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An Adventure in Analog

Writer's picture: Carol Anne ShawCarol Anne Shaw

It started with my falling in lust with a red rotary phone that I saw in a thrift store. That led to the desire for an old-timey desk clock with a nice, audible "tick-tick-tick" sound. And now I'm a little obsessed.


For a while now, I’ve thought my life needs to be more analog—less digital distraction, fewer notifications, and no more endless scrolling through social media like a dopamine-addicted hamster on a wheel.

 

Behold! I have built a distraction-free writing room, where Wi-Fi is BYE-BYE, and the only pings, whistles or beeps I hear are from my tea kettle or my dog reminding me he’d like a walk. At the risk of sounding like the Boomer I am (Gen Jones, actually), I miss the good old days when I wrote for the sheer joy of writing, filling pages of yellow foolscap on my IBM Selectric. Yes, some romanticism may be involved here, but honestly, the Internet has KILLED my productivity. So, new year, new routines.

 

Here's my beautiful Remington!
Here's my beautiful Remington!

I have now created a sanctuary of paper (not yellow foolscap, though… can you still get it, I wonder?), pens (ballpoint and fountain), and, yes, a typewriter. Well, not exactly a typewriter-typewriter (I do have one of those, just for show), but a new-fangled SMART typewriter! They are ridiculously expensive, but my annual PLR cheque (thank you, public libraries!) covers it, and I like the idea of investing money earned from writing back into my craft.


As I type this, my typewriter is somewhere in Ontario on its way to me. I honestly can’t

This is my Freewrite!
This is my Freewrite!

remember the last time I was so excited about receiving something. Wait. That’s not true. I remember being equally pumped about the impending arrival of my Morris Minor key fob. (One day, I hope to have THAT piece of analog awesomeness in my driveway, much to my husband’s chagrin—a green Morris Minor Traveller wagon, please.)

 

Anyway, back to my smart typewriter. It’s called a Freewrite, made by a company called Astrohaus. It’s a basic drafting machine and features an E Ink screen (no more screen glare!), a wonderful mechanical clackity-clack keyboard, WiFi ONLY to send your documents to the Cloud, or Dropbox, or to email them to yourself, and three folders to house different projects. You can adjust the font size on the screen, backspace, page up and page down, but that’s about it. It’s not a tool for editing (your computer is where that happens); it’s a tool for drafting! A place to throw down that chaotic brain dump, otherwise known as a first draft. The point is to get to the finish line. I LOVE this idea. And, of course, because you cannot connect to the Internet, all you can do is write. Now, can you see why I am so excited? (I’m hoping it will arrive this week. Stay tuned.)

So. My distraction-free writing room. I don’t have that rotary phone yet, but I do have a paper calendar on my wall, a 100-year-old barometer, an hourglass, my leather-bound journal (loving my journaling practice this year), physical books (duh), a couple of nice candles (currently Tobacco & Patchouli and Cedar & Campfire), and a giant magnifying glass… because I have aging eyes.

 

I feel like these items will all help me unplug and create the feeling of stepping into another world—one where creativity flows as freely as ink on paper.

Here's my room so far...just waiting on the arrival of the smart typewriter!
Here's my room so far...just waiting on the arrival of the smart typewriter!

But it doesn’t end with the writing room. I am embarking on a complete analog adventure. In a nutshell, less screen time; more dream time! More painting, gardening, reflecting, cooking (we’ll see how THAT goes; I am a utilitarian cook, at best), being in nature, hanging

out with friends REAL time, reading, and yes… writing.

I plan to write about the experience here—the good, the bad, and the ugly. I’m sure there will be an “adjustment period,” but I’m here for it.

 

This latest TikTok situation has shown me how dependent we all are on social media platforms for our entertainment, business promotion, and everything. But it’s a volatile and vulnerable environment. META has begun to push the A.I. on Instagram and Facebook; algorithms are manipulated, and I am not interested in any of it anymore. So, I will focus on my blog, website and newsletter—those things I CAN control. And I like that. (I do, however, like BLUESKY. It feels genuine and non-toxic. It's now the only social media platform I'm on.)


Here's Gordie!
Here's Gordie!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some scrambled eggs to make, a second cup of coffee to have, and a dog to walk.

 

Thanks for stopping by.


C.A.




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