So, here's how it happened.
It had been a long, long time since I'd tried to sit down and write anything serious. I'd done a few short pieces for various publications locally, but I longed to begin another book. An idea had been germinating in my brain. And so it came to pass that, tired of being housebound by the frigid days of Winter, 2015, I made myself a promise. Twice a week, I'd go to a local coffee shop where they had Internet and which a lot of people, it seemed, used as their office away from the office. No phones, no laundry to fold, no husbandly interruptions--all those things that writers not only find encroach upon their days, but perversely, use to effectively sabotage their own time.
My first day, I went armed with a few sketchy ideas on paper and my iPad. I thought it would be easy to just type away for a few hours. (Okay, yeah, I had my cell phone with me. Does anybody actually ever leave it home? Or in the car? I mean, what if there's an emergency?)
Bravely, I began to transfer my thoughts onto my iPad. Now, techie though I am, I do not have an actual keyboard for this gadget. So there I am. Maybe you've been there, too--trying to write something and having to go back and use your index finger or pinkie to insert a letter or word. Heaven forbid we should just type on and on without regard to spelling, etc. I can't even read someone else's blog post without picking up a typo or two. I couldn't seem to let it go. In desperation, I put the iPad aside and grabbed a sheet of paper and the stub of a pencil that I found at the bottom of my briefcase. And I started to write. I wrote and I wrote and I wrote. The words poured out of that thin piece of lead (or whatever they use these days. . .graphite?) and onto the paper. Before I knew it, two hours had flown by and I had an entire chapter down in rough draft.
The rest of the story is pretty much history. I've continued to work in longhand during my hours at the coffee shop and then type everything into the computer at home, editing lightly as I go along. Then I print out my finished work and take it along with me the next time I go and edit more heavily the old-fashioned way (by hand) before writing more. This gives me a review of where I am in the story and an impetus to continue. I've finished one chapter book and have a second almost complete.
I don't know if writing longhand really creates an uninterrupted flow between mind and paper, as some people think, but it works for me and I'm lovin' it!
It had been a long, long time since I'd tried to sit down and write anything serious. I'd done a few short pieces for various publications locally, but I longed to begin another book. An idea had been germinating in my brain. And so it came to pass that, tired of being housebound by the frigid days of Winter, 2015, I made myself a promise. Twice a week, I'd go to a local coffee shop where they had Internet and which a lot of people, it seemed, used as their office away from the office. No phones, no laundry to fold, no husbandly interruptions--all those things that writers not only find encroach upon their days, but perversely, use to effectively sabotage their own time.
My first day, I went armed with a few sketchy ideas on paper and my iPad. I thought it would be easy to just type away for a few hours. (Okay, yeah, I had my cell phone with me. Does anybody actually ever leave it home? Or in the car? I mean, what if there's an emergency?)
Bravely, I began to transfer my thoughts onto my iPad. Now, techie though I am, I do not have an actual keyboard for this gadget. So there I am. Maybe you've been there, too--trying to write something and having to go back and use your index finger or pinkie to insert a letter or word. Heaven forbid we should just type on and on without regard to spelling, etc. I can't even read someone else's blog post without picking up a typo or two. I couldn't seem to let it go. In desperation, I put the iPad aside and grabbed a sheet of paper and the stub of a pencil that I found at the bottom of my briefcase. And I started to write. I wrote and I wrote and I wrote. The words poured out of that thin piece of lead (or whatever they use these days. . .graphite?) and onto the paper. Before I knew it, two hours had flown by and I had an entire chapter down in rough draft.
The rest of the story is pretty much history. I've continued to work in longhand during my hours at the coffee shop and then type everything into the computer at home, editing lightly as I go along. Then I print out my finished work and take it along with me the next time I go and edit more heavily the old-fashioned way (by hand) before writing more. This gives me a review of where I am in the story and an impetus to continue. I've finished one chapter book and have a second almost complete.
I don't know if writing longhand really creates an uninterrupted flow between mind and paper, as some people think, but it works for me and I'm lovin' it!
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