I have often said that I need to carve out some more spaces to do my writing. But now that we have a baby to look after, these spaces present themselves even less. While he is awake, there is always something that needs doing – feeding, nappy, making more feeds… if he’s having a grizzly day it literally doesn’t stop. I try to do as much as I can for him at the weekends, as my wife takes care of him throughout the week. Still, it usually ends up that I take care of him Saturday, and we do it together Sunday.

Image by Dave Fayram on Flickr

The point is that, as much as I advocate routines and setting time aside, no time is sacred when you have a baby. It seems like the only time I could realistically set aside would be when mum and baby are both asleep. This, of course, was the original theory behind getting up early on a Saturday to write, now scuppered by that being precisely the time boy wants his first feed of the day.

There’s obviously a hideous and treacherous balancing act here. Do I risk throwing my sanity at the face of tiredness, only to have tiredness catch it in its mouth and chew it to mush? After all, it’s not just my writing and parenting I have to worry about – I also have a day job. Tiredness there can be difficult to work with, but planning helps. I write out a list of things I have to do that day before I do anything else. This comes from a master list (a spreadsheet) that I update whenever a new task comes along, so I don’t miss anything. Whatever extra I do at night, I’ll have to stop if it becomes detrimental to my day job.

While considering this idea, I did come up with something of a plan. For a start, my wife will have to take the boy for some time during the weekend to allow me to do some writing. As far as the night time sessions go, it’s not likely that I’ll be able to stand doing this every night. I will need to keep some nights for something approaching a recovery. That makes me want to pick nights in the middle of the week – so that I can cope with the horror of Mondays (just call me Garfield) and don’t pile tiredness on tiredness (too much) towards the end of the week, when I’m likely to be feeling tired anyway. So, that makes Tuesday and Wednesday sound good. Plan = stay up an extra hour after feeding to do some writing on Tuesday and Wednesday. Done.

The only way of seeing if this is possible is to give it a go. This weekend is a bank holiday here in the UK, so provides a great opportunity to ease my way into this tortuous routine (I should probably go into it with a better attitude). I should be slightly more recovered with an extra day at home. But aside from reckless experimentation, I’d like to know if any of our readers have adopted a similar routine. Do you write at weird times? Do you find you get more done at particular times of the day or night? I want to hear all your crazy schedules!

I guess that comes as no real surprise, and I knew it already. But I had never felt it as acutely as I did on Sunday.

Half hour hiccup

Due to various things going wrong throughout the day, my juicy two hour window of editing had shrunk, shrunk and shrunk again down to half an hour. This upset me quite a bit. I was now down to the equivalent time I would have on a train journey home during the week.

Now, I can write in half an hour. In fact I find it difficult to concentrate on writing in longer spans than this, possibly because I have become so used to my train writing time. Editing though is a completely different barrel of eels.

This is the speed at which editing does not go! Image courtesy of Richard Taylor on Flickr

Concentrate!

When edit, it means I do a lot of reading, then trying something, then more reading, then mulling it over, swapping some words around, adding a bit, taking it out again immediately… I’m in the work, but I’m pulling and tugging at it, working it into a shape I can be happy with.

It is as laborious as it sounds (if that sounded dynamic and exciting, I apologise – it was a dirty lie), and it requires concentration. If you’ll allow me the indulgence of metaphor, then writing is drifting off to sleep and editing is struggling to stay awake.

I therefore need some time to get to that level of concentration before I can get some serious work done. And I need space for my mind to play with the fragments. Diving in for shirt spells just isn’t cutting it!

wasting away

It has got to the point where I feel like even trying to edit in these short spells is a waste of time. I am conscious when i start that I will not get enough done to feel satisfied and that nagging sensation that I should be doing something else will begin to take over.

Worse, this bitesize editing might be counter productive. I can imagine a scenario when, having gone through my whole document in this way, I finally read it all through and realise I have a lot more work ahead of me. Much of my editing may be missing the point because I’m not giving the process the room it deserves.

So on Monday, after my failed editing attempt of the previous day, I opened my laptop on the train and thought, “I shouldn’t be doing this. I should be writing.”

The write environment for the write task

So that’s what I’m going to do. I’m drawing a line right here. No more editing sessions on the train. It’s not right for me.

So, the plan is broadly similar to how it was in the first place, but slightly refined, and with a dedication to apply it to all future projects. Setting aside time to edit a project and get it finished stays. Editing in little bursts goes. From now on when I finish a draft, I set up some time to edit it later, but immediately start something new on my train journeys.

BOOM! Never knew I could be so decisive did ya?

Now it should be said that I have hardly mastered regular writing in my life as it stands now. This makes the prospect of saving time for it during dadhood all the more daunting.

And I’m not daft (all the time), I do realise that plenty of writers have been parents, and without being established authors before this transition. So there must be a way! Is there also a will? By jingo, yes! And you know how that goes.

So working on this theory that I’m not the first unheard of writer to ever become a parent (and make it big – I’m looking ahead here), I thought I’d look around for tips. And ask for them. That helps too.

"No writing for you, Daddy!" Image courtesy of Nina Matthews on Flickr

What’s out there

A quick Google reveals surprisingly little. But maybe this is a subject for which a quick Google is not sufficient. There are probably dedicated forums for this sort of thing if one were to look hard enough, but the handful of blog entries gave an impression of what I would be facing.

The gist is this: it is hard, but it can be done.

Vicki had this to say on The Six-Footer:

People warned me, “You won’t even have time to shower!” [...] But babies sleep. And when he’s asleep, I write first, shower second.

I don’t believe in not having time to write.

Vicki Wilson, The Six-Footer

Right then.

On The Writer’s Coin, Carlos says he’s writing as much now as he did before the baby, and puts it down to “No more ****ing around” [sic] My word!

Carlos says the short windows of time force you to really knuckle down and get something done, rather than procrastinating as writers are wont to do (really, the nerve! Who’d ever suggest such a thing!). Read his post for ideas on how babyless people (I count myself among you for only three more weeks), can replicate this.

More tips come from Kathy, at Time Management (it’s really much easier if people have a domain that’s similar to what they’ve named their blog, then I don’t have to choose!). One that might be useful for some is to hire home help to make sure you have a guaranteed window of time. I haven’t included it in my list below because it’s not practical for everyone. And it’s cheating.

Asking for it

As seems to be the trend with babies, a lot can be gained by asking about it. Maybe people love talking about their baby experiences; maybe they remember how worried they were. Either way, asking seems to be a better way than simply searching the interwebs.

Here’s something my mate Dave had to say (you remember Dave):

Juggling twenty four hours between work, baby, time with mum, own time and sleep. It’s not easy. However, you may find that the only way to squeeze some writing in is to learn to write at odd times.

David Simpson

Indeed! And that is what I’m worried about really. Life is demanding enough! Let’s hope for that focus people are talking about then.

Dave’s example of an “odd time” was in-between baby feeds at night, should you not be able to go back to sleep again.

So once you have settled her down, you have a window of two to four hours that is your time. You can either try and go back to sleep, catch up on the latest soap or whatever you have on the Sky+ box, or use this as an opportunity to write.

David Simpson

It’s not a bad idea. I’ve always thought of sleep as a waste of time anyway. Let’s see if I still feel the same when utterly deprived of it!

Reddit, I find, is also a good source of information. Even if you can’t find anything on there, you can always just ask the question. I’ve found Reddit to be a friendly community that is always willing to offer help. So I asked, and these are some of the responses I got.

Stephen King had a few kids before Carrie (his first book) got picked up. He was living in a trailer with his wife and at least two kids (maybe three) trying to get a job as a high school teacher.

ilovesandwiches on Reddit

The first couple of months when you bring the baby home, it will awake all the time in the night, so your sleeping will be thrown off, possibly making writing more difficult, but possibly doable if you need something to occupy your mind at night.

crazydave333 on Reddit

write on the baby. dry erase is best.

ryancows on Reddit

Well, there’s always one. More quotes down below, plus you can check out the full thread here (but watch out – not everyone is careful with their language).

The List

Lists are becoming something of a habit here at Getmewriting. Do you like lists? I sure hope so, because here comes another one!

So, this is a list of ways of coping and ways of preparing that will help keep you/me writing. It is the best kind of list! One that carries much information, in an easy-to-digest fashion! This is what I have gleaned from my internet scouring and questioning. I hope you find it useful.

• Manage expectations
  

  My wife knows about my terrible addiction to literature, and she’ll think nothing of letting me write or type for hours on end, uninterrupted.

  ilovesandwiches on Reddit

  One to do before the baby arrives. Your partner may be under the impression that everything else will stop once the baby comes. They may be right! But you don’t want to make things worse by springing two or three hours of writing on them in the middle of baby feeding/puking/wailing/nappy changing. Make sure he/she knows that you want to continue writing as much as possible. Discuss how you might acheive this together.

• Write when you can
  

  These days I write in 10-15 minute increments or whenever the Princess of Poop allows me to take leave, which isn’t often.

  Carlos (he has no last name. He is mysterious!), The Writer’s Coin

  I wrote when he napped, forcing myself to write as much as possible during those interludes. As he got older, I taught him that when I was writing, he could play quietly so I could focus on my work. I’d write in 15-minute bursts and then play with him or tend to his needs (milk, food, bath, diaper, etc.) By the time he was 2, if I didn’t write, he’d remind me to.

  GCSchmidt on Reddit

  It may be less structured than you’re used to, but when time is scarce, you just have to write when you can. This may be for only ten minutes at a time, and it may be in the middle of the night. Just try not to wake your partner with loud keyboard tapping!

• Make sure you know what’s next
  

  I planned at the weekly and daily level what I needed to do. By having a plan and breaking large tasks into smaller tasks I was able to tick things off…even when the baby napped for 15 minutes.

  Kathy (also last-nameless. An enigma!), Time Management

  And as you may only have 15 minutes at a time, you had better know what you’re going to be writing about next. Make sure that you are always prepared for those scant minutes writing. You could easily waste that time thinking about where you got up to or what’s next.

  There are several ways to do this:

  • Be mindful at all times about your writing. Make it part of your daily thought process, if it is not already. Make sure that idle brain-time is thinking about what comes next in your story, and remembering where you got up to.
  • Plan. Write out a plan of the project you’re working on. Make sure it is always on you so that you can make adjustments as you think of them.
  • Have a “whats next” note. This can go on your plan, or simply at the end of your last pice of writing. Just one sentence as a prompt about what is coming next in the story (or whatever), so you can leap straight in.

  These are not mutually exclusive, so you should probably do them all to give yourself a fighting chance!

• Be flexible
  This is implied by some of the other points in the list, but it is worth emphasizing. A set routine is out of the window. You might plan some things, but don’t expect to be able to stick to them. Even if some quiet time for your writing has been organised between yourself and your partner, they might suddenly need help in the middle of that. 

  The baby, it goes without saying, comes first, and you need to fit your writing around your new addition, not the other way around. So, be prepared, but also play it by ear. You may have loved your writing longer, but you’ll love your newborn more!

So there you have it. I wish you luck! Go forth, and multiply, and write a bit! And congratulations!

Useful links

• Having a baby – worried about writing
• mommit on Reddit
• daddit on Reddit
• Time management tips for writing a book when looking after a baby, by Kathy
• Writing with a Baby in the House, by Vicki Wilson
• Writing With a Baby: It Can Be Done, by Carlos

Not enough hours in the day

There really isn’t is there? I struggle to get projects finished and here I am thinking of something wacky (but kinda cool) that couldn’t possibly make it onto a bookshelf. Despite this I’ve decided to go ahead with it anyway, and although I’m not completely neglecting the other project I’ve got on the go, it’s fair to say that time has been taken away.

A welcome distraction

But what can I say? I’m a sucker for a funky writing idea (I wish I was even remotely capable of doing this), and at least this one is brief, and not an all-consuming über project.

But it is a distraction. How do I justify it?

• It’s fun. Yay, happy play time!
• It’s a new set of challenges. Although I believe any writing will improve your writing, it’s sometimes fun to look at something from a different angle and get different parts of your writing mind working.
• A change is as good as a rest. And sometimes you need a rest. A change of writing scenery can help you recharge your batteries.

How much is too much?

So you can see I don’t mind wandering off the path every now and again, if the project is exciting and brief enough. But it does rather pose the question, where do you draw the line?

I can’t really answer that. I can tell you where I think it is for me, but it might be different for you. How much do you want to have your “normal” book published? How much do you like experimental projects? Maybe you live for them!

As for myself, I’m making sure I still work on my other piece, even if time on it is reduced. I want to avoid that temptation of putting it away and working on something else proper. And like I said, this is a brief experiment. If after a couple of weeks I haven’t finished it, I’m just going to drop it – it’s not that important to me.

Have you got any writing experiments you’re particularly proud of? Is it online? If so I’d love to see it, and I’m sure others would too, so please post in the comments!

Ah, Monkey Island. You make me lol.

The problem

The problem (if indeed there can be said to be a problem at all), is that while I’ve been getting engrossed in finding tools, finding people, and reading relevant material on the subject (including a few stories of course), I’ve not been doing much of my own writing. Now that I’ve returned to it, a feel like I’ve lost my rhythm a bit, and have to get back into the old routine. It’s a similar situation to when I last stopped writing altogether for a week or two.

The question must be asked then, is this recent foray into a hitherto unexplored (by me) area of writing merely a distraction?

It is true that I would dearly love to write several pieces of interactive fiction. I have mentioned how it combines two of my great loves – writing and games, and has aspects of another discipline that I enjoy – programming. Having said that, I don’t have a good idea for an interactive piece right now, and wouldn’t want to write one until I thought of something appropriate. This may not come along for a while, and in the mean time I have plenty of other dusty projects taking up headspace that I can be getting on with.

The bigger problem

And this question of what I should be spending my time on, of where my focus should be, extends beyond a dip into another form of writing.

I’m sitting here on the train writing a blog post. While I’m doing that, I’m not finishing that science fiction short story that seems to take an inordinate amount of time to write. There are very good reasons for writing a blog – getting a message out there, getting known, and in my case, getting me to write at all. I started the blog as a commitment to regular writing, at a time when I was not writing at all. That was then. Now I do write regularly, even if it’s not as much as I should. So what should I be spending my time on now?

When I started this new period of dedication to writing, I mentioned it to my friends on Facebook. An old friend of mine told me she was in contact with a writer, and she offered to ask him to send me some advice. I agreed enthusiastically and I was indeed presented with a short list of tips. First among them was the declaration that blogging was a complete waste of time. He insisted that it was difficult enough squeezing out your daily word-count, without having to waste so many words on something that did not contribute to your current project.

Needless to say, I was rather downhearted by this, given that I had just made the decision to start Getmewriting. I concluded that, although not bad advice, everyone was different, and needed different things to motivate them. Having a regular time to update the blog, and (hopefully) having an audience waiting for the next post, would give me a reason outside of my own head to stick to a schedule.

Don’t panic!

And it worked. Now I feel I owe it to my blog to keep going. There are also the other reasons, like creating a platform, that still stand. But more than that, I’ve made a commitment. Breaking my commitment to the blog would feel a lot like breaking my commitment to writing. It’s a personal thing. So the blog is staying.

Foot stamping

As for the other stuff – was my “distraction” into interactive fiction a worthy contribution to my writing, if all it did was give me some blog posts? Honestly, probably not. But I’m genuinely interested in it and I really do hope to write some when an appropriate idea comes along. And I will likely continue to read it (my research has left me with a long reading list). So maybe it was a bit of an indulgence, but so what?

It is true that I have many many interests, and there will never be enough time to examine them all. That in itself seems terribly unfair, and is a real frustration of mine. I love finding out new things, and would love to try and to learn many many new things. But there is time, and other life pressures, and time. Time! Grrr!

Living with it

But I can imagine a life where I never got distracted and never indulged in a sideways interest form time to time, and I really don’t think I’d have fun. Besides, such forays into the unknown keep the brain active and stimulated, and so I feel a certain amount of this should be encouraged. I add the caveat that you should be disciplined enough to put a time limit on it though. Try something out for a couple of weeks, say (obviously it depends on the thing), and then drop it. Or at least decide whether you can fit it in, whether it should replace something else, whether to shelve it, whether to abandon it and put it down to experience.

And that, I think, is the answer. Yes, it’s okay to get distracted. But be aware of it, put a limit on it, and in the end, make a decision on it.

Peace, out.

Of course, there is always a degree of hand-wringing self-doubt, but because I write so little, novel writing is a very lengthy process. There is so much more time for those pesky “what if”s to sneak in and resume their steady excavation of buried fears.

I have decided to write the first quarter of the book, stop, probably work on something else for a month, then read and edit before continuing with the second quarter. This is a carefully considered plan that allows for the fact that I will take a long time to write it, and therefore allows me to

• work on other things
• remind myself what’s happened so far
• review what will happen going forward

But…

What if it’s no good?

I haven’t read any of it back to myself yet. What if it’s completely useless? Well, this one is not such a mystery. I have pretty much accepted that the whole thing will be rubbish. That’s what happens with a first draft, so fine, whatever. Although I’m sure my first read will be a dispiriting event, at least I will have something I can work with. More concerning is…

What if I don’t know how to edit it properly?

Seriously, what if I can’t make it better, or everything a I do makes it terrible in a different way? This one does give me butterflies, I have to admit. I imagine sitting down to read it and finding that there’s not enough; that I have to pad it out where everyone else has to cut (cutting, I have no real with by the way).

I imagine that it reads too fast, that the pacing is all lopsided, that entire pages are devoid of detail, or are simply uninteresting; that I can’t build a scene, I can’t describe a place or a person, I can’t give someone a convincing voice… Can’t, can’t, can’t. On and on. And people say there’s no such word.

Which is an odd thing to worry about now that I think about it. I have never ever had a problem editing longer work from anyone else. In fact, I have found editing a much more enjoyable experience than writing sometimes. Again, I think the fear is that there won’t be enough there, or that it’s so bad that the whole thing has to be rewritten. Neither have been a problem when reviewing someone else’s work.

What if I never finish?

Yes, there is always the fear of abandonment. I am bucking everyone’s advice by deciding to stop at a “convenient” place and pick it up later. Maybe instead I should go on a little longer, or break a little sooner, so I can continue in something of a flow when I return to write fresh pages.

I will probably do that – it sounds like a good idea. But refusing to work on it for weeks could still lead to a catastrophic stall and so the fear remains. I shall have to leap straight in with both feet when I write the next part.

Well, I’m glad I got that off my chest anyway. It does help sometimes to acknowledge your fears, but I think that’s quite enough for now. Dwelling on them too long can be dangerous. If you have something niggling doubts why not share them yourself in the comments?

So, it’s a hot topic in the writing blogosphere. Do a check. The next time you read a writing blog, search on it for a post on finding time to write. It will be there (if the blog even has a search, which I found to be a curious rarity). It was one of the first entries that made it on to this fine blog as a matter of fact. And chances are that most if them will say pretty much the same thing.

So given the wealth of information, where should you go for the best advice? Well, I’ve subscribed to a lot of blogs, and I’ve done that very search on all of them, plus searched in Google for good measure, and I’ve made a list of five that are not only good, but hopefully offer something a little different as well. I know, I know, but there’s no need to thank me. It’ll only make my head swell.

Behold, five great blog posts on finding time to write!

In no particular order…

1. Chip on Your Shoulder – Time is on Our Side: Write to the Beat of Your Circadian Rhythms
   This post by Chip Scanlan actually doesn’t talk about circadian rhythms at all, oddly enough. But it does collect a few anecdotes about how published authors found time to write, and offers some sound advice to boot.
2. Writing World – Time and the Writer
   Here’s an idea, keep a diary of exactly where you spend your time, great if you’re really struggling.
3. Write to Done – How To Find Time To Write While Traveling
   A little different this. What about if you’re travelling about – on holiday for example?
4. essortment – Finding Time to Write
   For a more rigorous approach, read this article. Get a new hairstyle? Yes, really.
5. We The ’Bistro – Finding Time to Write
   Seven tips included in this one. This represents the typical advice you’ll find across the internet, but it’s good advice all the same. Although, I’m not so sure about the writing class, but whatever helps.

And if all else fails, you could always get someone else to write it for you!

Please let us know how you find the time to write – we need all the help we can get!

The blog

First though, a quick look at the blog itself. Let’s say that number again – 51 blog entries! That’s one a week since we started (well, almost – I had a week off last week. Okay, I’m sorry. I’m a bad person). Now I know that in the grand scheme of blogs, that’s no great achievement, but it was for me! Of course I had some help, and you can see my thankyous in my Christmas message (I feel like the Queen), but I’m genuinely proud of that achievement. And it does seem to have been helping. I have at least done some writing this year, and the posts I write have at times been a great tool for reviewing what I have learnt.

It has not been as successful as I would have liked however. Of course, that is my fault. I know the days of, “build it and they will come”, have long since passed, but in truth I have hardly done anything to promote this site. Again, that is largely to do with time (isn’t everything?) but I will just have to build it into my routine. So, that will form the basis for my goals on the blog.

The writing

Way back in May, I wrote about measuring improvement in writing. I have been gathering these stats ever since, so I now have a good half a year of figures to pour over.

Looking at it overall, I can see that I hit my productivity peak during September. This was when I was approaching the end of a story I was working on. However, after that it drops right down. I started a new piece of work then, and I must confess, I have been rather timid with it. This is of course, not the way to behave when approaching a new piece of work. The best way will always be to take the bull by the horns and go for it! Whatever it is I’m afraid of can be fixed later!

I have been rather down on myself about how much writing I have done this year. I have always had the impression that I was not trying hard enough, and not knuckling down. I was right – there is a huge difference between my best week and my average week. This shows the difference between the potential of my current routine, and the reality of not sticking to it. Still, it is encouraging to know how much writing can be done, even in short bursts. When I total up each month, then the year, it is shocking how much can be achieved. I said that I wanted to see how small improvements can accumulate into big gains when I set up this method of measuring, and I can certainly see that!

I wasn’t writing in 2008, that’s the thing. So, as much as I rightly berate myself for not doing more, I am doing a hell of a lot more than nothing! This in itself is an achievement, but before I pat myself on the back too much (let’s not get carried away now), I have also taken a look at how my best week would look over a whole year. What a difference! I took my best week, multiplied that by 52, and was amazed. I knew that my best week was over double my average (meaning I’m not even reaching half the potential that my routine offers me), bit it is still an eye-opener to see the full number there.

Once again, I must recommend keeping some kind of stats on your writing. If you are doing everything electronically anyway, getting a word count is normally a snap, and it only takes a couple of minutes to add that to a spreadsheet. Seeing the effect of small changes to my habits over time is a real inspiration. And being able to extrapolate from that gives further motivation. If you’re not trying it already, I urge you to give it a go.

I would very much like to hear from anyone who has been measuring their writing over the past year and what hey think of the results. Or if this is part of your new year resolution, please let me know, too. And I would really really like to know if you visited getmewriting last year and found it helpful. All feedback in the coments section below, please.

My train was supposed to arrive eight minutes ago, and is not expected to arrive for another thirty minutes. Welcome to the British train system! The company in charge by the way, is National Express, who are fine as long as nothing goes wrong, when they are terrible!

My hungry belly and annoyance aside though, this is a perfect opportunity to write another blog post. Let’s face it, time is at a premium for most of us, and we have to learn to take opportunities like this as they come.

It makes sense, then, that you should be prepared for those moments where you might unexpectedly find yourself at a loose end. For me, that means carrying around my iPod Touch. I have it with me anyway and the notes app is sufficient for the quick note or blog post (though if anyone has any suggestions of apps I should try, please comment, and
I’ll review my favourites). I have blogged before about how I use it.

But whatever you use it should be portable, and instantly accessible. Another advantage you might consider is the ability to move such writing to the place and medium in which you normally write. I am thinking in particular of being able to email notes to yourself or otherwise get them onto your computer (if that’s where you normally do your writing).

Anyhew, as luck would have it inamorata now on a train. Not my train, but a delayed one that should have left 50 minutes ago. So it’s all good, and I can go back to my laptop.

Happy time-filling!

The iPod touch (or iPhone of course) is just one option. Many handheld devices now include some way of recording notes. Or if they don’t, then more and more devices support a way of getting something that does allow it, like a downloadable application. If you’re desperate, even a mobile phone will allow you to type and save a text (even if it can be a bit cumbersome).

I like using the iPod touch because I find the touch keypad relatively easy to use, even for things that are longer than a few notes. Not only that, but it is also easy to move those notes to the usual place I store my writing – on my computer. I have to wait until I get home, but I can easily email my text to myself directly through the notes application. Ok, so it’s not as convenient as having Dropbox, like on my laptop, but it’s a lot better than having to type something up that I’ve handwritten.

Of course, some people will always prefer a notepad, and that’s fine – whatever works best for you. personally, I find the idea of copying stuff up, or keeping notes in separate places, a real waste of time. After all, there’s so little of it anyway!

Has anyone got any tips for recording notes you can easily send to yourself? Any app recommendations? Or do you find that only paper will do, and all this technology just gets in the way?