By Nadja Maril, a founding member of Old Scratch Press Short Form and Poetry Collective
Even before our worries that the postal system has been intentionally slowed—handicapped by poor leadership and management—there’s been a cultural divide about paper communication. For the past twenty years we have shifted to using computers and smart phones for emails and messaging. We have been told to stop using paper. Stop printing. Save a tree by using less paper. Store documents on the cloud, thus preserving valuable space and resources. Corporations have saved millions of dollars by training employees and clients to communicate digitally and to stop using paper. This has eliminated the need to mail out hard copies of bills, documents and reports.
Now citizens are concerned over the cost of energy and all the energy used by data centers. Maybe pen and paper isn’t such a bad thing.
A hand-written letter is a beautiful way to communicate. The choice of paper, the shape and placement of the words, the color of the ink, are all qualities that cannot be reproduced by a text or email. Just as we wouldn’t want to replace the sound of a person’s voice with a generated computer message, it would be sad to lose the ability to send someone a letter or card through the mail.
BOOK SALES STRONG
The crusade against paper and ink spread to the world of publishing. For several years I heard dire reports that it was only a matter of time before people stopped purchasing traditional books. It was predicted consumers would read only on digital devices or they’d listen to books on tape. Books would soon become extinct.
It’s entertaining to listen to a book read to me while I fold laundry or drive. Convenient to read stories on an electronic tablet. But nothing can replace the heft and weight of paper and the thrill of physically turning pages. Printed books still have their fans. In 2026 book sales are holding their own, hovering at approximately 762 million to over 3 billion total units across a combination of backlist and frontlist categories.
A phone call, a video chat, messaging and email help keep us connected, but a letter is something physical to hold and touch. If you haven’t sent a card or a letter in a while to someone you miss, maybe it’s time to give it a try. I keep a collection of cards inside my desk, along with a roll of stamps. I challenge myself to write something good when I press my pen down on the thick card paper.
WRITING ON PAPER
It’s tempting to always use a keyboard. If you don’t like the initial word choices you can easily erase them. But if you are writing creatively, it can be freeing not to edit, just to keep moving forward. Sometimes you discover things about yourself when you let your thoughts flow first and edit later.
Many writers complain about “Writer’s Block.” They become obsessed with perfection. Frozen by the need to edit each word they write nothing. Think of your initial sentences as warm-up exercises. Ultimately you may decide to delete them but the process of writing them down on paper helps you get to where you need to go.
Keep a notebook and use it. Expect that everything inside that notebook is a rough draft. Your words. Own them.
WRITING PROMPT
CHOOSE AN OBJECT IN THE ROOM. Write a story about that object, the very first thing that comes into your mind. The apple in the bowl is in love with the pear next to it. The story of how your favorite mug got its chip on the inside of the handle. USE PEN AND PAPER. After you write your initial draft then you can revise. Delete the words and sentences you wish. Focus on surprise, suspense, and description. Discard adverbs. Maybe you have created something good.
You have one week left to submit a piece of prose or poem under 500 words to Instant Noodles Literary Magazine https://instantnoodleslitmag.com/submission-guidelines/. For other submission opportunities, check out https://duotrope.com/duosuma/submit/opportunities/
Sign up to follow Old Scratch Press each time we post and follow us on Facebook. Don’t forget to buy those pads of paper, a spiral bound notebook works best, and thank you for reading!
P. S. It doesn’t matter whether you lean to the left or the right, reliable mail delivery is important. This election cycle, the mid-terms, more than 19 million Americans have returned mail ballots. More Americans than ever this year have taken advantage of Early Voting. If you are a U.S. Citizen , don’t forget to vote. The official voting day is November 3rd. In my state of Maryland you can even use a paper ballot and mark it with a black pen!
