Too small to handle and resharpen with a knife.
Not even my pencil extender can extend its life.
Out of the fresh cardboard box it’s born.
Once its usefulness is gone, into the retirement box it mourns.
Sometimes they come out to erase their son’s and daughter’s mistakes.
Or get thrown into forests, deserts, mountains, and lakes.
It’s the cycle of a pencil’s life that never ends.
Acts like a bridge to your mind and hand, never bends.
Why am I writing about tiny pencils, I have some writing to do.
Forget this stupid poem, this post is doo-doo!
Wooden pencils help slow down my thoughts when I write. The smooth grain and cedar scent (especially from my Musgrave Tennessee Reds) makes me feel like I’m writing in a forest. Mechanical pencils and pens make me feel sterile. And electronic devices disconnect my mind and fingers at the speed of light.
The scratches it makes on paper without the threat of breaking the graphite at the slightest pressure, and the strips of wood and graphite coming from my metal sharpener, makes me appreciate the writing process and journey more than the destination. The demons of efficiency is cast aside.
Inefficiency is a dirty word for the “technologically progressive” modern person. They say, “Why not let computers, smartphones, or even the AI of your choice do all the writing for you? Don’t be a narrow-minded, backwards-thinking Luddite. Think of how much time we can save so we can continue scrolling social media or stream our favorite shows longer.”
I reject that notion. Writing with pencil is like sitting at the park, the beach, or the desert at night without taking any photos from your smartphone. Even better when you write at these places. The process is what we writers treasure the most. We learn, sweat, and spill blood so that readers appreciate the sacrifices of those willing to share. Human experiences, not machine responses. If that makes me a Luddite, it’s a badge of honor.
Do you still write with wooden pencil? Any favorite brands?
A Dublin, California man spent several decades trying to unravel the mystery of why his Venetian blinds were tangled in his master bedroom. After buying his single-family home in 1957, Gordon Neely replaced all the gray window curtains with the foldable blinds.
In 1962, Neely noticed one of his blinds was always stuck on the right side when raising and lowering. The turning rod also didn’t work.
Neely commented, “I’ve been untangling these dang blinds for over sixty years straight. I couldn’t eat or sleep. These things should be illegal.”
This year, Neely replaced all his blinds with the same curtains he originally replaced. Unfortunately, a few days after this interview, Neely died in a tragic accident involving his window curtains. A police investigation is ongoing. Neely is survived by his wife Nancy and his three adult children Michael, Gordon Jr., and Kim.
I love writing. Like having to three to four cups of coffee a day, it’s in my blood. But the idea of being a writer for a living never stuck with me. Sure, there were dreams of being a rich and famous writer, but then again, I also wanted to be a police detective, fighter pilot, and rule my own kingdom (that can still happen).
Writing, as a skill, has helped me in my personal and professional life. It’s cheaper than therapy and, as a hobby, helps fulfill me. As a private investigator, report writing is an important skill. No matter how much evidence you collect, your report is your final product to the client.
So instead of trying to be a writer for a living, improve your writing skills, and apply them to whatever career you’re in. Even if you’re working a job that doesn’t require it, be creative. Maybe you might write a training program or something. Good writing is a skill that will help you no matter what.
How many of you have problems buying so many notebooks but never finish a single one? I always end up with two problems. One, I have multiple notebooks of separate topics but still have plenty of blank pages left. Two, I write anything and everything in one notebook and my mind gets so scrambled I start a fresh notebook.
It also doesn’t help I buy multiple packs of notebooks as if I’m expecting a nuclear disaster and all the world’s production of paper gets destroyed. Assuming I survive such an event, what am I going to do? Throw pieces of paper into my makeshift fire pit? Write my last will and testament? Or write “valuable” insight to revive human civilization?
Okay, got way off topic. So, this is my best system on how to finish a notebook. First, I buy a pocket notebook (3”x5” or 4”x6”) and keep it in my pocket or nearby at all times. What’s great about smaller notebooks is that I keep my writings short. Second, I use it only for my thoughts and blog posts so it’s easier to review back a topic. Finally, I don’t under any circumstances, use another notebook until I finish it. Once done, I write my name, dates started and finished, and a table of contents written on the inside book cover.
I buy larger notebooks (8.5”x11”), for long essays and book projects and leave them at home. Anything I write on my smaller notebooks that needs to be expanded I transfer to the larger notebook.
A small and large notebook is all you need. And don’t buy more than three notebooks of each size at a time. You have enough writing material without acting like a crackhead always needing a fix. If you have a better system let me know.
Do you ever look back as a child when you got sick and you got to stay in bed and skip school? Whether you watched TV and ate ice cream or slept the entire day away, all your responsibilities were put on hold until you got better. Unfortunately, as a parent, I don’t have that luxury.
A few days ago my older son had to miss school due to a nasty cough. And since he hasn’t mastered the art of covering his coughs with his arm I fell victim to the chain of sickness. Usually, I’m pretty good at preventing illnesses, but not this time.
Of course this happens when my family and I had plans for the weekend. And as a stay-at-home dad, my responsibilities don’t stop just because I’m sick. Have to keep going no matter what. So I’ll ingest all the fluids and the over-the-counter medication, and try not to overexert myself.
So be careful out there and take all the necessary precautions so you and your family don’t get sick. Be well!
Back in December, after the Christmas lights show at my county fair, my family and I made a late night stop at a recently opened Yemeni cafe several blocks away from our home. I bought a hot pistachio latte for myself, a strawberry refresher for my wife, and a chocolate croissant for all of us to share. Everything was delicious, but pricey (about $21 before tip).
Moka & Co. has more traditional Yemeni coffee choices and plenty of desserts like baklava and more savory items like samosas. As far as cafe corporate chains go, Moka & Co. is clean and the food and drink items are better than Starbucks and some Peet’s Coffee locations. I know there’s another smaller Yemeni cafe chain a few more miles away from our house and I plan on trying it in the near future.
So if Moka & Co. is in your neighborhood, give it a try. And yes, I do recommend the pistachio latte.
It’s a great tool to generate ideas, prepare outlines, and proofread your manuscripts. Sure, some writers have used AI to write stories for them, creating so-called slop. But slop has always existed. AI, like all tools, can be used for good and evil.
There are two problems I have with AI: the massive energy requirements to run the servers and the increased prices of computer parts to meet demand. Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are making deals with energy companies to build nuclear power plants next to their data centers. How is this fair when ordinary people experience blackouts due in part to AI’s energy consumption? And what about PC building enthusiasts who want to make their own computers, or people who just want to buy an ordinary computer/laptop? They’ll have to pay even more out of their pockets just for the privilege of having one.
Whether you like or hate AI is irrelevant. At the end of the day, it’s here to stay. Can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube. The best thing to do is to have people develop their own LLMs or download the LLM of their choice to their computers. The drive for independent AI and taking power away from corporations and governments should be the goal for everyone, including writers.
I don’t earn anything from my writings and that’s okay. Writing as a career never interested me. Don’t like the deadlines and constant editing. I’ll write whenever and wherever.
When self-publishing flourished and despite publishing two short stories on a two-series horror book anthology for fun, I still didn’t want to write for a living. While I do have some book ideas publishing isn’t a priority right now. But for many writers, I sympathize with your anger, fear, and disappointments.
You want to earn a decent living writing what you love and people reading your content. Second, you also want to leave some sort of legacy. Finally, you want to tell people what many writers have failed to do: “I wrote and published a book.” But like everyone can’t be a doctor, engineer, or God forbid, a lawyer, not everyone can be a successfully published writer.
However, continue on writing. Get those experiences, ideas, and thoughts on paper or post them online. Maybe no one else will read them or refuse to give you money when they do. But at least try. Who knows. At least you’re recording them somewhere and it’s not forever lost in your mind as you get older.
If you’re ever on Facebook or any other social media platform and have your phone’s microphone on, you’ll always see ads tailored specifically to your wants and desires. For me, it’s always backpacks, notebooks, pencils, and saxophones. It’s a love/hate thing.
Every time I go on Facebook (love Marketplace by the way), I always see some company I’ve never heard of selling genuine leather notebooks, the best journal carrying system, or the newest electronic gadget that supposedly helps you write with few distractions. The Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS) always rears its ugly head and takes your precious time and hard earned money.
Influencers praise these products and services and offer their discount codes to make sure you enjoy them as much as they do (until they move onto the next best thing). What ever happened to grabbing a simple notebook and pen/pencil and just write? Why is writing getting more complicated?
Do we really need devices with e-ink screens to help us write? Or an expensive journaling system forcing us to buy more replacement notebooks and accessories to make us look cool while we write? And do we really need an app just to time us when to start and stop writing?
I know I sound like the old man yelling at the clouds. So let’s just focus on the simple act of writing itself: paper and pen/pencil. And let’s deal with the more complicated stuff, such as publishing your manuscript and the online posts, later when the time comes.