I used to write everything by hand. In fact, as recently as the sci-fi I first started talking about in here, it was all pen & paper. But I don't buy pretty journals. I write in recycled steno pads. Piles and piles of them. I have a whole bin full of the things, just with lyrics. Which I still do almost all in longhand.

My SO's been nagging me for years, though, so I'm gradually migrating over. It's funny. It's not as though I'm all luddite about it, I'm a total technophile. Just something about it.

And almost all my recent work's been on the computer, especially all the drabbles (easy word count).

I'm about 50/50 paper journal/computer. A lot of the paper journal writing comes from my writing class, though, where a computer would be out of place. It's been done once or twice, but it's really mostly paper journals.

Unrelated to any contest or whatnot, here's a career-crisis-inspired Teacher Drabble:

I want to make a difference.

I was told I was smart, was capable, was going to change the world. I was going to learn, and then I was going to do. Change the world with my mind.

I was going to make a difference.

I failed. I'm not an inventor, not a researcher. I'm not a genius, and not destined for greatness.

I can still make a difference.

Changing a child can change the world. I can do that. I can show a child beauty, help him to grow.

I can be a teacher.

I will make a difference.

I will make a difference.

I admire you for your aspiration.

sj, I love blank books, notebooks, sketchbooks etc. and I have many of them. Actually, a friend of mine is doing that "Artist's Way" thing and talked about doing the "morning pages" on her computer instead of handwriting them, so I thought I'd try that this morning. And I'm not sure, I think that I like the physical process of writing for this purpose. Plus, that sort of typing (it took me like 50 minutes to get my three pages) is very tiring and I type all day at work. On the other hand, I like typing and my handwriting is v. illegible. But my journals are mostly personal journals, not for others to read so I don't worry about it.

The drabbles I've done were typed from start to finish.

Excellent, Nova. A drabble with a point.

Keep the passion, NC, and you'll make a great teacher. Passion, empathy, and courage. Those are the three main ingredients that, when added to brains, make great teacher. IMHO.

I write in notebooks all the time. I can't always have a machine in front of me. Sometimes, I'll write on paper bags if I have to, to get my words out.

Plei, I used to do that, as well, but as I got older, I amde an interesting discovery: I have an damned near photographic memory for my own words.

Which is, believe me, really frickin' handy.

I've written directly on a keyboard for about 30 years, first on a typewriter and then on a computer. I no longer seem to have much connection between my brain and a pen or pencil. I actually have to think about making the letters. My writing by hand pretty much consists of an occasional cryptic note to myself, notes on meetings, and addresses, because my printer hates envelopes.

I use a journal for my first poetry drafts and for random thoughts (I keep a little notebook in my bag at all times). I type almost all prose, essays etc. I type much faster than I can handwrite, but I still find something more intimate about poetry that requires a pen in early stages. I used to journal incessently as well, but that's worn off a bit in recent years. I'm not sure why...maybe the fact that I now have a laptop that I take most everywhere with me takes away my need to also keep a written journal.

I am very jealous of Deb's photographic memory. My memory is not so good, alas.