“Writing in color [is] a sophisticated intellectual and emotional strategy, not just child’s play.” -- This is such a perfect example of how following delight and intrinsic motivation can help us find (verifiably) effective approaches to thinking and writing. Thanks for leading the way, Helen!
Likewise -- thanks Jillian! I've been inspired by so many of your Noted posts to try out new notebooking ideas. Next on my list to try: daily mandalas (or at least colored pencil doodlings?) a la Karl Jung -- I loved that post!
Thank you for this prompt! I’ve been using Track Changes (in blue, though not by conscious choice lol) to fill in difficult conceptual passages in my writing, and found it super helpful and liberating. When I am happy with the result after all the rewrite, that’s the time to “accept changes” and know that I am done with an important part of the work.
Lovely! Some writers use different font colors for different stages of their writing (rough draft, polished work, etc). I love the idea of using color to mark thematic or conceptual issues as well, such as stages of difficulty.
I typically write in black. With an occasional blue ink pen. I have so many colored Ultra Thin Sharpies! I don’t know what it is just seeing all those blank pages filled at the end of a journal makes me feel complete. Perhaps it’s the closest thing to what a real book would look like.
I thought my office supply game was strong until I met people who use colored ink, stickers, and Washi tape! Just looking at that pic makes writing feel scrumptious Helen, a perfect illustration of what that strategy works.
I thought the same -- but I'm still picking up new ideas! Washi tape is a recent discovery, and I'm inspired to try color-tinted printing paper as well, and to play around more with my fountain pen colors (recently I've branched out from basic blue to purple and green, a la Oscar Wilde!)
Oh, yes!! I LOVE this... and now must email Google about the track changes settings for more color...
I think I own one black pen, I always prefer to write in variations of blue or green. As a teacher, my classes were color coded, I even purchased composition books to match the class colors each year for students. School supply shopping rivals Christmas shopping in my house as we color coordinate binders, notebooks, and purchase colorful writing utensils to replace dying ones. As a teacher, my organizers were always color coded to guide student process. I like to believe I think in color, but I don't utilize it in my academic writing... Great prompt to start incorporating starting today. 🤓
Love this prompt, especially about how using different colours can reveal patterns in our writing. It also reminds me of the value of pushing the boundaries of what is considered ‘acceptable’ in the realm of scholarly writing. I came across a journal paper last year where the abstract took the form of a musical composition!!
As you know, Helen, I love playing with line and colour. 💜✨ My new favourite fountain pen ink is Diamine's wonderfully Gothic Writer's Blood'... It's, um, the colour of blood. With a faint shimmer. 🧛♀️🧛♀️🧛♀️ 🤣
I use a custom color palette and styles in MS Word for my headings. It's easier to find things with the lovely blues and outlined boxes. And swapping back to APA is on my final punch list and has become a rewarding benchmark of how close I am to pushing the "submit" key. I pull reference material into the document in purple and I'm not "allowed" to change it to black until I'm sure I haven't plagiarized anything. Another whole step is marking all of my topic sentences in green. I check each paragraph for consistency but also read the whole document through with just the green sentences to check for organization and flow. I'm sure about the psychology of any of the colors I use but for me, color means progress.
“Writing in color [is] a sophisticated intellectual and emotional strategy, not just child’s play.” -- This is such a perfect example of how following delight and intrinsic motivation can help us find (verifiably) effective approaches to thinking and writing. Thanks for leading the way, Helen!
And thank you, Margy, for the inspiration!
You know how much I love this! I've been adding more color to my notebooks since our conversation last week and it's been delightful!
Likewise -- thanks Jillian! I've been inspired by so many of your Noted posts to try out new notebooking ideas. Next on my list to try: daily mandalas (or at least colored pencil doodlings?) a la Karl Jung -- I loved that post!
Thank you for this prompt! I’ve been using Track Changes (in blue, though not by conscious choice lol) to fill in difficult conceptual passages in my writing, and found it super helpful and liberating. When I am happy with the result after all the rewrite, that’s the time to “accept changes” and know that I am done with an important part of the work.
Lovely! Some writers use different font colors for different stages of their writing (rough draft, polished work, etc). I love the idea of using color to mark thematic or conceptual issues as well, such as stages of difficulty.
I typically write in black. With an occasional blue ink pen. I have so many colored Ultra Thin Sharpies! I don’t know what it is just seeing all those blank pages filled at the end of a journal makes me feel complete. Perhaps it’s the closest thing to what a real book would look like.
I thought my office supply game was strong until I met people who use colored ink, stickers, and Washi tape! Just looking at that pic makes writing feel scrumptious Helen, a perfect illustration of what that strategy works.
I thought the same -- but I'm still picking up new ideas! Washi tape is a recent discovery, and I'm inspired to try color-tinted printing paper as well, and to play around more with my fountain pen colors (recently I've branched out from basic blue to purple and green, a la Oscar Wilde!)
Oh, yes!! I LOVE this... and now must email Google about the track changes settings for more color...
I think I own one black pen, I always prefer to write in variations of blue or green. As a teacher, my classes were color coded, I even purchased composition books to match the class colors each year for students. School supply shopping rivals Christmas shopping in my house as we color coordinate binders, notebooks, and purchase colorful writing utensils to replace dying ones. As a teacher, my organizers were always color coded to guide student process. I like to believe I think in color, but I don't utilize it in my academic writing... Great prompt to start incorporating starting today. 🤓
Go for it, Edith - and have fun!!
Love this prompt, especially about how using different colours can reveal patterns in our writing. It also reminds me of the value of pushing the boundaries of what is considered ‘acceptable’ in the realm of scholarly writing. I came across a journal paper last year where the abstract took the form of a musical composition!!
As you know, Helen, I love playing with line and colour. 💜✨ My new favourite fountain pen ink is Diamine's wonderfully Gothic Writer's Blood'... It's, um, the colour of blood. With a faint shimmer. 🧛♀️🧛♀️🧛♀️ 🤣
Love that ink colour, Sophie! I’ve been meaning to get back into the habit of using my fountain pen so this is just the inspiration I need…
Some of my favourite fountain pens are the Kaweco pocket pens - so portable!
Don’t tempt me! I got sucked into the world of secondhand and vintage fountain pens recently…
I use a custom color palette and styles in MS Word for my headings. It's easier to find things with the lovely blues and outlined boxes. And swapping back to APA is on my final punch list and has become a rewarding benchmark of how close I am to pushing the "submit" key. I pull reference material into the document in purple and I'm not "allowed" to change it to black until I'm sure I haven't plagiarized anything. Another whole step is marking all of my topic sentences in green. I check each paragraph for consistency but also read the whole document through with just the green sentences to check for organization and flow. I'm sure about the psychology of any of the colors I use but for me, color means progress.
Sounds like a brilliant system!