I’ve long been someone who uses a keyboard almost exclusively for writing work. I can write longhand passably enough (for my own purposes at any rate), but I’ve never really seen the point, since I know I’m just going to copy anything useful over to a digital format anyway. Why do the work twice — unless you have to, as I did in London?
I’ve amended that stance somewhat.
1) I’ve discovered that I really enjoy writing longhand when I’ve got the time and no particular place to “be” with regard to writing. In other words, when I’m doing a little verbal meandering — don’t know exactly where I’m going and I just want to look around for awhile — then longhand is just the thing. It lets my brain run out ahead a bit and see what’s coming up next.
2) When I don’t know where I’m going because the path ahead is dark and unknown, then longhand is just the thing — it let’s me explore slowly and take my time as I go.
3) When there’s a big wall in the way, pen-on-paper is the tool I use to get it taken down, one brick at a time.
Eventually, I start to see where I’m going, though, and I have to set the pen down and hit the keyboard, because my longhand simply can’t keep up when whatever I’m writing is really coming through at a good (even normal) clip. If I can’t type at that point, it gets pretty frustrating and I’ll even (horrible mistake!) starting editing things out of what I’m thinking of writing just so I can get it written down without going numb from the elbow down.
So: not 100% useful, but much more than I’d once have thought .
One of those posts that only people in Denver will care about
A Tattered Cover Book Store opened November 15, in Highlands Ranch… about four minutes from our house! Yay!
Translations for those who don’t know: Tattered Cover is (I think) the largest independant U.S. book store west of the Mississippi. There are … what? three stores? All in Colorado. They’re cool, and there’s one right next to our house. Again, Yay.
Jackie and I stopped in on Thursday evening or something like that to check it out and do our part to establish the business — very nice atmosphere, very cool… it even smelled good. They’re obviously still getting moved all the way in, but the place was well-populated with a mix of browsers, readers and buyers, and one would think that a smaller operation like TC would have done exhaustive research on store placement, so I think it’s going to do well.
And, again… Yay.
More book-learnin’
A collection of essays: Finding Serenity: Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon’s Firefly, has Jane Espenson as one of the editors and features an essay by Jewel Staite.
Lost cameo fun
Very weird and very cool with the Mira Furlan guest shot on Lost last night, and every indication she’ll back to provide more CRAZY in later episodes. Took me forever to figure out who she was, partly because I didn’t recognize her without the weird Delenn banana-clip-looking shell-thing attached to her head, and partly because I was having an inner-brain argument about whether or not it was a really skinnified Lena Olin, because the accents are kind of similar.
s o v e r y v e r y t i r e d
Finally read Red Harvest last night, which some think of as the far-more-complex inspiration to stories like Fistful of Dollars/Yojimbo.
Great story. Hell of a way with words. I love how Hammett can introduce an amazing character, use them for a couple chapters, then throw them away.
Just wish it hadn’t kept me up until 2:30.
Blink and you’ll miss it.
The second time you go see The Incredibles, watch for this:
Lost Recaps
Heard about Lost? Interested, but feel like you’re too far behind to make sense of any of it?
Want a good laugh?
Cleolinda, she of Movies in 15 Minutes fame (and book deal!) has written recaps of all the shows.
They are complete, they are great, and they have all kinds of good extra stuff in them. They’re so good that I even go and read them when I caught the episode (like calling up a friend after you’ve both seen the show so you can talk about it).
They are also, in a word, hilarious.
- 2004-09-22: Lost 1:1, "Pilot"
- 2004-09-29: Lost 1:2, "Pilot"
- 2004-10-06: Lost 1:3, "Tabula Rasa"
- 2004-10-13: Lost 1:4, "Walkabout"
- 2004-10-20: Lost 1:5, "White Rabbit"
- 2004-10-27: Lost 1:6, "House of the Rising Sun"
- 2004-11-03: Lost 1:7, "The Moth"
And she also does Veronica Mars recaps.
(Thanks to Julia for reminding me that I should link to these things.)
Raise your hand…
If you laughed OUT LOUD when the asthma medicine ad ran during Lost tonight.