Pen And Paper, Together Again
I've found the best way to concentrate on writing, for me, is to do a very ironic thing: Use a pen and write out the first draft on binder paper. And that's what I'm doing. A couple of hours a night, scribbling away, like I used to do way long ago in the pre-computer days, sitting for hours on end at Carnations restaurant in Stockton, California, becoming such a regular that I knew every other regular by name and routinely gave waitresses rides home after their shifts.
Come to think of it, my friend Danny and I double dated a couple of them for a short period. Huh. I'd forgotten all about that.
Anyway, so, here I am 25 years later, going back at it with a trusty old pen. No email to bother me, no blogs to distract, no instant messaging to pop up in the middle of a sentence. I was using my PDA the same way, but the software ended up having this annoying habit of crashing and losing my work unless I saved the file after every sentence. That got so distracting that it defeated the advantages of writing on the PDA.
I of course tried to justify this as an excuse to upgrade my PDA to one that wouldn't crash, but, no, turns out a pen and paper is much easier on the wallet.
So here I am scribbling out the latest part of my current novel, and of course, out of nowhere, my muse gives me a great idea for a completely different novel. (She has no idea she's given me this idea. I haven't even told her about it.)
I must jot this idea down and hope it doesn't go away before I have time to work on it. Since my muse will be reading this, I need to give her a hint: "Meow." That's it. Heheheh.
Come to think of it, my friend Danny and I double dated a couple of them for a short period. Huh. I'd forgotten all about that.
Anyway, so, here I am 25 years later, going back at it with a trusty old pen. No email to bother me, no blogs to distract, no instant messaging to pop up in the middle of a sentence. I was using my PDA the same way, but the software ended up having this annoying habit of crashing and losing my work unless I saved the file after every sentence. That got so distracting that it defeated the advantages of writing on the PDA.
I of course tried to justify this as an excuse to upgrade my PDA to one that wouldn't crash, but, no, turns out a pen and paper is much easier on the wallet.
So here I am scribbling out the latest part of my current novel, and of course, out of nowhere, my muse gives me a great idea for a completely different novel. (She has no idea she's given me this idea. I haven't even told her about it.)
I must jot this idea down and hope it doesn't go away before I have time to work on it. Since my muse will be reading this, I need to give her a hint: "Meow." That's it. Heheheh.
4 Comments:
For some odd reason, an old Steve Martin monologue popped into my head while reading this...
"If she is like a dog, we do it on the paper...
And if she is like a cat, we use kitty litter." ;-)
Me...
Meow, Meow...purrrrr. Lo-Lo
Ah! I just had a flashback to "The Queech" LOL!
I know if I wrote it on paper, it would never get typed. I'm glad it is working for you. At least you are writing! :-) -Bill
Post a Comment
<< Home