I can sit under a tree and write in a journal about the view, write many of these types of personal reflections by hand, without the aid of a computer, but am likely to see them as journals, notes not to be published, and yet they help me define my own feelings and opinions removed from technology, and to think of new ideas, or to even elaborate on ones which could be considered a waste of time.

Conversely, if I am writing a press release, or a blog entry, it might be fashioned for length, therefore it pays to be precise and economical with words and I find technology very useful for that, as well as for printing it, marketing/mailing it, or posting it-it’s very handy and uses a mixture of ideas, some possible research or date checking, and the Internet, etc.

Whereas, I find using technology for academic writing to be the most helpful, but also the most removed from personal writing. It is not about my feelings and it may not be something I know a lot about. Research is the most useful task a computer can do for me, but I find transferring that information, keeping track of the changes, quotes, and other’s writing very difficult at times. I picked up an old cell phone once and was refreshed to find it just called. I am usually limited to my computer’s base, its home moored to the spot, peripherals, and habits. I find I have to be dedicated to the task at hand-actively engaged for several hours with the project-and I usually am doing research simultaneously, that is, learning as I go.

I see these each as periods of a different kind of thinking. One has to move from writing, to editing, to publishing, and begins each task with a certain mindset, and if that approach is different from the one of writing, or too time consuming, one can get mired in the research, technology, glitches, and the artistic process is just not a part of that, or it is a late, or even forgotten, part of the effort. Revision becomes tiresome and I feel I waste a lot, overwrite, I save everything. It does make possible setting those unique ideas aside quickly, into another file, for instance, but sometimes by the time I am done with a project I do not want to revisit it until much later if ever. Sometimes technology can be the source of new ideas. It is hard to switch back and forth, to write, and to pare down the research one finds on the Internet, in terms of what is truly original or self-reflective.

Learning, assimilation, and reflection take time. You put ideas into the well, but they tend to come out when, and if they are fully digested. Sitting down at a computer, like any other kind of writing does not guarantee good results, or great ones, particularly if they are dependent on technology. One has to keep an open mind, be willing to continue to learn and adapt, and to do the best one can with the given technology. I think the quality of writing, due to the number of choices possible, the focus on different technology, or the process, sometimes hamper the art of writing or thinking itself.