Is the Pen Mightier than the Keyboard?

When you are writing, do you prefer to use a pen or a computer?

r’s note: this was the writing prompt from BlogHer for NaBloPoMo but I liked it so much that I decided to answer.

So. Way back before every phone was a PC there was a little something called a typewriter. Yup, load the paper, make your margins and go for it. My aunt had one that she never let us look at let alone use so of course at every opportunity Buffy and I were playing around with it (sorry Cha!). When we headed to school, computers were a new thing we had class once a week…computer science with Mrs. McGregor in middle school and we were introduced to Macs. Other than that big floppy disc that looked like a piece of film covered by black plastic and the introduction of the the smaller diskette, I cannot remember much else.

In high school my sister and I signed up for a typing class. The class was optional and started at like 7 something. We had trouble getting to school by the regular time of 8 something so let’s just say that we didn’t always make class. There was also a computer class but other than some very, very basic programs, I cannot remember much else.  When Pop was a baby my typewriter aunt bought a PC and had some software on it for Pop to learn how to type. I know qwerty and where I SHOULD place my index fingers (f and J) but I still cannot formally type. Years of data entry jobs still find me with a flying pinky and a hunt and peck that would make the best typist envious but I cannot say that I am a strong typist.

As for the pen…there is nothing like a new notebook. I love the possibilities of those blank pages…will the notebook be a journal to be filled with lists of things to do? Will the notebook become a confidant with words that are private and for my eyes only? Will this become the book that The Bee and I use to share words that are sometimes too difficult to say to each other? As a kid composition books were my favorite. Usually reserved for school they were a not a frilly as a diary and not as bossy as some of the other journals that provided ideas for your writing. There was nothing like the marbled composition book. It could be written in publicly without fear that someone would think the book was anything but a school book (in July).

I dig my script!

Also, handwriting is a thing for me. As The Bee is learning the loops of scripted writing I think about how my handwriting has changed through the years. From the careful script of a kid learning to the scribbly mess that causes my family and friends to whine about written notes. I like the way my “r’s” curl and the loops of my words. I like scribbling on a page and seeing bold pen marks as I wrote about a day I was having or to get out a feeling I just couldn’t describe.

If the writing is for my eyes only I like to grab a book and scribble. If its a blog posts then I like type.

What say you? Are you a typist or do you go for pen and paper?

Typing then writing,
-r