I once read that Hunter S. Thompson, as a young and ambitious writer, tried to improve his writing by copying word for word the opening chapter of The Great Gatsby.

At that age, long before he became a literary legend, Thompson considered Fitzgerald’s book to be the great American novel, or close to it. So he typed it out to better understand the cadence, the rhythm, the style, the mood.

When we are all young, we copy our heroes, our mentors, our parents – until we gain a footing ourselves and go off on our own. We learn to flap our wings, or gums, and take off.

Recently, I came across another idea on copying that goes further. The idea is this: When you copy something, don’t just type it, write it by hand. The thinking is that copying something down in handwriting makes you go slower and actually think about what you are writing.

It also shows you why short sentences are better and why commas are important, and where they should go. It’s like learning in slow motion, which is a better…way…to…learn.

This doesn’t just apply to writing a book or story. If you are a cook, for instance, writing down a recipe by hand makes you think about each ingredient and step. Odds are you are less likely to forget to put garlic in the Tex-Mex Lasagna (as I have done).

Everyone loves receiving a handwritten letter. Unless your handwriting is indecipherable, like my mother’s was, which was exasperating (a word she said often to me in person, but if she ever wrote it I couldn’t read it).

If you are writing an important email, try it first long hand, with cross outs and new starts. Then type it and send it. It will help you clarify your thoughts and improve your message.

And when you type it by reading your handwriting, you’re less likely to have typos. I remember my horror when I wrote an ad for a client that said, “Stay smart. Think positve.” I had left out the second “i” in positive. My client (Linda F.) spotted it and brought it to my attention. It got changed fast, before it ran thank god – a full page ad in the Portland Business Journal.

If that law firm ad had run with the typo, I would have had to leave town and I'd still be hiding out today - perhaps with Hunter S. Thompson, in the clouds and bars above. Looking for a pen.

Call me Les.

This is our 2nd collaboration - our first being “Driving Strangers: Diary of an Uber Driver” produced a few years ago. The 98-page book is available on Amazon.

There’s a line to get in. It’s not long but it’s lively. Everyone is excited for the doors to open. It’s like this every Sunday evening at six o’clock when NWA Blue Collar Wrestling takes the stage at the Eagle’s Lodge on North Lombard. Bus 75 goes right by, within shouting distance. It's performance art of a more physical kind. This is just one of many stops along Bus 75 that photographer Geoffrey Hiller and I feature on our photo/essay blog - Bus 75: Hidden Portland.

To read more posts on Bus 75: Hidden Portland go to www.bus75.org.

Directions to Hidden Portland: Board the #75 bus and get off and on often. Do not take a guidebook. Do not follow the crowd. Discover for yourself the underside, upside, downside and unknown side of our city.

Strangely enough, I’ve recently collaborated on a book with good friend and weirdly talented Portland artist, Karen Wippich. It’s titled “Driving Strangers: Diary of an Uber Driver.”

The book combines Karen’s oddly intriguing portraits with my brief, pithy musings about people I’ve ferried around Portland as an Uber driver. It features 25 art portraits, 75 Uber reflections, and driver data showing my net earnings per shift.

Even stranger, the book is for sale on Amazon and Createspace. In a blatant act of self-promotion, I’ve provided the link below.

P.S. The book also makes a nice cheese plate. Perfect for the holidays!

Find it on Amazon!