For this week’s assignment, I decided to try out the manual text option. I was interested in a mode of writing listed that I have never successfully engaged in – the diary entry. A typically manual endeavor, I have never kept a diary, and only ever occasionally thought about how perhaps I ought to. Though I’d never really done it before, I found the task surprisingly easy. I expected it to make me feel uncomfortable in the type of information usually set down in a diary but once I got going, it just seemed to flow.
I chose to write in pen (I always write in pen and always with the same pens) so once a mistake is made it’s permanent. My habit when editing work is to add a small arrow symbol to indicate more writing above the old writing, while when I make mistake, I tend to just write directly over the mistake. Yes, that is occasionally illegible but I know what it says and anything handwritten is usually only for me, personally.
The most significant difference between writing by hand and more mechanical writing (in my opinion) is that handwriting is personal. It’s not intended to be shared unless in a handwritten letter or postcard and even so, it’s not public. In our podcasts this week, the hosts referred to grimoires – texts so sacred that their very contents spread to their physical form in terms of importance (Lamb & McCormick, 2020). In a sense, I think handwritten materials are kind of sacred. They are our own inner thoughts and the contents of the handwritten notes transform the physical form of the writing, especially in a diary, making it a very meaningful object. They mention Post-Its don’t count, though. I agree.
Typed content, on the other hand, is official. It’s likely going to be sent somewhere, to someone. Mistakes are less accepted, unless on a phone, and software eradicates the need to identify and correct our own mistakes in any digital medium. It’s much faster, and takes some of the personality out of the process through font uniformity and format. Therefore, I believe it to be less personal than handwriting. Despite this, I prefer to type unless I’m note taking. I like the tactile feedback of the click of the keys. Yes, even with my weirdly specific pens.
References
Lamb, R., McCormick, J. (Hosts). (2020, May 26). The invention of the book: Part 1 [Audio podcast episode]. In Stuff to Blow Your Mind. iHeart Radio. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/stuff-to-blow-your-mind-21123915/
