AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
I've been having a go at writing a novel, on and off. It stalled a few times due to life issues and health challenges, but recently I decided to give the ball another kick.
I'd written it all on a lap top, and reading it back to reorientate myself, I found the wording cold. It lacked passion and texture somewhat, and was a rather mechanical point to point navigation through the storyline, devoid of thoughtful prose. I didn't mind, as I can put flesh on the bones later. I'm just slamming down a first draft.
I'd also taken to leaving a notepad around, in case ideas or phrasing came to mind, when the laptop wasn't on. Fountain pens were tools of choice, as they so often are for my incidental scrawl, but yesterday I picked up a pencil instead, for no reason other than variety.
Four A4 pages happened. Not just notes, but a good hearty structure, with more feeling than had previously been typed. I hadn't realised how much fountain pens slowed me down. With the pencil, I could follow the train of thought, and the fingers could keep up. Throwing words down that quick with a fountain pen would skip, or smear as I made impromptu attonations along the way, in text that hadn't fully set.
There's something beneficial about the sharpening too. Rather than just pausing, and staring at a part filled page, whittling a point back on with my penknife, seemed to somehow keep the old grey cells jostling in the right direction.
I had to knock off after those four pages, to do some cross referral, and check my structure notes, but I was really impressed at how much more productive I felt with a humble wooden pencil, than a fountain pen or keyboard. I think I might be onto a new process. Maybe, I'll even catch a second wind with it as I shift format to get it on the laptop, and add in a little more colour along the way.
I'd written it all on a lap top, and reading it back to reorientate myself, I found the wording cold. It lacked passion and texture somewhat, and was a rather mechanical point to point navigation through the storyline, devoid of thoughtful prose. I didn't mind, as I can put flesh on the bones later. I'm just slamming down a first draft.
I'd also taken to leaving a notepad around, in case ideas or phrasing came to mind, when the laptop wasn't on. Fountain pens were tools of choice, as they so often are for my incidental scrawl, but yesterday I picked up a pencil instead, for no reason other than variety.
Four A4 pages happened. Not just notes, but a good hearty structure, with more feeling than had previously been typed. I hadn't realised how much fountain pens slowed me down. With the pencil, I could follow the train of thought, and the fingers could keep up. Throwing words down that quick with a fountain pen would skip, or smear as I made impromptu attonations along the way, in text that hadn't fully set.
There's something beneficial about the sharpening too. Rather than just pausing, and staring at a part filled page, whittling a point back on with my penknife, seemed to somehow keep the old grey cells jostling in the right direction.
I had to knock off after those four pages, to do some cross referral, and check my structure notes, but I was really impressed at how much more productive I felt with a humble wooden pencil, than a fountain pen or keyboard. I think I might be onto a new process. Maybe, I'll even catch a second wind with it as I shift format to get it on the laptop, and add in a little more colour along the way.
