Presto Chango

I don't know when the switch came for me. I used to like writing with pen and paper best. I'd make edits and arrows and line-throughs galore often with a variety of writing utensils on one piece. I absolutely could not see myself enjoying the writing process with anything but paper and pen.
But now I find that I am much faster on the computer, letting my eyes wander as I talk to myself, sometimes even closing my eyes, while my fingers just translate the thoughts into text on a page. I look down at the computer to see what I’ve said.
Then come the edits! What used to be a painful part of writing, I now find I enjoy.
I think I got over the editing pains when once I wrote a grant requiring that I limit my text to a certain number of characters. I would write what I thought was clear and concise only to find that I was over by x2. What? I can’t say any more? How can I still get my message across yet drop off half of what I’ve written?
A phrase becomes one word, a redundant sentence is tossed. Cut, slash...polish. And there it is sculpted into a trim, minimalized version of its former chubby, overindulgent self. It feels good when you go to the writing gym.