Writer’s Dilemma – The Keyboard or The Pen?

Damayanti raised a great point in her blog post last week – has Microsoft Word changed our writing habits? 

I remember using an awesome Brother typewriter before I turned ten, and then graduating to WordPerfect. At that time I loved typing in WordPerfect, but sometimes it drove me crazy. But then MS Word came along, and broke all craziness quotients! But there’s no doubt that life has become so much easier with the advent of computers and word processors. 

Despite the many benefits of MS Word, writers still turn to good old quill and parchment to unleash their creativity. To capture this angst, I composed a little poem: 

With paper and pen,

I try to write,

I just can’t do it,

I give up the fight

 

Switch to typing,

Everyone said,

Your handwritten gems,

Cannot be read

 

So I start to type,

And hear with ease,

The rhythmic tap,

Of the keys

 

On the screen I see,

My thoughts flow,

My mind is clear,

I’m ready to go

 

I finish my piece,

It reads all right,

But before I submit,

I must rewrite,

 

Again I sit,

With a stack of pens,

I read it through,

And make amends

 

Now I flatter myself,

Whether I type or write,

The result remains,

A reader’s delight!