I like to write in the morning because my mind seems clearer and I can start the day with a feeling of accomplishment. So here I sit with my fountain pen and a notebook. No computer. Sometimes a coffee shop patron will ask me what I’m doing—writing with a fountain pen and plain paper must seem like performing brain surgery with a butter knife. But one of the other regulars is a young woman who spends her time filling her notebook with excellent pencil drawings. At least two of us have escaped the computer trap.
Today’s blog had its genesis on Monday’s bike ride. As I rode from Mount Vernon to Centerburg, I asked myself what you would like to hear. What would help you in your own writing career? Lots of ideas came and went, but I kept coming back to the basic writing process. Of course, riding a bicycle, I had no notebook or pen, so I sort of talked through the blog content in my mind. That night as waited to fall asleep, I went over more material in my head—much of which got rejected or forgotten the next morning.
Tuesday, I went to the coffee shop, ordered my muffin and and my cup, did a personal journal entry, then began to draft this. No computer. If I had my computer here, I would be checking Facebook, playing with YouTube, and looking up useless information. (How far is it from Mount Vernon to Centerburg? Who cares? That’s not important to the blog.) The handwritten rough draft gives me the freedom to write things in the wrong order, to say things I don’t quite believe in, and just generally relax. You won’t see the draft, so I can put things down that will get deleted later.
PRO TIP: Writing by hand slows you down and helps you think about what you are saying. You won’t be tempted to mess around with computer formatting or spend time trying to figure out such things as indenting a paragraph. And you certainly don’t need to buy an expensive pen (though I can suggest some possibilities in the under $10 range). You should, however, try to find writing equipment that you can use easily and gracefully for several pages at a sitting. John Steinbeck, the great American novelist, wrote everything in pencil on legal pads.
Later today (I’m writing this on Tuesday), I’ll sit at my computer and type this into a “feeder” program for the blog. I won’t be simply copying; I’ll rewrite and rephrase on the fly. Then I’ll let it sit and go do something else. This evening, I’ll reread it again and make certain the spelling and punctuation are OK. Then I’ll move it to the blog. After that, I’ll reread it again before clicking the “publish” button.
This was a very quick-and-dirty process for a very informal blog entry. If I was writing something more important—course policy or an assignment—the whole process would have stretched out over two weeks or more.
A RULE: If you want it to be good, give yourself plenty of time for rewrites and revisions.
PRO TIP: Find a writing place (and it shouldn’t be your bedroom). Going to your special writing place tricks your mind into saying, “Now we’re going to work.” When you come to campus, your special writing place will protect you from idiot roommates who want to waste your time when you need to work.
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