Copyright
© 2018 Anita Fontana
My Journey
to Blogging
In Writing
Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg recommends daily writing by hand, vomiting
onto the page whatever comes to mind. But, I’m in my 70s now and the
combination of arthritis and a shaky hand have made my writing unreadable.
In high school I learned to type on a black
manual typewriter. Assignments were 3-5 minutes of nonstop typing to test
accuracy and speed. When the teacher set her timer and said “go,” the
cacophonous clacking of the keys, the “ding” of the bell at the end of the line
of type, and the slapping of the return bar became a symphony of dexterity and
capability. Throughout the year, I honed my skills until I was near the top of
the class.
I got a secretarial job right out of high
school and continued that career for the next 30-35 years. In my spare time, I
wrote poetry and personal essays, dashing them out on the typewriter or
computer with the need for only minor editing. The thoughts flowed so fast
that, even at my 90 words per minute, I sometimes couldn’t type fast enough to
keep up with my brain. I would have an experience, often on my lunch hour, then
race back to my desk, churning out an entire piece in one sitting, ignoring the
ringing phones and the work that was piling up.
In 1994, when I quit my last job to work
for myself, I created a succession of businesses. During this 20+ year time
period, I back-burnered creative writing for thousands of business emails,
promotional pieces, training courses, and scripts for my professional speaking.
Consequently, at this point in my life, I
am proficient at thinking at the computer. So, although I respect the writer’s
exercise of hand writing, I have found that I am most effective on the
keyboard, typing whatever thoughts come to mind, trying to keep my eyes closed,
desperately keeping the “editor” at bay so as not to see all the mistakes I’m
making, until I’ve drained my brain of the thoughts and memories contained
therein. Hence the title of this blog.
I guess I’m what’s called a binge writer. I
go for days, or sometimes weeks without writing a word, reading, playing games,
or flipping channels between my favorite TV programs. During this “composting”
period I am pretty impossible to live with until long-buried ideas and memories
begin bubbling to the surface, spilling out on to my computer screen.
I write what I call “memoirettes;” disparate little
slices of my life as I remember them. I hope you enjoy my memories and that
they evoke memories of your own.
I'm in my early sixties writing a novel for the first time in my life. The keyboard is what I prefer too, although for different reasons. When I set my mind to it, my penmanship is decent, not beautiful though. My problem lies in my inability to spell because of my disability. Typing on a computer give me instant access to the dictionary I can't write without.
ReplyDeleteI'm currently reading Writing Down the Bones and letting it marinate into my brain. I also type faster than I write... In deference to the author I do try to occasionally hand write. Some amazing stories can spill out either way. Keep writing your vulnerability, it is brave and beautiful.
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