Monday, August 28, 2006

The Written Word

Here's Amy Wink on rediscovering the pleasure of writing in ink when her PC went bust...

"I have, in fact, delighted in the sensual pleasures of the flowing ink and the lovely Japanese paper that fills the notebooks. That paper does provide, as the cover proclaims “most advanced quality” and “gives best writing features.” I love the way the ink works with this paper but I usually reserve that pleasure for my journal writing, preferring the illusion of speed in my other work. “Work” proceeds more effectively on the computer, or so I told myself.
In my break from computer assistance, I discovered a new truth: writing by hand can make my thinking go faster. "

I take a bit of ribbing for my habit of writing out my notes and essays by hand before putting them on the computer. But, she's right- you tend to think more clearly when you're inscribing your thoughts by hand. The practice roots your thoughts in the physical world, and makes thinking a form of action. After you do it all day, as I have today, doing this starts to feel very disembodied and strange.

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