Six-Point Type: A Writing Exercise In WordPad
We live in a small house. Our den/computer room is arranged such that my screen is visible to anyone in the room. While the exercise is not new for me, I found a new use for my six-point type writing exercise.
Privacy!
Open up WordPad. Select a script font and set the type for 6 pt. Start your cursor on the page and go wild! You can’t read it and WordPad has no editing marks, so you are unable to edit what you type. And the best part is…no one else in the room can read it either!
It isn’t that I mind my husband reading what I’m writing. In fact, I enjoy his input. However, I find it distracting when he turns and begins reading over my shoulder. Almost inevitably, it causes my hands to leap from the keyboard and my thought process to stall.
With this writing exercise, especially with my headphones on and playlist running, he can look all he wants. It distracts me much less. I’m not sure why this is since he always gives me an odd look and shakes his head, but it works.
It also works to keep my fingers typing, just as I keep my hand moving in my early morning longhand sessions. No editing marks mean there’s nothing to draw my attention to the screen. I can even close my eyes and type away.
I save these exercises in a special folder. Every so often, I’ll open one up, enlarge the type and clear up the font into something more legible. I always find something good somewhere in the mess…some little gem that made the session worth it.
Try it sometime. Let me know what you think!
Totally cool idea. I get so easily distracted while writing (unless I’m really in flow), and when it’s slow-going, I find I edit much more than I should. But if I could hardly see the type, that would allow me to just write without checking myself — because I couldn’t see it!
I’ll try it and let you know if it works.
KJ
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