Kelli Rooks: Life Lost In Technology

Kelli Rooks: my life is technology. I am surrounded by four computers that are always busy while I’m working. My phone is my constant companion—not for its phone capabilities, but for its written communications and internet abilities. I go to bed with a laptop open beside me so if I wake up in the night I can monitor any projects I have going on overnight or do some mid-night work if the urge hits me. I’m surrounded by tech almost all the time. But I’ve found that my best writing is still done with pen and paper.

Question: How much of your life is bound up in technology?

Even in University I struggled writing papers on the computer, but for the sake of time I forced my way through it. But when I’m writing without a need for immediate output the best thing is to put pen to paper. This is true even if I need to use research or other data stored on my computer. I’ll set the paper next to the computer and write away. It also serves as an editing tool, because I’m less inclined to self-edit like I do on the computer. Instead, my writing is able to rest for awhile until I type it up. The writing flows a lot easier from mind to hardcopy when I’m using pen and paper. This has the added benefit of giving me a chance to re-read everything I wrote once it’s “cold” and make better decisions about editing.