on computers

Three days ago, I returned to the UK. I took a nap, did a bit of unpacking, and set up my laptop. I hadn't been on the thing two seconds before my computer was attacked by malware.

A friend of mine was able to fix it remotely, and in the meantime I was able to use my netbook, but nevertheless the situation was frustrating. The malware had disguised itself was WindowsDisk, a defragmentation software. A similar thing had happened last year, when a Trojan attacked my computer disguised as anti-virus software. Hackers are getting tricky, and in both instances I freaked about the files stored on my harddrive. This most recent incident, I had less to worry about, but I did quickly e-mail myself a short story I had been working on and hadn't got a chance to back up on an external harddrive. But this got me thinking.

Are writers worse off if they use the computer?

Back in the day--and I mean way back--before iPads and laptops and computers so thin not even a CD will fit inside it, when you wanted to write something, you got out a piece of paper and a pen and you wrote it by hand. Many still do, and the success of notebook companies like Moleskine and Paperblanks clearly indicate that people still enjoy using a paper notebook. For myself, I find that a notebook is easier to carry (more so than even my netbook), more conducive to jotting things down, and that editing on paper is better than trying to do it through Microsoft Word.

But there are downsides to using a notebook. For one, I know my hand can cramp if I write for too long, and I don't write as fast as I think, meaning I'm sometimes one or two sentences away from where my pen is on the page. Furthermore, unless the paper in your notebook is 100% recycled, trees are still being cut down in order to produce paper notebooks, and the covers of those notebooks may not be terribly green, either.

So, computers are speedy, but still not as convenient (although the iPad looks like it will change that), and paper is convenient, but sometimes frustrating. Their respective uses aside, however, how do each stack up against destruction? One would assume that paper is far easier to destroy that something digital. Water can saturate and run ink; fire can burn; wind can toss loose-leaf into the air or into a pond (as Colin Firth found out in Love Actually); and earth can render words illegible. People can also steal notebooks and throw away paper mistaking it for garbage, and unless you make photocopies, you can't backup something physical. Digital writing, however, is just as susceptible to destruction as writing on paper. Work can be deleted, and if your computer is attacked, then fixing your computer can result in a wiping of your harddrive--and every file on it. The tricky thing with computers is that rarely can you see an attack coming, and unlike relegating your writing to being indoors to save it from the elements, protecting your computer isn't completely fullproof. It seems that in recent years, you need all kinds of software to protect your PC, and while Macs are famous for not being attacked by viruses, as a friend once pointed out, there will likely come a day when someone does attack Macs, and they will not know how to defend themselves. Now, not only do you need strong anti-virus software (and a host of other things), you also need USB sticks, external harddrives, and/or CDs in order to backup your work. And you need to do it regularly, otherwise when you're caught unawares, then you are left frantically e-mailing and transfering files.

And that is not fun at all.

It seems that writing has always been fraut with peril, as it were. However, I think that adding technology into the mix has made it just that bit more difficult. Yes, it's greener (you aren't using as much paper when you're saving everything in Word), however, there are dangers to digital work that don't occur with hardcopies, and take much more safeguarding against. While I don't think we're worse off, I do think it makes us more stressed.

And really, do writers need more stress?

(Image borrowed from here.)

on diaries

As the year is slowly winding to a close, it occurred to me this week that I would need a 2011 diary. I am a big fan of list making, and writing things down in pen or pencil, and so I enjoy picking a new diary out every year. Last year, I bought a Paperblanks, and as I enjoyed using it, I figured I'd purcahse another diary, only in a slightly larger size than before (their Slim format can be a bit finickyto write in, especially as you get closer to the middle of the book while writing on the left side). Thus prepared, I made my way to my university bookshop, firm in my decision.

When I got there, I wavered.

As I stood in the shop, twirling the book stand round and round, I discovered that my eye was drawn elsewhere. They were slim diaries, black and bound with a cloth elastic. They were beautiful in their simplicity, as classic as the little black dress. You could see them older, the cover cracked and creased, the pages wrinkled from wear, but that only added to their beauty.

They were Moleskines.

I'd seen them before, in Waterstones and a dozen other shops, almost forgettable sitting near flashy book covers and notebooks covered with cupcakes and confetti and cats. I'd always ignored them, eyeing the pricetag and turning up my nose. Why would I pay so much for something so simple? But standing in the bookshop, something drew me to them. Something made me want to own them.

As with all new purchases, I had to deliberate. So I went home. That evening, I looked on the Moleskine website, practically drooling as I beheld not just the diaries, but the notebooks and sketchbooks and watercolour books; books big enough for scrapbooking; books small enough for only a single sentence. I love books in all their forms, and have often bought a new notebook when I knew it would be ages before I would be able to use it. There's just something about writing that first word--that first line--in a new book that is just...spine-tingling.

As I researched, I, like everyone in the 21st Century, turned to Wikipedia. For a while, all was well with the world.

Then I read the end of the article.

Then I felt my stomach clench.

Moleskines...are not green.

According to the article, in 2010 the California Prop 65 warning label started to be slapped onto their books. Save for their Cahier line (which is made from cardboard), all of Moleskine's covers are made with a plastic softener called DEHP (or Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate), which apparently is carcinogenic, and thus necessitated the Prop 65 label. DEHP is used in the manufactoring of products containing PVC, including medical equipment like blood bags and air tubes. Not only is DEHP carginogenic, but it also adversely affects the human reproductive system, as they can leech into the body, lowering sperm count, affecting male fetal development, and causing miscarrige (as it's a pseudo-estrogen and hormone modifier). The Wikipedia article on DEHP (as linked above) continues to outline the harm the chemical can do to the human body.

So why is it used in Moleskine notebooks?

Unfortunately, the internet has provided no answer. Moleskine is aware that the chemical is used in their products, and of the harm that it could cause, but as of August 2010 has done nothing about it. Sickened--and disappointed--I decided not to buy a Moleskine. However, that did not stop me from staring morosely at them when I was in Waterstones a few days later. They looked so innocent. After all, they're just books. Empty books with false leather casing. Could it really be so damaging to own one?

I touched one, and when I got home couldn't stop myself from washing my hands.

I have since begun a search into other, chemical-free notebooks and diaries. Quo Vadis has an eco line that uses 100% recycled paper, and is even manufactured using biogas energy (although they are difficult to find in the UK). Collins has a carbon neutral notebook collection, an Eco line of diaries, and appears to regularly use 100% recycled paper in their products. Hopefully, I'll discover others, and as time passes more companies--including Moleskine--with strive to use fewer production methods that harm both people and the planet.

But for now, I think I'm going to stick with Paperblanks. First instinct is always the best, right?

(Image borrowed from here.)