Task 4: Manual Scripts
Currently, the majority of my writing is typed, but I also write a lot by hand. I found the physical task easy because I love writing by hand (whether printing, cursive, or calligraphy). However, it was the task of choosing something to write about that, for me, posed more of a challenge. Normally, my hand-written creations are shorter and more personal in nature. With the requirement of approximately 500 words, and with my prose being posted on a virtual domain, I wanted to choose a topic that wasn’t too personal and that I had enough knowledge on (but also one that I didn’t need to worry about quoting, paraphrasing or citing). So, after brainstorming a number of ideas (all, notably, written out by hand), I was finally able to settle on an easy topic: my profession.
I often write in pencil and, given the assignment, this was an obvious choice for me because I wanted to able to erase. This proved easy for the simple fixes, but when I wanted to change/edit a whole section, I did something that I hadn’t done before: I took a photo of portion of ideas I wanted to keep, erased the whole section, and then re-wrote the section including the ideas captured in the photo, all so that I wouldn’t lose my words or make my page visually cluttered.
For most formal or traditional assignments and work-related communication, I prefer mechanized forms of writing because it is faster and easier to edit. But for more personal, and more creative forms of writing, I prefer hand-written text. I enjoy it. It’s slower – in good way. Writing by hand allows me to feel more connected to the visual and physical process of writing, including the choice of tools I use. It feels more flexible and creative, as I can integrate my own graphics when desired and write in a way that makes the most sense to me.