photo © 2008 Melissa Doroquez | more info (via: Wylio)I’m as geeky as they come. The digital age has been very good to me, opening worlds previously closed to someone with a visual impairment. I love my iPhone, my Kindle and my laptop. I typically communicate via keyboard but every once in a while my muse craves release via paper. Sometimes the thoughts just come out better on paper, they flow more freely. My weapon of choice is usually a pen. My current favorite being the Bic Pro+ ballpoint in blue. However, recently, I found a “My First Ticonderoga” #2 pencil in the pencil cup in the kitchen. I liked the weight in my hand as I dashed off a note to the teacher. I’ve was never a pencil person even as a kid. I think it was an issue of contrast as much as it was the desire for the maturity symbolized by using a pen. Pencil for me is usually hard to read but since this is a thicker lead (yes, I know it’s graphite), it is legible for me.

By using a pencil to draft I regain the ability to erase. When writing with pen, the only option was a line (or six) through the text. This has never worked well for me especially during the revision process. When I reread, my eye is often tripped up by the mistake. As When I wrote this draft, I encountered one downside to pencil, the mess. The crumbs from the eraser, the shavings from the sharpener and graphite transfer to the heel of my hand. Even before I started this venture I knew I would not be converting to pencil, still, it is not a bad way to write, and it is always good to provide the muse with options for expression. Heck, it got me this blog post right?

I’m fortunate to be part of a group blog on writing Live to Write, Write to Live, by The New Hampshire Writer’s Network. This post was created in conjunction with a post for that blog.