This is my diary, a Harry Potter, Slytherin House journal that I try to write in on a weekly basis. This specific journal entry as well as the other entries, describe the events going on in my life and my reflection. It gives me the opportunity to reflect on my week, and what my plans are going forward. I have kept a journal on and off since I was 6 years old. For a fun comparison, I have also attached an image of one of my childhood journal entries circa 2004, age 10.
Normally, on a day to day basis, the convenience of typing and texting is immeasurable. I type more often than I manually write. This is because there are far more opportunities to text and type than there are to write manually. When I was completing my undergraduate degree, I slowly changed from wanting to write everything in notebooks, to typing everything into OneNote. I was so happy to have all my notes all organized in one space, and include all my links to all my readings.
There are no notifications when you are writing manually. Therefore, you can be easily distracted when completing notes online. However, the ease of having notes organized on the cloud helped me write papers, study for tests, and stay organized on a daily basis.
When I make a mistake during manual writing, I typically cross it out and continue. However, for diary entries I usually just go with it. The purpose of the diary is to write down my thoughts. I rarely reference it later. It is a way for me to externalize all of my thoughts and to-dos. It is the brainstorming before the actual planning begins. For me, diaries and journals provide a way to verbalize your thoughts. Without them, you may feel stress, worry, or concern but be unable to figure out where these feelings originate from.
If I had typed this journal entry, I would have had spelling and grammar checkers picking apart my every word. In addition, I would have had a word counter, so I wouldn’t need to manually count to ensure I had written enough. However, with writing manually, I can enjoy the luxury of just continuing my tangent, without the need to go back and re-write. I noticed at the end of writing my entry, my hand hurt in that familiar way, reminding me of English exams. If you have ever manually written essays during an exam, you know the feeling.
The significant difference between writing by hand and mechanized forms of writing, is not just the process, but how it is used later. The convenience of computers and the cloud allow you to pull up notes, emails, documents, and so on easily. I have all my notes and tasks for this class saved in my OneDrive and can review them at my leisure. In addition, you can easily search online journals, for specific entries. For mechanized writing, there is a “paper trail.” There is a general warning message to be careful what you share online and how you use your words in mechanized communications. Therefore, in some ways there is a permanence and publicity to mechanized writing that doesn’t exist in manual.
In contrast, writing manually, to me, means you are verbalizing your thoughts, with the expectation that you may never read it again. With this being said, I can’t help but think of cards, letters, and postcards. I have saved many handwritten messages throughout the years. I can’t help but to compare these saved handwritten messages to emails. I would not save an email the same way I might frame a postcard or hang a card on my fridge. There is a sentimentality to the written word, and it shows a greater level of thought and effort being put into the message. In conclusion, there is a lasting power in manual writing because it is used for private, thoughtful, and emotive purposes, especially in the cases of diaries, letters, cards, and postcards.
Emma, you made a few points I can really relate to. For one, the hand hurting after an English exam is something you never forget. Also, I like how you comment on the organizational benefits of typing notes and having them compiled in one area rather than flipped back and forth in a notebook finding a past entry. This is something I struggle with as I love writing notes, but even this morning I am prepping for a meeting and I find myself having to search through my notebook for all the related entries. I also find a lot of my manual writing is writing that is only for myself, whereas mechanized writing I share more widely. I think this difference also impacts the subject matter we write about. For instance, in this exercise because it was shared I was careful about what I wrote and didn’t include anything too personal that I wouldn’t want someone else reading. Normally, with manual writing, I do not need to consider who my content will be shared with and as you mention my thoughts can flow more freely.
Agreed! I had to eventually transition myself from writing to typing notes. However, if I ever need a good brainstorming session, or encourage free-thinking, I always return to note writing. However, the moment I need to share my notes with a colleague, it must be typed and polished (for my own peace of mind).
Emma;
I completely agree with your comments about manual writing being used for more private and personal writing, and mechanised writing being completed with the expectation that it would be more publicly shared. I think this has been an interesting shift in our use of writing technology. I wonder if, before manual v mechanised became a thing, the same dichotomy existed between using printing and cursive writing?
I ONLY used cursive writing when I had to in order to please my teacher or to impress someone in a formal way. When writing for myself or for informal occasions, I ALWAYS printed (and still do). For me, there was always the divide between formal and informal, for an audience I had to impress vs one I could share more intimate ideas with. Perhaps my inclinations have simply translated themselves to become manual v mechanised rather than printing v cursive?
Suzzie
Hi Suzzie, thank you for sharing your experience with me! For me, printing and cursive go hand-in-hand. It is generally a toss-up whether I will print or use cursive for journal entries, cards, etc. In fact, I think I tend to use cursive when it is more private because my cursive writing tends to be a little messy and imperfect.