So, I am looking at all the recently published blog posts and it has raised numerous questions in my mind that I really would like to hear people’s opinions about.
1) What is the best time of the day to write?
I see people have posted as early as 5:00 in the morning, which is incredibly sad to me. Go to sleep, my friend! Everyone in this class is just beautiful, so why are some of you not getting your beauty sleep? Is it just a matter of convenience, because you’re already awake, so might as well write a post? Do you think better in the morning? Are you like me and just enjoy sharing your random thoughts as you sit waiting for the bus?
2) Should it be considered cheating if you have to use drugs to create art?
Okay, hear me out on this one. “Alice in Wonderland” is iconic because of how creative and otherworldly it was. There’s this whole story about how the author was just making up a story on the fly to entertain his friend’s kids, but so many other people believe it to be drug-fueled. Then we have The Beatles, who did use drugs. Personally, I recall creating some awesome story ideas when high on pain medication after a surgery, but I remember very little about them. Similar to how professional sports players aren’t allowed to use steroids, should we not consider things art if they were created under a mind altering substance? OR should we simply see it as a new perspective into a subject that is already focused on trying to see into another’s mind?
3) Is the creation of auto correct the next big leap in literary technology and everyone is simply missing it?
We keep hearing about how fantastic computers are, but even while writing this post, I kept misspelling words with the belief that my computer would automatically correct it. Are we part of a new historic journey in the history of invention of literacy tools? Is there a better way to phrase the last part of that sentence? We may never know…
When answering these questions, I’ll start with the first and do the third.
1) When I’m writing in general I tend to get work done quickly and most efficiently in the evening, sometime before or after I’ve had my dinner. I find that this time of day is one in which my mind has designated ‘work time’ and so it goes into overdrive, writing as much as I can before I lose the inspiration. In addition to this, working up until midnight and trying to get things done before I head to sleep is also a productive time as it feels like a rush to the finish line.
3) In regards to auto correct, I know that in many literacy circles there are groups who would say that it takes away our ability to spell, that it’s changing the way in which we write. I would agree that it changes how we write, but not why, and not what we can get done. It speeds up the process and allows people to write without abandon, sure that they can go back and edit their work later. In short, I believe that it’s a program which has helped people from all walks of life, not just writers, enormously.