I remember hearing about a mod long ago that let you use parchment and quill to write in game. Am I making this up or is there such a mod? If so I'd love to use it.

Well, not quite parchment and quill but there's this: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=15294

I was thinking more on the lines of Scribe Supplies, but I have never used that mod. Search on Nexus and see if that is what you were looking for.