Want to feel the words you write?.....use a pen...

Many things that probably used to be common place tools when we wanted to write something such as type writers, fountain pens, pencils, etc. are nowadays almost novelties, replaced by computers, tablets, mobile phones, etc.. Things change and mankind keeps on inventing new tools, tools that in many instances makes life "easier" and more efficient.

But, perhaps although we gain efficiency and "ease" through our new inventions, perhaps we also loose something?

The old type writers tended to "stick" and were noisy; they made a "clacking" noise when the keys were pressed; clackety-clack, clackety-clack-clack, clackety-ding, whereas computers, tablets, and phones are very quiet, well, except for occasional; oops, what? no no no no no, that's not what I meant to do.

Fountain pens had a tendency to leak so the user had to become very good at using blotting paper and or other methods of covering up unwanted ink stains. A pencil, though a very cheap (cost effective) writing implement, needed constant sharpening, and the lead in the pencil smudged easily.

So far, thumbs up for electronic devices, yeah? Well,....there are drawbacks methinks.

To use a type writer is both an auditory and physical experience, each letter that you type makes a noise and requires more physical input than tapping a screen or a computer keyboard, which in my view makes me wonder if perhaps the old type writers could possibly be viewed as "percussion instruments" as well as writing tools? I am old, and fortunate enough, to have experienced the sounds of a "typing pool" (a group of people all using type writers) and I found the sounds exciting. To me, it sounded like a kind of music.

I can't help but wonder if as many "poisoned letters" (nasty, mean-spirited comments) would be written today if to do so a person had to get a sheet of paper, load it into a type writer, clack away, then pull it out, get an envelope, write down the address and then finally go to a post office and post it. Using an electronic device, anyone can dish out vitriol (bitter criticism, malice) faster than a speeding bullet, remain anonymous, and all with minimal effort.

A type writer written note/letter, as well as a note/letter written with a fountain pen or a pencil, carry with them "bits" of the writer's identity, and this is something which science confirms. When we write using a fountain pen/pen or a pencil, we leave "bits" of our personalities behind.

In short, may I suggest that although there are many, many, many, great aspects to our electronic devices.......... being able to anonymously write mean-spirited, down right nasty and vitriolic things to and about others with the help of the internet rather than a great aspect, is a drawback.

Using pens or keyboards, according to those in the know, uses different cognitive processes.

“Handwriting is a complex task which requires various skills – feeling the pen and paper, moving the writing implement, and directing movement by thought,”  Edouard Gentaz, professor of developmental psychology at the University of Geneva, says. Using a pen requires precise motor skills; as in pressure of the pen, control of the pen, being able to follow through in action what a thought suggests. On a keyboard, regardless of the letter, the action/movement is the same.

"Drawing each letter by hand improves our grasp of the alphabet because we really have a “body memory” says Gentaz.

Roland Jouvent, head of adult psychiatry at Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris:  “There is an element of dancing when we write, a melody in the message, which adds emotion to the text. Handwriting is the result of a singular movement of the body, typing is not."

(Perhaps, in view of this, it may be interesting to find out how many of the "trolls" who regularly voice their opinions and discontent on the internet, would be prepared to sit down with pen and paper and write it down and then send it off in an envelope to the appropriate recipients.)

Some writers who don't use electronic keyboards to write: Quentin Tarantino, (uses a pen), George R.R. Martin (uses an old word processor), Joyce Carol Oats (uses a pen), Tom Wolfe (uses either pen or a type writer), George Clooney (writes by hand) to mention a few.

For some, people choosing to use a fountain pen, ball-point, pencil or an old type writer may perhaps seem a bit "old-fashioned" in todays world of technology, but it is a choice no less. There are aspects of those tools that are quite practical in my view: with a pencil and a bit of paper you can write anywhere, even in a space shuttle floating upside down. A fountain pan is not only excellent as a writing tool, it is also an excellent tool for artistic endeavours (especially pen and ink works), a ball-point pen can also be used for sketching and drawing, gel pens have an incredible array of colours to chose from and with the event of "Mindfulness Colouring in Books" they are handy indeed. For those of us into "sounds", using an old type writer can be an auditory experience as well as a "physical" one. One thing these tools all have in common in my opinion, is that they somehow make you "feel" closer to the words you write, then when using a generic keyboard or a touch screen. Give it a try, get a pencil, or any kind of pen, and write something that means a lot to you on paper. Then write the same thing on the keyboard.... now do the same thing again but write something really vitriolic, insulting, offensive on paper, then on the keyboard.......and see how that feels.

Oh, and one of the really, really good things about the "old" writing implements is that whatever we may have written, can't be "sent" off accidentally......

“Irony, we want our handwriting to look like typed fonts, and our computer fonts to look like handwritten text.”
     (Vikrmn Corpkshetra)

(By the way, the image I have used as an illustration was made with Parker Ink, a fountain pen and a little bit of acrylic paint.)