I didn’t have a working computer for three weeks. It was horrible. While I can easily live without facebook or google for a while, it deprived me of the ability to type. Why do I always have the best ideas when I’m not in front of a computer? Usually it’s not a problem, as I mull them over in my head, and when I have time I go and type them up.
But no typing up stuff for THREE WEEKS?
Not do-able.
So I grabbed a notebook and pen and started writing the old-fashioned way. Thank god I write pretty fast, but I really cursed myself after a while for taking a ballpointpen and not a pencil. No quick editing of things I wanted to rephrase, and very soon my pages were filled with crossed-out sections, side-notes and other scribbles.
For the first 2 hours I felt very important, like a “real” writer. I even considered taking my notebook to the next café, to have a coffee with my literary outbursts and feel arrogant. But after a day I felt like an idiot, because not only was I crossing out more than I was writing, I began to have a cramp in my hand and was already dreading having to type it all up again later.
Now that my computer works again (and all my scribbles have been typed up) I’m happier than a squirrel with a Snickers.
But I’ll keep the notebook as a momento of my efforts.
