Free Writing Center

Here I am, blogging from the comfort of a vehicle, traveling at 70 miles per hour on the interstate. A thought struck me as I watch other passengers texting, using mobile email, or with a laptop on their laps and tethered to their mobile phone - surfing Google just like they were sitting at home. We are living in reality conceived by the sci-fi authors of the past.

In fact, this new reality has changed how writers write. I recall reading ‘On Writing’ by Stephen King, where he describes his writing process of scribbling thoughts and ideas on a piece of paper whenever and wherever the moment struck. He would jot ideas on scraps of paper, napkins, or whatever else was available. Later, he would work on his masterpiece on an archaic typewriter, locked in the laundry room to escape the chaos of family life.

For better or worse, the Internet changed the landscape for new writers. Now, we prove ourselves in blogs rather than in small independent magazines. Today, the creative forces are digitized, published, distributed and syndicated in a few mouse clicks. In the writers’ modern world, when inspiration strikes, we pull out the Smartphone and instantly add those thoughts to our blogs.

Writers like King may lament these cultural and technological changes, but as the King’s mournful Gunslinger would say, the world has moved on.