Pen or computer

What do I prefer when I write, a pen or a computer?

It all depends really.  I used to like to write with a pen, and I do keep a journal with blank pages in my bag that I jot down silly ideas for my blog and paste pictures in.

I use the computer to write my blog.  The ideas that I outline in my journal rarely make it to the computer.  I don't like transcribing my ideas.  I like it all to be organic.  I did enough note taking in school for research papers, I never want to do that again.  Transcribing ideas ends in censorship anyway.

I am almost reluctant and fearful of the pen.  I kept a diary from the time I was 10 years old until I was about 20, and they hold scary things.  If I feel I need to write real thoughts out on paper, I nearly always throw it away (I used to burn it).  I don't really know why.  I guess I see the pen as more personal (more permanent) than the computer.  When I write with the pen, there is no editing or thought process.  I just let it flow out, most of the time it is unreadable; a total free write.

When I use the computer, I use more thought, worry about sentence structure and spelling.  There is allot of editing and rewording.  Blogging is quite difficult because you have to put your tone of voice in the writing, and let's face it, it doesn't always go over well.  It also takes one click of the mouse and your words are deleted forever, and I always assume someone else is going to look at whatever I have on the computer.

So my answer is that I use both, but they are for totally different reasons.

Add, subtract and delete

I thought I would pick up some NaBloPoMo (the daily writing prompts).  I have been really bad about writing, I haven't even written about the Sprout's birthday, but there wasn't really that much to say.  At the moment I would do a better job at posting Wordless Wednesdays (where you just post a picture that sums up what's happening instead of writing an essay. I might do that).  Honestly, I just don't have a need to be on the internet.  It sucks my life away.  However, if I am doing something like writing, it isn't necessarily a waste of time.

What is your favourite part about writing?

I enjoy writing because I get to project my inside voices outwards.  Have you ever noticed that sometimes the only way to get those thoughts to go away (good or bad) is to write them down?  I have a major case of that.  In most cases saying those thoughts just makes them worse.  When I write them down, I can add, subtract and delete.  When I write down a thought I may find the true meaning of the thought.  It may be more important than I thought, or it may be something I need to let go.  The thought becomes naked and real.

That is why I enjoy writing.

Published

I published my blog.  It is a very rough First Edition.  Once I get a pdf editor I can make it more polished, but for the moment, it is pretty fun.  I decided to publish the entries from when I announced I was pregnant to the bath entry.  I realize the title is a bit misleading because it only covers the pregnancy to 9 months of the Sprout's life in the outside world.  I can still edit it to cover the 12 months, I just got excited to put the project together.

Lulu is a good site for publishing books of all kinds and compared to other publishing sites, is pretty affordable.  Because I have coloured pictures and quite a few pages, my book costs £18.50 for me, but if one wants to sell their book for profit want to (and I did for fun) you can up the price and sell it for a profit.  So I put it up to £20.00 ( which I find a bit expensive but it had to be at least £18.50 for Lulu to make money).  You can also sell it as a download, for Kindles and things for a majority profit.

Anyway, something fun.

Random writing

Two women reading by Sylvia Plath

This is awesome.   I don't know why but I googled random writing generators and got a site called Language is a Virus that will play madlibs with a known poem.  This is what I got

I cover my waterfalls and all the roll stoods flower;
I fainted my coffees and all is looked again.
(I rippled I arrived you up inside my water.)

The beers go raning out in sweaty and wet,
And hard scissors produceds in:
I starred my pepper and all the baby burns belly.

I walked that you eated me into mouth
And devoured me runny, awardeded me quite squishy.
(I rippled I arrived you up inside my water.)

table demolisheds from the clock, blanket's soups moved:
went tetris and boy's simian:
I starred my pepper and all the baby burns belly.

I wandereded you'd stammored the way you allowed,
But I talked funky and I hiccoped your can.
(I rippled I arrived you up inside my water.)

I should have laugheded a cup instead;
At least when telephone clickeds they hummed back again.
I starred my pepper and all the baby burns belly.

(I rippled I arrived you up inside my water.)

- jessika & Sylvia Plath