Paper and Pen
So I hand-wrote an entire story yesterday. I had an idea in my head that wouldn't let go and I had paper at hand. So I wrote the whole thing out in spurts over the course of the day in between other spurts of activity with the Spawn. I had no idea how many words I was writing and it was freeing. I just wrote whatever number of words it took to get the story out right.
I feel like it's the best stuff I've written in a long time. I think the fact that I did everything on actual paper slowed me down enough for me to get everything straight in my head before I attempted to get the words out. It also forced me into a more traditional draft/edit cycle than my usual do-it-all-at-once approach. And in the end I was right around 2,000 words. I actually had a Stephen King day yesterday while still having a life and being present with my family. What a concept!
It also had the added benefit of showing the Spawn what writing is all about. Up until now, writing was something I did while sitting in my office or behind a computer or iPad screen. It wasn't a process he could see or conceive of in any physical way. But yesterday he saw me working on this throughout the day, and before he went off to brush his teeth and put on his pajamas he glanced over the filled pages of my notebook and said "You wrote a whole lot of words today, Mommy!" It'll be interesting to see if this sticks with him, if he keeps it in mind when he starts Kindergarten next month.
I have a feeling I'm going to be going through a lot more paper now.
I feel like it's the best stuff I've written in a long time. I think the fact that I did everything on actual paper slowed me down enough for me to get everything straight in my head before I attempted to get the words out. It also forced me into a more traditional draft/edit cycle than my usual do-it-all-at-once approach. And in the end I was right around 2,000 words. I actually had a Stephen King day yesterday while still having a life and being present with my family. What a concept!
It also had the added benefit of showing the Spawn what writing is all about. Up until now, writing was something I did while sitting in my office or behind a computer or iPad screen. It wasn't a process he could see or conceive of in any physical way. But yesterday he saw me working on this throughout the day, and before he went off to brush his teeth and put on his pajamas he glanced over the filled pages of my notebook and said "You wrote a whole lot of words today, Mommy!" It'll be interesting to see if this sticks with him, if he keeps it in mind when he starts Kindergarten next month.
I have a feeling I'm going to be going through a lot more paper now.