I often break into hypergraphia (writing lengthy treatises exceedingly fast and hodge-podge, seemingly forever.) I used to write on paper in journals. I have over 120 of them. They go on and on about my thoughts, my feelings, my gripes, my opinions, and godknowswhatelse. It doesn't matter much because no one is ever going to read my journals not even me.
Someday when I feel death coming on I'm going to take them out in the backyard and have one sonofabitch bonfire. It won't matter because there is absolutely no culture or history or current events in any of them. I suspect some of the essays are boring writing about a boring life. I'm afraid the rest reveal various levels of insanity.
My handwriting is shot to hell at my age so I'm determined to capture my ideas on a computer. That doesn't serve me as well since handwriting was an autonomic behavior for me. Thoughts went directly from my brain to paper via fingers. Fingers aren't as reliable as they used to be.
I'm also hindered by my compulsion to tell the truth and be accurate. And an attempt to manipulate others into being that way too.
On a computer I actually have to think about what I'm writing. I can't whiz along making a mess of it. Typos and misspellings are automatic now instead of my thought-to-paper process. I was able to do things in writing that I just can't do on a computer. Like spell bad with disaster grammar and scribbling over words and continue to write long passages non-stop (much the way I think. And talk. (That's another story.)
Thanks to a career in clerical work/typist my editing and correcting is built into my writing. My fingers (besides hitting a lot of wrong keys) automatically hits the backup-delete button. I suspect, too, my career influenced me by not having to think about what I was typing.
There's a vast difference between typing someone else's words and writing your own stuff creatively.
I also edit as I write but that's like throwing your car into reverse every yard or two. You get there eventually but the journey is hell. By the time I get my typing corrected and edited I've lost my train of thought.
In fact, this wasn't what I wanted to write about at all.
O heck it's lunch time I better go eat breakfist. By.
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PS: Writing in a journal is a waste of words, ideas, writing and time. You're not really a writer unless someone reads you. Except journaling for therapy--in that case it serves well. And cheaper than a $120 therapy session.) If no one ever reads it you might as well tear it up and toss it in the trash, right? Writing a blog you have a choice--click on the publish button or use the delete key. At least when you write a blog someone out of 2-billion people with computers might stumble on it and actually read it--maybe even like it.
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