Matt Zoller Seitz forgot his laptop charger so he wrote two movie reviews in pen.

{% blockquote -Matt Zoller Seitz http://blogs.indiewire.com/pressplay/putting-pen-to-paper-the-virtues-of-analog-writing Press Play %} Here’s the thing, though: I found that because I was writing with a pen, I spent less time revising I went and instead spent that time thinking about what I wanted to say, because as you all know, if you write continuously for too long, your hand starts to cramp. And I probably spent more time writing, or thinking about what I wanted to write, because I was disconnected from the Internet and could not check Facebook or Twitter or my various email accounts, or my blog, or anything else online.
{% endblockquote %}

Powering down may not be for everyone, but sometimes trying a different workflow can open your eyes up to how your mind actually works. It’s not quite the same as writing in pen, but this is how I feel about switching from Wordpress to Octopress.

I’m writing more because a layer of the process, managing the backend of the site, has been removed or pared down to its simplest form. I used to compulsively login to my Wordpress install anytime I was in front of a web browser. Now I just wander around the web until the urge to write hits me, and I do so in a text editor that only allows me to write.

But I don’t think I’ll be able to write whole posts in pen and transcribe them. Hopefully Matt will update us on how writing by hand is going after he tries it for a few more reviews.