I use the computer to do the actual writing but I keep a little notebook and pen with me at all times to jot down notes or work on outlines. Then I have to print out whatever I'm working on to edit it. For some reason I just don't see the errors on a computer screen like I do on paper.
I can't read my own handwriting lol so I rarely do anything in an actual notebook. That's what my smartphone and computer are for.
I use the computer and sometimes a google doc app on my phone. I only use paper if that's the only thing available.
Seeing how I type 90+ wpm, I type everything rather than write it down (unless there is no keyboard around). ~Chad Lutzke Pre-Author, Post-Boredom - The Literary Unfoldings of a Middle-Aged Dreamer
I have a little notebook for scribbling notes down in class when I have an idea (notes for writing, not learning) and doodling scenes, but I type everything when I get home.
Research notes and planning are done on paper, actual writing on computer. If an idea occurs to me when I am not home and don't have my laptop handy, I will sometimes write some passages on a notepad. This has saved my sanity during many a boring presentation.
I used to write/print out my stories on paper - you can see the result of my first book on my blog ( on here ) if you like. I do love the feel of pen and paper and being able to handle and spread out the pages of the final work. But writing on paper was hard. I'd run the ink dry in a pen, the draft could get messy with cross outs or flubs but the worse was I wrote so long I'd develop a noticeable dent in my finger. Now, I write on my computer but I still do some strategizing on paper. And I also carry a notepad with me everywhere so when conversations, scenes or a tidbit of an idea comes to me I jot it down so I don't forget it.
Paper during the very preliminary mind mapping stage of circles, lines and scattered words. After that it's all on my PC.
I have a bad habit of getting easily distracted while typing so I initially just write on a notebook or pad before I type anything up. It seems to be really good for me because as I'm typing it up, I can edit what I wrote on the fly.
I was expecting someone to use some sort of electronic pad device or a boogie board, etc. with OCR. I would have thought they would lend themselves well to this group and hoped to hear some pros and cons about them. Probably another section of the forum will have that detail. I also am a bit curious about the fast keyboard users, can you really think of story lines that fast? I think one person said 90WPM, that would be 5K per hour, knock out a book in a couple of days it seems. And typing in my mind really means using an actual typewriter, there doesn't seem to be a good alternate word for data entry but there should be.
This kind of thing bugs me a little, too. I can type fast, but most of my writing time is spent staring into space, visualizing my scene, being inside the head of my protagonist, and thinking of the best way to phrase my sentences. Typing speed is far greater than actual writing speed. If anyone out there actually writes as fast as they type, and their work is really good, then they're geniuses, as far as I'm concerned. I suspect, though, that their work isn't as good as it could be and it requires a ton of revision. Either that, or these writers have lower standards than I do. I've read interviews with literally hundreds of writers, including many who are major literary heavyweights (Pulitzer Prize winners, Man Booker Prize winners, Nobel Prize winners, etc.), and virtually none of them claim to write as fast as they type. Hemingway produced between 500 and 1,200 words per day, and usually on the low end of that scale. He produced over 1,000 words when he wanted to take the next day off. John Banville says he sometimes only produces 100 words in a day. The majority of good writers seem to produce less than 2,000 words per day, typically, and are happy with much less. Stephen King has said he used to write about 4,000 words per day, but he's very prolific and writes a lot of crap. I wish he'd write half as much if he could make it twice as good.
I type very fast, as I mentioned elsewhere I've taken a lot of keyboarding classes, and I know that I never write as fast as I type. I think there are a few exceptions that last maybe five minutes at a time where I've had an explosion of ideas that my typing can hardly keep up with, but most of the time it's more: type a sentence.. stare at the page.. backspace.. retype.. type some more.. stare off into space for twenty minutes.. that sort of thing. I can't even imagine what typing 5K words in an hour would be like. Probably pretty terrible. I usually hit 500-1500 words a day, with lots of breaks, certainly not straight typing. Sometimes more if it's a good day, but usually around the lower mark. Sometimes I wish I had a typewriter to type on because it doesn't have that cursed internet! So many distractions! I had to make a separate profile on my computer where I've blocked every website I can think of that I like to waste time on. This includes such exciting things as my city's library page and my email.
I outline on paper but almost always write on the computer. I type about 4X faster than I hand write, so my fingers can keep up my brain where my pencil can't.
I use the computer for all my writing. These days I don't touch paper at all except when someone asks me to print something out. I also type much faster than I write but I don't produce thousands of words per day usually. As others have said, a lot of my time is spent just thinking but also I spend a lot of time editing as I go. By the time I'm "done" with a paragraph I've written it at least twice and maybe three or four times. It would be hard to work that way on paper. I can't imagine how writers of old managed it.
I type all my actual writing but generally all my planning and brainstorming is on paper or my phone. Recently I've started doing planning on my tablet which ends up much neater since I'm able to erase things and make the 'paper' bigger at will.
I don't see how the two are related. I can type quite fast, but the real point is that once I have mentally constructed a sentence, I can get it into my manuscript very quickly rather than laboriously penning the words by hand. Therefore I can then get back to working out the next sentence/paragraph/idea in much less time.
I do it all by hand as I find it easier to process all the information being thrown at me from what I have written than looking on a screen.
I used to scribble outlines and synopses on paper, but since I started writing every day, I have my desk and my files and my office set up as a perfect writing sanctuary (almost), so I tend to just go there whenever I'm inspired. Other times, I have my iPad close by, and on it I have Pages and Evernote (and Dropbox) so I just don't bother with handwriting (which is horrible and slow). As for the internet and distractions, I've turned off all my notifications, and when I really can't stop procrastinating, I turn off the wireless.
When I was school age, I solely used paper for my stories. Now that I am out of university I use a computer 90% of the time. Luckily I can type over 60 wpm so my hands can keep up with my thought processes much better then if I had to write it all out by hand. I also grew up speaking and writing three different languages (including English obviously) and sometimes I would randomly start writing in languages other then English. On a computer, it is more difficult to do so as I do not have the different language alphabets readily available without making any adjustments. With that being said, I do a lot of hiking, backpacking, and off-roading which is where I find inspiration and ideas quite a bit. So I always carry my notebook with me and have written a chapter of two addition to my story by hand. In my opinion, it comes down to whatever is available to you when the idea/thought process strikes you. I have even used the notes app on my ipad to write a WHOLE chapter cause I was stuck on an airplane, I do NOT recommend that at all! It was awful but I got it all out before it slipped my mind.
I write it first, then I type it. It is sort of my idea of how to go from rough draft to another draft form. So I have it in a very dry and undone version on paper, but then I transfer it onto a computer. It is mostly because I have good grammatical skills on both and the more likely of a chance I will catch my mistakes that I made. So like with my current book, I write down notes and study other books to see how they execute certain ideas.
I'm a geek at that front, typing all the way. Which is why I have a keyboard to go with my tablet and a cloud storage to make sure I don't have to worry about being unable to waste time at university XD Typing is much faster, it's easier to make revisions, and I save myself the torture of my 'gorgeous' handwriting. Also, to help me make revisions, I can easily have the dictation software read to me, which would be a feat for just anyone for a paper with my handwriting. Having said that, when it comes to scribbling ideas, plotlines, character relationships, etc--something which requires some level of graphic detail and extempore--I use a notebook. Easier than inserting flowcharts in a document.
I'm a computer nerd so guess what I'm using... Furthermore, I very seldom print something because I like to read it back on my tablet (only Windows, sorry guys: I'm not an Apple maniac, except I eat an Apple for breakfast), or e-reader.
I have a good speed too, around 70 WPM, but I would agree here that I don't write as fast as I type. More of my time spent writing is actually spent staring into space--typing, backspacing, typing, backspacing, checking my emails, Googling some plot detail, typing, backspacing, enacting the scene, rereading a previous scene, typing, backspacing--staring into space. XD Still, when I am on a roll such that I am thinking faster than I type (it happens...sometimes), I can write a good story (in my own humble opinion ) in a short while. I think my track record is a complete short story (4000 words) in 6 hours, edits included. Note I didn't make a plan in advance, I just wrote it on whim. I guess it's not much of a feat, but pretty marvelous for me anyway.
