Sh0w and T3ll

Sketchbooks, Blackberrys and Computers oh MY! Writing Spaces November 10, 2009

My sketchbooks, Blackberry and computer are the writing spaces I frequently employ. Each has characteristics that are similar and different and I use each for different purposes and in different ways.
My sketchbooks give me the freedom of a blank page to be worked by hand. There is freedom in it to choose the symbols I want in order to express my ideas. I do not feel restrictions of format within a sketchbook. I may use it to write, draw, or combine the two and meld words into pictures. Having a blank page sparks creativity for I know a story has yet to be told and it is in my hand to create it. I use pencils, pens, markers, crayons, paint, erasers, and paper as the mediums to create my mental concepts With my sketchbook, I have the patience to let my mind wander and come up with symbols that I may not fully comprehend until their completion. I have the freedom to develop abstract images. Using a sketchbook can be like a comic in nature as I place pictures and words together. With a blank sketch page, I have a tendency to visualize pictures more than or as much as I do words. I realize they are all symbols, but the symbols represent themselves differently with my Blackberry and computer.
With my Blackberry I can communicate with friends, and use abbreviated text dialect. Through Blackberry messenger, I can quickly pass virtual notes between friends. I can send individual messages or have conference like conversation where multiple friends can talk to each other, using text or recoded voice notes. Also through messenger, data files may be sent. BBM presents messages in transcript like format. It is like reading a play in book form, where characters names precede their messages. In addition to BBM, my Blackberry provides me with a memopad. This pad mimics the sketchbook in that it is a small blank page. However, with the memopad freedom is restricted. Unlike the sketchbook, the notepad can only be imprinted with virtual text in a linear fashion. There is an area for a title and an area for body. Despite the freedom restriction the memopad is an excellent device to record reminders, inspirational thoughts and ideas that would fade. My memopad acts as my journals used to. It is a place where I can place my innermost ideas, and since my phone is almost always on me, it provides me with a reliable and consistent writing space to utilize on short notice. Memopad also gives me an easy system of organization. Titles are organized alphabetically and can be easily reached by simply typing in the beginning letters of the title. This automatic alphabetic organizer makes me constantly think of titles so I do not repeat heads and confuse works.
My computer on the other hand, is my main source of word processing. I have the ability to use a blank page to develop virtual text in print format using Microsoft Word. I can imprint pictures and text, similar to the way I could with the sketchbook. However, when using Microsoft Word, Words are the substance I am after. It provides me with the advantage of having a personal publishing system where I can revise and edit and format ideas easily with a variety of pre-made formatting structures. Although formats are pre-made, the ability to mix and match allows the ability to either create a unique or standardized piece. Microsoft Word gives me the ability to have a writing space that has structure. This allows me the ability to not focus so much on format and more on content. I focus more on what I am saying versus how it is presented. I focus on the symbolism of language. Lastly, it provides me with the ability to store my works in one area in a format of my choosing, I may organize works alphabetically or sort them into separate folders by content.
Both Microsoft Word and the memopad of Blackberry remediate the sketchbook or plain blank page. They take the freedom of the having a clear page to work on and add publishing elements. Both the computer and Blackberry use the QWERTY keyboard, which comes from the typewriter, which is family of the Gutenberg Printing Press. This allows text to be standardized and easily understood. They both also give me the ability to be my own publisher and produce works in mass. I can easily connect my computer or phone to a printer and begin the process; something that would take painstakingly long if done by hand using a sketchbook. They make the work of the pad easier while adding other elements such pre-made formats, akin to the printing press.