The longhand and short of it

Joe: Good afternoon Calliope.

Calliope: Good afternoon Joe. I haven’t heard from you in a while.

Joe: I admit it. I have been very busy with summer socializing and also with my book in progress on violence and peace. It is not an easy book and gets more complicated with the events of each week. News articles and broadcasts seem to emphasize the sensationalism of the events but offer little understanding of why they happen or what to do about them. I wish I had my book ready now, but I am working on patience.

Calliope: I’m glad you are still working on your book. How is it going?

Joe: I must admit I have become easily bogged down. In the past I was able to writ on the computer without my mind wandering to other sites. But not lately.

Calliope: What are you going to do about it?

Joe: I got to thinking about my past books. I recalled my friend Gerry’s comment that my book about my seminary and monastery years, Young Man of the Cloth, was my best book. I got to thinking about why and what was different about that book.

Calliope: What did you discover?

Joe: I thought about it and recalled that this was the only book I wrote entirely in longhand. The rest were all done on the computer. I decided to try writing the next section of my current book longhand. Lo and behold, the writing appeared more coherent and personally expressive than what I had previously written. I decided to continue writing longhand.

Calliope: Quite a discovery! I hope your new approach continues to enhance your writing.

Joe: I think it will but time will tell. Time to get back to work. Talk with you later.