Old and newby
locutusComment by sfalice: Greetings from the Critique Club
Welcome to DPC. I see this is your 3rd Challenge and soon you'll feel like an old pro.
We can't do anything about the voters who decided pens are not items of stationery, but maybe I can give you some ideas on how to make a more appealing image here.
Most people would make the leap to quill pen from the feather you have shown, but it might have been better to show the point of the quill to really get the message across. But, then, the quill has seen better days, and you couldn't use any of the PS tools to clean it up in Basic Editing. Maybe you could persuade your son to make a better-looking pen out of a prettier feather? Or use the quill in some context that would make an advantage out of its scruffiness.
The soft focus you chose was, perhaps, a bit difficult. If you don't yet have a tripod, try balancing your camera on books, or something else(er)stationary to give yourself more control over focus. Then I find it helpful, personally, to bracket my shots, to make sure the f-stop is right for the image.
You've got a good camera and one that will help you take great pictures. And I wish you the best of success in future challenges.
Photographer found comment helpful.
