When it comes to writing, computers are distracting. Well at least for me. There have been numerous occasions when I have sat before a blank computer screen, not knowing where to start. I find myself wasting my time perfecting the appearance of my paper rather than concentrating on the content of my paper.
I have come to the conclusion that I have a typing disease. I have condition called typing obsessive-compulsive disorder. Although it is frustrating at times perfecting the outrageous range of fonts and graphics that accompany Microsoft Word, it is comforting to know that I am not the only victim of this disorder. Sharon Cogdill shares her view on this topic in “Computers and Writing.” Cogdill explains, “All writers who use a computer fall in love with the neatness, the orderliness, brought to their pages by the screen and the curser.” Formatting my paper precisely consumes the majority of the writing process.
After reading her article, I have noticed in my writing that the lower order concerns take priority over the higher order concerns. With a click of a button, it is easy to take care of the lower order concerns on a computer. Grammar and spell check is automatic and fonts are easily changeable. A thesaurus is accessible as well.
Often times I fall into a trap and cannot write more than one sentence without rereading and revising it. I feel that it is necessary for writing on the computer to look professional so I am therefore consumed in perfecting sentence by sentence.
Cogdill shares an important aspect of the revising process that I had never thought about before. She mentions that students who revise only on the computer receive worst grades than those students who revise on an 8 ½ by eleven sheet of paper. This makes sense because you are limited in your view of your paper when you are simply looking at the screen. On a hardcopy however, you can look at your paper as a whole and make larger revisions.
Keeping Cogdill’s suggestions in mind, I now only write my first drafts on paper. This eliminates a significant amount of distractions which leads me to concentrate more on content. The best advice within Cogdill’s article is, “The danger is twofold: time spent on the surface is time taken away from the depth, and neat, decorated pages look like finished pages to a vulnerable writer.”
1 comment:
My first time in graduate school, before I began studying writing, I quite by chance started drafting my essays with pen and paper, and it was amazing how much easier writing became. I think, like you, I get too distracted by all the options on the computer.
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