Life in the twenty-first century is so rooted in technology that it has become apparent few of us can manage without it. Children especially love technology. They seem to ‘get’ technology far more easily than adults do, because in essence they have grown up with it and have learned alongside it.
Remember text messaging? Back in the day, the idea of sending a short message (140 characters maximum) was a revolution in instant communication. Of course it was difficult to type a well-structured message with such a limited number of characters but teenagers developed their own ‘shorthand’ and could soon be seen tapping furiously on their mobile phone devices, communicating at a speed that was enviable, for those self-confessed ‘technophobes’.
Of course text messaging was something which everyone did and those who lacked the speed of teenagers did not lack the will, persevering with the strange language of ‘texting’ until they succeeded. They had just start learning the language of ‘l8r’ and ‘lol’ when along came predictive text messages. Gone were the ‘brb’s’ and ‘ttyl’s’ because who needed text-type when you could send pages – as many as four – of text and in perfect English too? Once again, the young became adept at sending predictive texts, whilst the older generations bumbled their way through. And just as they got to grips with predictive text messaging, along came Apple and with it ‘Facetime’ (a video-call application on iPhones) making sending a text message seem so last century. Hook up to a wireless system and Skype could be done through your phone from anywhere and to any place in the world.
So, why shouldn’t we incorporate technology into creative writing workshops? After all, children are brilliant at using computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones. They may even teach the teachers a thing or two: ‘Miss, I can set up your calendar to beep when you have meetings.’ Isn’t it a good thing, to have access to a word processor, allowing children to edit their work ‘along the way’?
But it is important for children to experience the ‘art of writing’ in its very essence. That means in basic terms, introducing a child to a blank sheet of paper and a pencil and watching the magic unfold.
So given children’s’ passion for technology and their willingness to interact with a laptop or a tablet to play games or draw pictures using graphic technology, to ask a child not to use these applications or programs is a very hard task indeed. Part of the problem with electronic devices is the temptation to check e-mails, see what’s happening on social media sites, before diving into an absorbing game. So asking a child to use a word processor for a creative writing workshop and nothing more, would require the type of discipline adults find they are not able to apply when asked to do something similar. Not only that, but there is something very creative about holding a pencil and making marks on a clean, white sheet.
More artists are beginning to use graphics packages, but most of them still start by creating line drawing, using pencil and paper. Many writers still consider their paper-based notebooks their faithful friends, because of the sheer pleasure of forming words or the simple immediacy of the medium, so they can jot ideas down, play with concepts, or record quick observations of people or places they’ve seen.
To physically pick up a pen and pencil and write has been found to require a much higher degree of concentration than typing. The physical formation of letters reinforces their visual recognition in children, a prerequisite for fluent reading (James and Engelhardt, 2013). So the current trend of encouraging children to write using keyboards rather than the use pen or pencil and paper, may not be helpful with regards to the issue of literacy.
This blog post has initially been drafted been drafted in pen on a notebook, because the content had to be considered during the course of a busy day. Virtual notepads, such as Evernote are extremely useful because notes can be made on a phone and synchronised across all your electronic devices. But by the time the user has logging into a phone or iPad with a key code then opened the app, the moment of inspiration can be lost. A notepad, on the other hand can be quickly flipped open and the pen or pencil applied to capture the thought.
A writer needs the right tools in order to craft a story, a poem, a play; and the indications are that technology might disrupt that first spark of creativity.
There is something very satisfying about physically writing with a pen or pencil; almost meditative in some cases. It is also there to see for many years to come. Collections of writers notebooks and letters are not only a treasure trove for the words they contain, but also the tea stain, the chocolate smear, the doodle; those artefacts of an author’s daily life that brings a researcher physically handling the item so much closer to a person who might no longer be able to talk to them.
Many is the parent who holds onto their children’s drawings, paintings and school books, finding that pulling them out many years later brings back fond memories of the time when their children were small. This level of connection is simply not possible with a digital painting.
Children are quick learners. Our children teach us things about technology that we had no idea existed. They also find pleasure in simple tasks. They may initially find writing ‘boring’ but the trick is to inspire a different kind of feeling gained from writing for pleasure. There are no rules to creative writing, they can use illustrations and speech bubbles if writing is completely off-putting. They can write in rhyme or use a mixture of poetry, prose and drawing. It does not matter. What matters is the introduction of paper and pencil and person.
So if you are running a creative writing workshop, leave the laptop behind.
If this argument doesn’t convince you, then consider which of the following you could be assured of still working after you accidentally drop them onto the floor, your computer or your pencil and notepad.
References
James, K-H., Engelhardt, L. (2012), The effects of handwriting experience on function brain development in pre-literate children, Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 1(1), pp 32–42.
Write Creating 