I physically can't. Between a breaking my thumb and wrist over the years I get an intense ache if I spend more than 20 minutes writing. So I have a notebook that gets filled with my ideas and snippets, but I'll never write more than a partial scene by hand.
All the time when brainstorming and writing sections of chapters that are in the moment. I wrote my first book on paper and looking back on it I ended up cutting 75% of it. I considered it more of practice than the perfection I am striving for. However I will type out my stories, print them and do the proof reading that way. I find it so much better to hand write comments and additional notes from my readers to help me polish up the story and ask questions that I could not ask myself.
I've been writing stories as young as 7 on a typewriter, and then transitioned to the computer at the age of 9. The keyboard is how I grew up and I can't write any other way.
I wonder if how you grew up writing has alot to do with your preference. My daughter is the same age as you and grew up typing and she likes the computer for writing her stories. I grew up hand writing my stories and feel much more comfortable writing that way. Of course when I was really young, before I could write, my mom bought me a tape recorder and I would record stories and draw pictures to go with them...I still have them, and listened to them recently, I would like to believe my abilities have improved since then but I have those days that I have to question myself
I hand write, for many of the same reasons Minstrel gave, with the exception of handsome handwriting, because my handwriting is pretty damned homely. Also, when I get on a good rip, ideas will pop out at any time and the margins fill quickly.
I'll usually start on a computer, and then switch to hand-written when I hit the inevitable bit where the ideas just stop flowing properly. Changing the format if often enough of a pattern-interrupt to kick out the block and get things moving again. When it happens again, I shift back to the computer, lather, rinse and repeat.
Speaking as a raw beginner. I primarily handwrite so far, though I've certainly done both and I'm a very competent typist (special thanks to work, the internet). As someone who has never been taught how to edit (non-formal writing at least), taking a red pen to some handwritten well-spaced pages of a notebook is much more obvious and natural to me than I guess figuring the same out on a computer (you could print it out I guess, but that's kind of adding a step near the beginning). I really like my stationery too.
Never hand write writing ideas. At a young age (13 or so) my writings were found and I was made fun of my by step father in a very mean way. Now I have a pass word protected computer so that no one can do that to me again unless I choose for my work to be seen by someone and I can be prepared for the criticism. So I have a reason for it, but I am sure if that never happened to me then I would have handwritten a little bit here and there. I do prefer a handwritten planner for appointments, which drive my husband crazy as he would prefer we use google calendar but I just cannot remember to put it on there.
I always found handwriting my first draft in a journal easier than typing on a computer. I can carry a journal with me everywhere, unlike my laptop. It's more intimate and I write from my heart this way. It also allows me to see impurities right away when I begin to type up that first draft. Some people have issues doing this. It's all about comfort and preference. I know some people that type up their first drafts, but if they cannot get on a computer they will handwrite their idea/scene.
I always hand write my rough drafts. I have notebooks set aside for different things, and one dedicated to rough drafts. For me, the reason I started this, is because I type way too fast, and sometimes, when I'm really in the flow, I type so fast, I start losing sight of the meaning in my sentences and words. This may not make sense, but when I hand write, things slow down, and I start actually considering my word choice and it allows me to stay clear. I also write in spurts, so I may hand write an opening scene, or half of the story, take a break and in that break I'll digitize what I have, and anything I add, happens when I go back and hand write. That's just my process. Maybe one day I won't have to and I'll be able to start digitally, but at the moment, I don't care. I rather enjoy the process of hand writing, it's intimate and slows my mind down. I feel it becomes more of a physical representation of my expression, for when I am done, I can look at it and have a much better sense of what just physically came out of me.
i have often written parts of or whole pieces of work by hand... my preference is with a medium point, blue ink fat ballpoint pen [Dr. Grips, currently... parker's 'big red' and schaeffer fat ones in days of yore] on a lined pastel pad with a heavy-duty cardboard back [ampads are best]... lacking those, i'll write on anything with anything... major side benefit after bodily comfort [easy chair, bed, et al.] is it results in a first edit when i type it onto the computer...
Generally I type when I have a large amount of stuff bursting to come out, because it is faster for me. However, if there is any "figuring" to be done, I pull out the old notepad. It allows for greater freedom. I can write little side notes to myself (ie, "Kat, this is utter rot!"). When planning a story, I am the type of person who likes to ask herself questions, then go about answering all of them. This is easiest to do on paper, or if I'm feeling particularly geeky (or artistic) I use a whiteboard. Yes, I just said that. A whiteboard. The whiteboard is handy for things like charts - I can draw lines from one character to another to represent a relationship or an open-end that needs closing. I guess I'm visual that way. So my answer is yes, and no. I use both.
I don't even handwrite my grocery lists any more. Why? It's embarrassing to stand in the middle of a grocery aisle staring at my lisy and muttering to myself, "What the hell is this?"
One of the reasons I quit college was because I hated writing my exam essays by hand. I can't write fast enough and end up with an unreadable scribble. Plus my wrist gets really agitated.
I do a basic layout out and ideas in a note book, only because they easier to transport and no need to worry about batteries. I type mostly, as 1. My hand writing is bad as I cant keep up with my thoughts so i rush and when i look back i'm staring at it squinted and sounding words phonetically. 2. I change my mind easily and there are a lot of scribbles and going over words, fitting a new line over the old lines and sometimes having to copy the only good lines from the scrunched up piece of paper i put the pen through. 3. You have to type eventually really, and writing the story for a second time is a bit of a superfluous exercise. 4. Without the computer I would never be able to spell superfluous.
Handwriting allows for brainstorming. It is really much more troublesome to draw and be free with a computer. Also, handwriting is less constrained, and allows for more fluid writing. Soon you'll find yourself having written thousands of words and never had trouble continuing. One problem of mine is that I tend to write very messily and my writing is night intelligible to any outsider, and often I face trouble when rereading it and typing it onto the computer. Retyping it on the computer is one of the things I dislike, but it does indeed serve as a revision, and is a helpful trick. If you keep the notes contained in one copybook, and neatly, you would not face any of the troubles and benefit from all the good points.
Sometimes I do a bit of brainstorming or jot down notes about my story, but usually I just type it. My hands get cramped and start hurting after too long.
I prefer pen and paper- something nice about having to slowly think through each word, and actually write it down. But I was wondering how other people write, and why they choose to use the tecnique they do? Do you have a reason for using a specific utensil, or is it merely convenience (whatever's closest in reach or readily available)?
I'll use anything. I actually prefer pen and paper, but I'm not obsessive about it. I'll use a computer if it's convenient. Somewhere on this forum I once posted an 800-word essay on why pen and paper is the best word processor ever invented, but I don't remember where. There are several threads similar to this, and it's in one of those.
I'll use anything that's handy if I need to jot an idea down, but I spend so much time online I usually have Word open anyway, and I find it a great deal easier to fine-tune sentences there than writing out each alternate possibility by hand. But I'm sure you have all heard the arguments for word processors being more convenient; I'm curious to hear more from the pen and paper writers. I've never tried writing anything extensive in that format, so I should probably experiment with it.
I prefer to use pen and paper for the earliest stages in a project. I'll handwrite all of my research because I find I take the information in better that way (maybe because the pace is slower). I also handwrite a lot of my planning work; this usually ends up as a mess of scribbles and coloured arrows pointing off to the margin/connecting points. The story itself will be typed. I was considering handwriting my current story, but I've a deadline to meet so I don't think it's really the most practical time to test it.
I use pen and paper for the initial idea till I have a fairly reasonable story outline, then I write the actual first draft on the computer, as I usually check for spelling errors and badly-worded sentences even then, so a computer is required to make it less...messy.
pen/paper and laptop... and anything else that's handy, when something pops up in my mind and needs to be jotted down before i forget it...
I use a word processor basically because my spelling is abysmal - yes I had to spell check that. Also if I use a pen or pencil (I am very heavy handed) my hand aches after a hour or so, so the laptop is my preferred writing aid. Apart from the fact if I type fast, I can figure out what I was getting at but if I write long hand it turns into a squiggle or a straight line - confusion ensues.
