For a few days last week, my keyboard’s n stuck as I tried to reply to others’ posts. I was frustrated. My discomfort made me ask myself if I could write a whole post without it because I like to test myself. I will admit, it is very difficult. Years ago, I worked at a small DC school where, at a PD day, the facilitator asked us to write for a short time without “e”. For me, that was easy. I immediately chose to write about a topic without “e”: swim stuff, e.g. swim practices, with their laps, or swim meets with their races. I wrote quite a lot, which frustrated the speaker because she had hoped to illustrate how hard it is to write without a simple letter. If I had appreciated her motive, I would have stayed quiet. Such is youth, I suppose. Hmm… maybe I will ask my pupils to try this exercise.
As I write today, I realize how much has shifted. At that PD, we all wrote with paper. Today, however, I write with a computer; I have a tab with access to a thesaurus; my spellcheck tries to correct misspelled words to add the letter I avoid. As I cease this exercise, I will use Ctrl-f to check if I used what I promised to dodge. Truly, spellcheck is how I was able to reply to posts last week. It took a lot of time, so I replied to very few posts, which made me sad. If I missed you, I am sorry! I swear that I read, but to reply was quite difficult.
As I write, I also realize that without this letter I avoid, I must be upbeat. Without it, I have become aware that the adverse is hard to write. The words for bad possibilities or outcomes all use the letter. Hmm… this is a fresh thought for me. I pause to marvel at this simple idea. Whoa. Lots of ideas/objects use this letter, too, because of suffixes. Lastly, I have realized that I must write exclusively for this time or the past. The future requires this letter. So… I am forced to write about the positive, past or immediate with few words for big ideas. It’s complicated. As I wrap up, I try to visualize this n-less world. Impossible. I am over this self-imposed exercise: I would like all the letters back, please!
Persistence and Pedagogy 
you are so very remarkable. Truly. I love this particular “slice” exercise, because I get to read what you write each day. It is a gift. See what I did there?
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You are hilarious!
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Amanda,
This has me thinking about all the struggles non-native English speakers face navigating this complicated language. I imagine it’s particularly difficult for those who speak symbol-based languages. Anyway, glad you have your n back! My hack suggestion: Write on your phone, which is how I’m responding to this post. 😉
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I know, but I hate responding on the phone. It’s so much slower- thus my limited comments for a couple of days. Sigh. And yes to the difficulties of learning a foreign language!
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Sometimes our modern inconveniences are inconvenient.
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A few years ago one of the keys on my keyboard stopped working. It was a challenge for sure! I finally cut one from another word and would “command v” every time I needed that letter. It was a good writing exercise for a while!
I love how you keep challenging yourself to have fun with your writing!
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Oh my! That solution sounds very complicated!
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I see what you did there…nice work. Oh wait, creative use of words that disallow n.
I remember, doing this, at a summer camp I worked at years ago. We did it around a circle, and each had to make a sentence to compile a larger story. Don’t ask me what letter we couldn’t use. I think we started with one of the rando’s (U, X, you know…) then more common letters. This was supposed to make us relate to the campers with learning disabilities that would be entering our premises. I could see this being a good exercise or quick write. Maybe even a list of words you cannot use?
Either way, impressive slice!
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I honestly think no e was easier for me than no n! Who knew?
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This is fascinating- and a wonderful writing challenge. I am not even going to attempt it for my comment, lol. I hear such furtive pleading in your line, “ I swear that I read, but to reply was quite difficult;” no apologies needed, I think! I am fascinated by n being associated with the past and with negativity. Down with n! lol.
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I found the “no negative” thing fascinating, too. And nothing that ends in -ing or -tion! So limiting!
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Whoa, this challenge is intense! I don’t know if I’d be as successful as you, but I’d love to try. I like how you used the challenge of a stuck letter and flipped it into a writing challenge.
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Wow! That would be a challenge for me. I have tried to write with all short words, and that was difficult.
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I remember when the END button on my keyboard wasn’t working. Oof, I had to find work-arounds and it made me angry. Finally, once I got a new keyboard, I was so grateful for the ease with which I was able to compose.
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Someone published a novel some years ago that didn’t use the letter “e” — a whole novel! And it’s fascinating what concepts you couldn’t use because they have the letter “n”. I’ve never tried this exercise, but maybe I will.
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I remember that novel – although the one I know about is in French – “La Disparition”. I can’t imagine writing a whole novel this way!
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Nothing worse than stuck letters in this day and age, I had g and h stick on me on one keyboard and that was almost an impossibility! I love the flow of your slice and how you can make something so frustrating sound so amusing!
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