to stick to the tip of the quill. A powdered ink that requires the writer to add her own water is another option, but the ink's appearance on paper is lighter and comes out more gray then black.
Fill the inkwell. Use a small paper cup to hold ink. Only fill the cup with as much ink as you'll need for one project.
Use the clean tip to practice the correct pressure on the back of your hand. Place light pressure on the quill, enough to leave an imprint without scratching. This is the right amount of pressure for writing. Practice applying varying degrees of pressure, so you can feel the difference. The proper pressure is lighter than you might imagine.
Dip the sharpened tip of the feather into the ink. A light dip is enough to cover the tip.
Write with the feather. Apply the same amount of pressure you used on your hand to the paper. Write in script, without lifting the feather from the page. Use laid, or resume, paper when writing with a quill. Write on the textured side of the paper, but practice on the flat side. The textured side of the paper has ridges that will interfere with the flow of the quill, but these can be navigated with a little practice.
Refill your quill with ink when you see blank spots in the script or ink is too light to be legible. Dipping the quill too often, or using too much ink, will lead to ink blots.