Getting reacquainted with pen and paper
Hellacious handwriting led me to relinquish pen and paper in favor of the Apple IIgs in sixth grade. I recently switched back however; instead of writing on my iBook I now use a Moleskine large ruled notebook and Fisher Chrome Bullet Space Pen.
When writing by hand my brain is ahead of my pen. Hence I have time to rethink my words before they go onto the paper. Too often when I type I rewrite each sentence just after hitting the period key. That approach makes typing take longer than writing by hand, as every sentence I type gets rewritten at least once.
I should separate the acts of writing and editing, but I find it too hard to do when I am using my iBook, possibly because the quality of my writing is not as good, possibly because I feel the need to correct typos immediately, possibly because the keyboard makes it too easy to edit. Consequently, using pen and paper facilitates getting into the flow of writing.
Of course, maybe my writing has improved when I’m using paper and ink because my Moleskine doesn’t have a web browser, e-mail application, or instant messenger.
Tags: Fisher Chrome Bullet Space Pen, Moleskine, Paper, Pen, Writing
My writing focuses on travel and culture. I've contributed to The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Air Canada's enRoute, BlackBook, Budget Travel, Deadspin, and Louisville Magazine. I'm also the editor-in-chief of Louisville.com and BlackBook's Louisville City Editor.
Chris Meisenzahl on October 27th, 2006
Nice choice w/ the Moleskine and Fisher space pen.