Typewriter

My newfound method for writing seems very complex but it provides promising results. My newest tool is not the latest laptop or the newest phone, but rather the seemingly archaic typewriter. I compare my process to photography. First, you scout out the scene, you study it and determine which lens, which mood you want to view the scene in. Then, instead of taking just one picture, you would take multiple pictiures from multiple angles, possibly improving on each one as you go. Once you see the picture, you know how to take the next one so that it's even better. This is my approach to writing. I get my idea and think about it for a while, and then I just sit down and type it out on my typewriter. From there, I begin to notice the faulty adjectives or the repeated words, or even the metaphors that just don't make sense. I have the physical copy immediately before me to hold in my hands so I can look at line lengths and, one of my personal favorites, how the poem looks on the page.

After my first draft, I write out the edited poem by hand and repeat the process. I keep repeating the type out, write out process until I believe the poem is almost at it's best (even though revision is never really a finite process). Up to this point, the only person in the world to have seen the poem, to have touched the poem is myself. I have the only copy (or copies) and can choose to do with them what I please. There is something about this fact that makes me feel like the poem is truly mine, truly a piece of me that I have control over.

Returning to the photography metaphor, once the photographer has taken all of the pictures, he doesn't just leave them on his camera. In this day and age the pictures always have one more step. They are uploaded to a computer for final editing, cropping, color enhancement and whatever else they may need. Obviously, the photographer will choose the best shot of a particular scene and may put a few final touches on it before printing it or distributing it via internet. This last step is heavily based upon the beginning shots that the photographer took before he or she knew exactly what to expect out of the scene. This is the same with my new writing process. Once I believe my poem is ready, I type it out on my computer, where it is easier to play with line lengths and page setups, and I will add or subtract for some final touches. Then, when I hit the Save button, my poem becomes infinite. I can print off one or three thousand copies of it and it will still be saved on my computer. I can send it, scratch it, expand it, cut it, paste it, whatever I wish to do with it I can do. But I always have the original "photos" to return to when I wonder where I got my start.