Like many people I first knew of Konni Huq as a presenter on the iconic children’s TV programme, Blue Peter. In fact she was the longest serving female presenter, a wonderful twenty-one years. She has done a variety of other TV and media work and has also written a children’s book. I read an interview with her and she was asked where she does most of her writing. Her answer surprised me; she said she wrote most of her story on her phone… gosh, I thought, that must be tricky, tiny screen, little keyboard…
Mobile phones have come to me late in life, but I use mine all the time; these days they are not just for ringing people and sending messages, and now taking photos, there’s access to the world!! I’ve been thinking a lot about Konni and her phone. I wrote the other day about how writing time seems squeezed at the moment and I began to think if only i had a phone like Konni’s… I actually don’t know what phone she has.
Lots of people take notebooks everywhere with them and jot down their inspirations. As I have confessed here before, my writing is so bad that I can#t read it, especially hurried jottings. I’ve also written here that I have an app which allows me to note things down, take pictures, record where i am on what date and it has been useful. I bought a small laptop, but I had trouble with it, I bought a different electronic notebook type of thing, and I couldn’t get that to work either.
I began to wonder if maybe i could extend my use of my note taking on my phone – when I’m travelling, when I’m waiting at the dentist, or in a café waiting for a friend, I began to wonder if I could like Konni write on my phone. Like most phones there is a place to write notes (separate from the app I mentioned) and I opened a page as we were going to the shops and started to write… I was able to email what I’d written to myself, and suddenly I have found more space to write!! So far I have over 5000 words!! Not masses – and nowhere near the National Novel Writing Month target of ten times the number, but 5000 more than I would have done otherwise.
Thank you Konni!
