brainup

Ah, falling asleep right after work, and being wide awake at bedtime. Hi. Thanks for bearing with my “snakes on a plane” phase. It was at least more entertaining than my “living with wolves” phase. The latter just involved me weeping and attempting to write a poem about wolves. Bzzt! Instant cliché material. But at least I was writing.

As I was reading K.G. Schneider’s tips on writing, I remembered talking last weekend with the MSG‘s mom about the practice of writing manuscripts by hand. I’ve made a habit of bringing my large ruled Moleskine notebook everywhere, and it has paid off beautifully. I write much more than I did when I waited to be near a computer. Also, having a tangible reminder of works in progress is extremely helpful for a symbolic person like myself.

All this got me thinking about the wisdom of reverting to analog for my calendar and to-do lists. Over the past three weeks, my Moleskine pocket weekly diary has been satisfying in a way that digital solutions never could be, providing a thoroughly tactile experience of my time commitments. I also hold myself to deadlines that are in print more than I do to digital ones; I have no idea why.

Plus, let’s not forget the glorious fountain pens I now have an additional excuse to use.

Several people have asked me, “Aren’t you worried about losing your diary?” While that would certainly be a pain in the ass, I am trying to rid my life of fear, so trivial worries like this one are now gone. My brain is my backup; I shall not want.

I know analog is making a comeback. Please tell me the brain will, too. Can it start with college students?

Technorati Tags: life, brain, writing

About Halsted M. Bernard

Halsted, a/k/a cygnoir, does stuff with words. Her favourite things to do with words are keeping this diary, writing stories, and organising information. She lives in Edinburgh with her husband, two cats, a few gadgets, several fountain pens, and many books.

• Web
|
• Twitter
|
• Google+
|
• Flickr