songwriting – the mechanics

i have tried many times over the years to write lyrics using the word processor du jour. i can’t do it. this is completely superstitious i suppose, but i sing things over and over in my head, with the mont blanc my dad gave me for high school graduation in my hand. there is a whole ritual that i go through with it, the filling of the pen from the well, very much like filling a syringe from a spoon. it is a very visceral and satisfying experience when something comes of it. i get off on watching the absorptive properties of the paper as the ink soaks in. typing into the computer lacks this aesthetic layer of abstraction needed for the words to take on emotional feeling for me. or, like i said, it’s purely superstitious and ritualistic.