Sh0w and T3ll

From Scribble and Scrawl to Print and Manuscript: How One Writing Space Tops Another November 8, 2009

Being an avid reader and writer, I am constantly utilizing a variety of writing spaces.  The one I still use most frequently would have to be the notebook and pen; this is because it is often the easiest to use during class.  Being a forgetful student who wants to succeed, I constantly have to take notes in class in order to do well on tests and papers.  Although this is not my writing space of choice, it is often the most convenient to carry to class.  What makes the pen and paper unique is the energy it takes to form every letter.  My notes are often hard to read because of the time constraint to form every line by hand, and my hand often hurts after continuously writing for an hour.  This leads me to my writing space of choice, the one I could use in every class, my laptop.  I use Pages on my MacBook to write many of my papers, and with this application I can easily form letters with just the push of a button.  If I could tote my laptop to every class without the fear of it getting broken, stolen, or losing battery before I am done for the day, I would.  This writing space is what I am currently using, and also what I am most comfortable with.  This is because I can easily type pages at a time without getting tired or sloppy.  Also, it is simple to go back and edit what I write in this writing space.  My third writing space is a little different from the last two, but still just as valuable for me.  My third writing space is a blog, just like this one.  However, I also host my own blog where I talk mostly about my love for both fashion and running.  This writing space is different for me yet, since my writing is no longer private.  In this writing space, the writing is easily shared with the world to agree or disagree and form their own opinions.

Bolter and Grusin define the term remidiation as, “A newer medium takes the place of an older one, borrowing, and reorganizing the characteristics of writing in the older medium and reforming its cultural space” (23).  With this term applied, I agree that many writing technologies have been remidiated by newer ones.  Just looking at my writing spaces you can see a clear remidiation that took place.  At one time, all students had to take notes was a pen and notebook, and that was often the easiest way to write.  Today, it is one of the hardest, and although I try to cling to it, I know there will come a day when I bring my laptop to every class to take notes.  The change is already happening, since it is so much easier, quicker, and less stressful.  This semester, I regularly bring my laptop to two classes, but I do not think it will be long until I take all my notes on a word processor.  Especially now with netbooks, where laptops are getting smaller, lighter, and easier to carry around.  In short, word processing is remediating notebooks and pens because it is easier to edit, neater, takes less time, and is more efficient.

Bolter, Jay David.  2001.  Writing Space: Computers, Hypertext, and the Remidiation of Print. NY. 14-26.