For the past couple years I’ve ditched Microsoft Office and embraced Google’s cloud-based suite (presently called Google Drive). It’s quicker to start up, autosaves constantly, and I can grab whatever I need with the computer I have, rather than the one I own. It doesn’t have the features to do high-end professional work, but I am not a high-end professional.
Because it’s become my single writing platform, I can delve into the past and find bits of writing that fell through the cracks.
- An essay outlining the curriculum, goals, and philosophy of an alternative secondary school in my area
- A short treatise of feasible alternatives to capitalism and socialism
- The introduction to a booklet about the concept of “neutral politics”- the philosophy that ten moderators and myself have developed in our discussion community
- Several complete, edited speeches that I never got around to using
- Truly bizarre fiction works- a man speaking to fog as day breaks, a devious thief admiring a storage locker of his (difficult to acquire) junk, some political fiction
- Two edited statements of character that were needed for a series of scholarships that I did not apply to
Some of this has real promise- it’s unfinished but the writing stands up with fresh eyes. Some of it needs a full re-write. And of course, some of it is the utter crap that everyone writes as part of the process.
It’s cool to have this list of everything that I’ve felt needed to be written down. One can chart my psychological state, passions, and diligence based on the results. Many other people may not have such easy access to their archives, but it’s certainly handy to have.
Unspoken Politics 