I want to have a better relationship with my words Dreamed 390 days ago | | 403 words
I need to have a better relationship with the words I write. I’ve been not writing as much ever since I started college. And I think I finally figured out why.
Let me backtrack… In high school I was never without a notebook and at least a small army of pens. Usually 3-5 pens of varying colors were at my side. I prefer Pilot pens for their crisp lines, quick drying and good feel to my large hands.
I used to write all the time. Whether it be poetry, prose, or just random verses that leapt into my head, it all got recorded. In notebooks. With those pens.
This leads me back to today. Since college, I’ve been primarily a being of computers. My pens while still present, have been reduced to a single Pilot adorning a left pocket, or below the bottom button of a polo shirt.
The Notebooks have been a rotating cast of characters. Either too big or too flimsy to last the many months it takes to get through all of their blank pages. I have made a change. I picked up a small moleskine this weekend at a book store. It now lives in my back pocket.
I am trying to make a change. I am trying to write more. Not type. Not IM. Not email. But put pen to paper and press firmly and watch the beautiful black lines flow across their ivory fields.
I am going to try to write more and spend some time writing and letting my words and thoughts flow onto a totally uncomputerized source. Hopefully this will give me the motivation I seek and allow me to return to writing more often than once in a blue moon.
I have more words to write and ideas to get out of my head. Assuming my hand writing has not degraded to the point of pure chicken scratch. At best, it was solid “C” work in grade school. I can’t say it’s improved much. The amalgamation of cursive and script letters. Capitalized and lower case all blending together.
Perhaps it’s time to revive a project I thought up many, many years ago. To write a page (of a small notebook) worth of words, scan and post them. I always thought it would give a bit of humanity to the cold mechanized world my writing has become trapped in.
Either way, I hope to have a better relationship with my words.
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Interesting. I think the computer has actually freed my words. I wasn’t ever a writer really, only writing to fulfill assignments in school, but now I write on my blogs and in some other places. Problem is, I tend to get wrapped around editing and perfecting what I just typed, instead of moving forward with typing out whatever the next thought is, and maybe I lose some thoughts that way. If I was writing on paper, maybe I’d do the same thing, but it would be much messier. And I can type faster than I can write on paper these days, so I think I’m getting more of the thoughts onto the screen than I would onto the paper.
When I’m brainstorming however, it must be pen and paper. Then I can write notes in groups, and then add more notes where they belong as they come into my head. I could do this on the computer I suppose, but it just works better for me on paper, then I can draw little arrows when things correlate or connect so that I can try to remember the thought process.
I’m not sure what all that means for my relationship with my words (or yours, for that matter), but I thought I’d share anyway. :) And as long as you can read your handwriting, no worries!
— Nadine · Nov 7, 07:08 PM · #
Nadine,
Welcome to the arctic palace. :) I appreciate you taking the time to stop by.
It’s funny, the computer has freed my words in a certain sense but not in the sense I’d like. I can pour out a lot more text on a screen with my flying fingers than I can with a pen and paper. But the distraction and comfort factors are there. Laptops are great but not as comfy as a notebook and pen. The laptop also provides an evil gateway to distraction and procrastination. It’s hard to keep a thought or a groove going when something shiny catches your eye.
Reading my own handwriting is usually not a concern. I’ve had my moments though. I love the tactile feel of the paper too. Like you said for brainstorming. Being able to scrawl anywhere across the page is important.
I love to see how I write as well. I love to pen a line and then go back and move it later. It’s interesting to see how I think and how the songs/poems progress when I write. Where did I get the chorus, was it there from the start? Is it just a simple word play? I love plays on words.
Thank you again for the thought-provoking comment. :)
— peroty · Nov 14, 12:02 PM · #