Melissa Barker-Simpson

Scribble away 

Some people might wonder what all the fuss is about…so what if a writer uses ink instead of a keyboard to work their magic? Visually speaking, most images convey writers as sitting behind a computer or – something I’ve always dreamed of owning – tapping away at an old-fashioned typewriter. That said, if we’re talking a visual language, in BSL you would use the action for writing on paper. I digress… 

It doesn’t really matter if it gets the job done. In truth (and being the versatile writers that we are!) it’s probably a combination of the two. I used to be stubborn about my own process, and even convinced myself that the writing was better if I used pen and paper first. Using ink and letting the story flow is still my method of choice, especially if I’m suffering from writer’s block, but I’m more confident going straight to the keyboard now. I guess part of it stems from the way my creative energy translates itself. I love the freedom writing by hand gives me, and it does feel like the words come from a well inside me that I tap into whenever I have a pen in my hand. It’s difficult to explain to those who don’t write. The experience of letting go and allowing the story to tell itself – it’s a beautiful kind of magic.  

Thanks for stopping by

Mel