Lyla Campbell

Written on the plane back from Seattle...

Five days later and not one more productive written word. Writing fail?

...maybe

To be honest (brace yourself for an excuse) there really wasn't much time to think about story lines or plot twists. When we weren't hiking or driving to the next hiking location, we were desperately looking for a gas station, refueling ourselves on salmon and crab, or spending some quality bonding time with our pillows.

After spending a week living the granola crunchy life a point to ponder started brewing in the back of my head. Now on the way home, while thumbing through a backpacker magazine I purchased at the news stand in the SeaTac terminal that pondered point really solidified. Every other page in this periodical had an add for a high tech gadget GPS fire starter whatchamawhoozit, hiking trail maps to download to your iPhone and carbon fiber coffee cups that double as radio booster. (All of a sudden images from City Slickers were flashing through my head of the battery powered coffee grinder and the ensuing mayhem.)

I began to wonder if these outdoor creature comforts were ruining the get-back-to-nature experience. Similarly do iPads, laptops, and other marvels of modern technology rob us of the complete writing experience? And, no, the irony that I'm bloggin' this using a laptop and the interwebs is not totally lost on me. And, no, I'm not advocating the idea that you go into the woods with nothing more than nail clippers and one change of socks to get the full on nature experience. But, why is it that I feel more connected to my writing when the ink glides smoothly onto a piece of paper rather than tippy-tapped onto my laptop?

So, do you prefer your laptop or ink?

P.S. The pic is of Mt. St. Helens from the plane.
2 Responses
  1. Jeff King Says:

    Laptop all the way... maybe if I was smarter I would like to write in ink.


  2. Jennifer Says:

    Kudos on this post. I liked it much! And, hmm, well. . . I used to be a paper and ink gal, but said iPad is just so convenient (until it eats a term paper)


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