Hand Writing...that is...Writing By Hand

Lately I've felt...not so much uninspired, but over-booked. Too tired to write much. It makes the few hours that I have to write superbly precious, and that makes me nervous, so I sit and stare at the screen or play around online, or look for distractions.

I don't actually know if I believe in writer's block or not. Is it a really thing? A mental thing? Is there any difference?

I have a whole arsenal of things that I try to do when I'm lackadaisical about writing. But lately, what's really been working for me is writing by hand. By which I mean, actually taking a pen (preferably an expensive one)

(I own two or three of each color). I also keep a separate notebook for each project. Sometimes I jot down scenes in the notebook, sometimes I write down ideas, or work on an actual outline of sorts. I've made no secret of the fact that I'm a big fan of office supplies.

I'd say that in general I write about 1/4 of a novel out by hand. There's just something visceral about actually writing the words down, and I sort of like having sketchy first versions. Also, by the time I type a first draft, it's really a 1.5 draft because I'm thinking about the words as I put them on paper.

The other thing is that, when the words are in my notebook, there's a certain style to them...I have this childish pleasure in filling up pages with words. In a word processor you never get that pleasure, because who ever filled their word processor up to the brim? It has endless capacities to store the words you haven't written yet. Useful and daunting.

Now, I'm writing this post on a brand new MacBook Air, so I don't think anyone could say I was anti-technology in my leanings. But...especially with a scene that I've been building up in my head, sometimes I just have to put it down on paper before it reaches the word processor.

A Brand New Blog for my Birthday!

So, is a new blog like a fresh, unused piece of paper? A word document that you open for the first time, type the name of your prospective new manuscript/paper/grocery list (yes, I type my grocery lists, so what?) then hit save as, then stare at all the white space for a few minutes?

Today is the day after my birthday, and for me, it's sort of like New Years because a. I have a bit of a headache, and b. this is the point where I reevaluate my goals and what I've done...and decide how well I'm doing.

A blank sheet of paper. My life isn't a blank sheet of paper any more. It has stamps, and diplomas, and a certain two small people that require a degree of non-blank, non-spontaneity in life.

But this blog is a blank sheet of paper.

I've decided that I will go back to my original blog http://bethanygriffin.livejournal.com/ and bring over the best posts, particularly the ones about working with teens. But otherwise, this blog is brand new, and is going to be the first step in getting more dedicated to the art of blogging, which is one that I only halfway understand at this point in my life. In all honesty I never kept a diary for more than a few days, and setting goals for myself as far as posting daily, just makes me want to rebel, run away, hide. But my new blog is so pretty and shiny, and my new resolution...well let's just say I have a wealth of teen opinion and information to share.

So, happy birthday, self, you have a new blog to keep up with!