Hi. My
name is Katherine Sokolowski and I am a bit addicted to technology. With
Screen-Free week coming up, I need to own up.
Amount of TV Screen time I have per week – likely one hour. Pretty good, right?
However…
Amount of laptop time I have per week (typing, Tweeting, Facebook checking, emailing, blogging, etc.) – likely four or more hours a day. Or 28 hours a week. LORDY! (And it would be more than that; I’m on longer on the weekend.)
So, here
are my resolutions for Screen-Free Week
1 – No TV
at all. (Should be easy)
2 – No blogging.
(Harder)
3 – Limit
of one hour per day on my laptop/ iPad. (Hardest)
What will
I do?
1 – Read as
much as possible.
2- Find
my journal again. Write there.
3- Spend
time with my boys outside.
**********************************************************************************
In light
of Screen-Free Week coming up, I interviewed author Kirby Larson about her
thoughts about screen time.
When you were a kid, what was your favorite Screen Free
activity?
READING! And reading in bed. And reading when I was supposed to
be doing my chores. And reading when I was supposed to be doing homework. And,
of course, playing outside with the neighbor kids.
Do you feel like you have a good balance of screen time
with other parts of your life?
(Deep breath) I will be very honest here. This is something I
struggle with. Because I write at the computer, I am in front of a screen
nearly the entire day some days. I do not think that's good for anyone.
Luckily, I have Winston the Wonder Dog to drag me outside at least twice daily
for a walk. I am trying to do a better job of balancing this aspect of my
life.
Do you plan on participating in “Screen Free Week”?
As long as writing time at the computer doesn't count, it sounds
like a great thing to try!
What do you think would be the hardest part about going
screen free? Are you looking forward to it or dreading it?
Well, it will probably kill me not to know what all my Nerdy
Book Club friends are talking about. But imagine all the extra reading time
I'll be able to fit in!
When was the last time you went screen free for more than
12 hours?
I can't even remember. (I guess I need this Screen Free week
more than I realized!)
What is your writing process like? When you are writing, do
you use a computer or do you begin by writing by hand?
As I mentioned above, I write at the computer. My handwriting's
too awful to write by hand. I do, however, revise by hand. I think it's easier
to catch things when I read a hard copy of a manuscript with a pen or pencil in
hand.
Do you think going screen free will help budding writers
get their creative juices flowing?
We can always hope! I would think spending time outside, in
nature, or going to a museum or playing a board game with the family would go a
long ways to restoring and refreshing the creative mind.
Finally, your character Hattie (Hattie Big Sky, Hattie Ever
After) doesn’t have to worry about having too much screen time due to the time
period. What items would Hattie have had to balance in her life like we do with
screen time?
On the homestead (Hattie Big Sky), Hattie's day was
filled with chores -- even getting water to wash up or make coffee involved
work. "Free time" would have been a foreign concept to her. When she
goes to San Francisco, in Hattie Ever After, she still has a full day
with working to earn money to pay for her room at the hotel, to buy food, to
buy some stylish city clothes. In addition, she didn't have access to automatic
washers and dryers, or hair dryers or microwaves so nearly everything she did
would take longer than it would for us. She lived in an era when leisure time
was set aside for Sundays -- church, a promenade and perhaps dinner with
friends. I think she would be quite dismayed to know how much free time I have.
. .and how much of it I waste!
Thanks
for coming by, Kirby!
To celebrate Screen Free Week, I'd like to giveaway a copy of Hattie Ever After.
Rules for the Giveaway
1. It will run from 4/12 to 11:59 P.M. on 4/15.
2. You must be at least 13.
3. Please pay it forward.
