The click is mightier than the pen
I once put pen to paper (literally) and wrote.
Now I click, tap and navigate. What a huge change to the way we all communicate. I can’t even remember when I last received a hand written letter. I am not a bright, young thing (although I’d like to think I’m still reasonably bright!) but I know many others of a similar age group who are also very au fait with computers and indeed to some degree, social networking.
For me the keypad is quicker than the pen when it comes to getting tumbling thoughts and ideas down on paper. Free writing engages the creative right side of the brain and not the analytical, logical left brain. I believe getting something, anything, down on a blank sheet is the best way to avoid writers block and so I often use free writing to help me think and get going on a project.
Using the keypad rather than the pen gives me a quicker easier way to re-write this stream of consciousness writing and make some sense of it. Whereas editing with pen and paper just leaves me with a confused mess of crossings out and no sense of what I am really trying to say. Having said that, I have many friends who continue to write in longhand – at least initially. They still cherish the feel of pen on paper and love to fill the blank white pages of a notebook. Long live writers of all kinds!
So how do you do it?
I think being trained as a typist years ago helps - I definitely can't write with a pen as fast as I can tap the keys and can't imagine writing a whole novel by hand!
ReplyDeleteI used to love getting letters, but haven't received or sent one for a very long time.
I'm a convert to the keyboard as well from first draft on. I still write all my stream of consciousness ideas out in spiral notebooks or on post-its. I love the feel of the pen to paper. Pentel RSVP pens are my faves.
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