Task 4: Manual Scripts and Potato Printing

Below you will see the images of my manual production of text. First, you will see draft one, then you will see my edits completed with red.

Here is my commentary about my manual production:

• Do you normally write by hand or type? Did you find this task difficult or easy? Explain.

 When first looking at this task, I immediately thought that this would be no problem to write. As someone who thought I used a mix of typing and writing by hand, I didn’t foresee any significant obstacles, mainly because I don’t do every task in my day-to-day life digitally. However, as I started writing, some hesitations began to surface. I immediately realized I would have to do the word count without a computer and that my hand would be sore at the end of this. I also became self-conscious about my printing, wondering if it would be legible enough or if I needed to slow down. I was voicing some of these concerns to my husband, and he asked, ‘well, when was the last time you wrote like this?’ I had to pause and think, realizing that I relied on typing for more tasks than I thought.  

Through university, I hand-wrote all of my notes for classes and would only type papers that required a word count. I was convinced that typing my notes during a lecture would not be faster, and I enjoyed being able to flip through my notes, as allowed in a codex form of text. I continued this trend into my first few years of teaching, but I soon realized that digitalizing was a much better use of time. Now, in my professional life, I keep a physical plan book where I write my daily plans, and although this is a physical document, the amount of writing required is significantly less. In addition, I prefer typing because I know it will be saved in my drive and not get lost or accidentally thrown away on my desk. This is especially true in my role as an online teacher.

Due to being an online teacher, the majority of my work has transitioned to typing, and therefore I quickly realized that this task was going to be quite tricky for me. This task forced me to admit that I type more than I write by hand, something I never really considered myself saying. The most challenging part of the task was the word count at the end. Instead of clicking ctrl + a and finding my word count, I needed to track it manually. I also was more conscientious of my spelling versus the magic red line that will show up when typing. I also felt constrained when editing my work because, unlike typing. I couldn’t highlight and move sections of text. What was written had to stay. 

• What did you do when you made a mistake or wanted to change your writing? How did you edit your work? Did your choice of media play a part in how you edited your work?

The media I chose to use was a pen, primarily so that I knew it would show up when I took a photo. This was also a stress because I knew that I wouldn’t be able to erase my work. For this reason, when I did make a mistake, I simply crossed it out or made a little scribble and moved on. Unfortunately, I don’t have any whiteout, or I would have used that. Having chosen a pen to write with, I knew that my editing would be limited. 

As for editing, I read over my word as I completed it and tried to edit within the process. By no means do I have a perfect piece of writing, especially compared to that which I would have typed. I don’t have the assistance of Grammarly to offer suggestions or help with my comma placement or phrasing of sentences. I had to rely on my own sense of what I thought was correct. Using a pen in this situation reminded me of being a student and showing your teacher a rough copy. The teacher would use a red pen to add words, punctuation, and arrows that would assist in a good copy. Therefore, I decided to do this to my work and provided two pictures of my writing. This type of editing felt nostalgic and gave me more control over my product.  

If I had chosen a pencil for this task, I would have had more freedom to erase and change my ideas on the spot, and the need for arrows might not have been as prevalent in my edited draft. If I were to complete this task over, that might be something that I would change. After completing the readings, I wonder if I subconsciously gravitated towards pen and its permanence, similar to how people would have written on scrolls. 

• What do you feel is the most significant difference between writing by hand and using mechanized forms of writing? Which do you prefer and why?

When considering what I heard in the “Stuff to Blow Your Mind” podcast by Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick, it’s difficult to name one difference between written and mechanized forms of writing. Some of the most significant differences would have to be the time it takes to create a piece of work from scratch to publication and how the text is read. Lamb and McCormick talked a lot about the process behind creating a codex book. Additionally, Cooke’s (2012) short film, “Upside Down, Left To Right: A Letterpress Film,” showed how to create a piece of text letter by letter. Compared to a typed form of text, the primary medium required is only a computer, and therefore much more straightforward. The time difference between these two is significant, and for me, this is a big benefit I see to switching over to mechanized forms of writing. If I were to answer these same questions using a pen and paper, it would take much longer. This task also reminded me how much easier it is to edit work using a computer versus a pen and paper. 

I enjoyed how the podcast discussed the reading of the text, and it is something I didn’t put much thought into until now. Holding a book has many benefits: flipping back and forth, flagging pages to revisit, and highlighting lines are a few that come to mind. These same tasks are pretty tricky in an online text. I also found the parallels between a written scroll and ‘scrolling’ through a digital text quite interesting. Though online texts are more accessible than a scroll that you need to unwind/rewind, both forms take away the page-flipping model and might feel more daunting because the end isn’t immediately visible. To break this down further, I think it’s important to note what the text is for. If reading for pleasure (a novel, for example), a physical book would be more enjoyable than a digital one. I spend a lot of time in front of a screen in my profession, and having those breaks is something I look forward to. On the other hand, there’s also something satisfying about diving into a book that is a ‘page turner’ and that you don’t want to put down. 

When thinking about a preference for written or mechanized text, I believe that I have to go with digital. Although there are some missing components, as I mentioned, I do like the fact that digital text can be contained in a folder within your computer. In addition, the writing can be zoomed in, or a speech-to-text feature could assist in reading it, and I have more freedom to change and edit my ideas. Unlike written work, it feels less permanent. As mentioned earlier, tools like Grammarly also make digital writing more pleasant and my final piece of work feels more polished. Looking back on my own written text, I find myself focusing more on the mechanics of it than I do the actual writing. The same can not be said when I use digital text. I thoroughly enjoyed thinking more closely about written and mechanized text and will have a new outlook on these two going forward.

References

Cooke, D. (2012, January 26). Upside Down, Left to Right: A Letterpress Film. https://youtu.be/n6RqWe1bFpM

Lamb, R., & McCormick, J. (n.d.). From the Vault: Invention of the book, Part 1. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/stuff-to-blow-your-mind-21123915/episode/from-the-vault-invention-of-the-82316952/?keyid%5B0%5D=Stuff%20To%20Blow%20Your%20Mind&keyid%5B1%5D=From%20the%20Vault%3A%20Invention%20of%20the%20Book%2C%20Part%201&sc=podcast_widget