I do wonder what is lost when we type instead. I really think it depends on confidence levels and focus in terms of editing and/or writing more loosely. I mean that if I write on paper I am more cautious with my words sometimes as I prefer to write ink so I cannot easily alter what I’ve got once it’s down on the page. I cannot help but feel there is a certain use here as when I write on paper it feels ‘final’ and so maybe I act with more reverence toward the act of writing? An equivalent would be with reading. Everyone thinks they can read, but it is way more than simply reading the words from a page and moving onto the next words. This is more apparent when you are trying to learn and retain information and not something startlingly obvious when reading fiction - because people generally read fiction to ‘relax’.
I've read that Stephen King never revisits his notes and says that notebooks are where ideas go to die. If you remember what you've written it's a good idea, if not, it's bad and doesn't need revisiting. I like that idea, which would mean it doesn't matter if my handwriting sucks because I won't read it again anyway ^^
I always start my poems by hand, but after multiple scribblings out and word-changing I think to myself this would be so much easier on the PC and switch over to that instead. I don’t know if forcing myself to write them by hand would be a good thing. I suppose that way I could look back on them and see where I went wrong and what I did to better it.
I still do handwriting outside. Mainly diaries or sketches. I do have one or two diaries on notebooks at home, but mostly I type at home. I write by hand most every day at lunch. So, it depends.
I do not write on the screen because I find it smears the screen up to much if using dry erase markers. But then using a screen protector could help, I guess. Oi! You did not mean with a marker, right? But with a fancy stylus?
I've decided that I'm writing all my first drafts by hand, but (and that's a big but) I have to type it up to a doc file the next day. It would be mini-line-by-line edit, but never a macro edit. I'm on my third novel, and halfway through it I switched from typing to handwriting. The reason? My brain just cannot leave a sentence alone. It has to spiffy it up and spruce it up. Despite telling myself over and over again to lay it off, move on and fix it after, my brain just can't help itself. So I took control and started writing by hand. Now, my brain is still okay with this, and somehow I am writing faster compared to when I was typing. I have a spreadsheet to keep track of my daily word count. My average typing per day was 400 words; my average handwriting per day is 1000. And the great thing about it is that I have tangible goalposts for my daily minimum. I aim for four pages a day, which averages about 1000 words. Some of those pages has strikethroughs, which is still progress.
I normally type the serious stuff but I hand write things when I don't have access to the laptop or if I need to write a very short scene. This has worked for me well so far.
My wife writes long hand first, all the time, then types it in. I think that is a waste though the one advantage is that you can write when you do not have a computer handy, and you can go somewhere without distractions like Freecell and Sudoku. However, I have them on my phone, and in a way, those have become part of a ritual for me, a little Sudoku while thinking about the next chapter. To me, it seems a waste to write something twice.
I had thought about that, but I came to the conclusion that as long as I'm enjoying the process, it's not wasted time. It's like playing a video game or something that you enjoy: for some, it looks like a waste of time, but for others it's enjoyed time.
That's a good point. And, in addition, the process of typing it from the hand-written version is always an initial round of editing as well (at least for me), so there is no wasted time.
This is how I work. I've scribbled in notebooks when I've been without a computer and had no other option, but when I was back online, I didn't look at my notebooks. I knew what I had written pretty much so everything I hand wrote became pretty much just thinking on paper. I started my novel with a pen and notebook because I didn't own a computer at the time, but I have never once gone back to look at that writing. I figure I remember the parts worth remembering. I sometimes do something similar on the computer. I'll open a blank document and rewrite something without so much as glancing at the original. I don't quite understand all the handwriting if you have the option of using a computer. Writing requires a lot of editing and rewriting. There are enough steps in the process for me. Transcribing notes isn't something I want to add to the process.
If you're just transcribing, my feeling is an opportunity is lost. I don't do that. In addition, I write "better" longhand. The words flow more easily. You bring different cognitive processes into play when you handwrite than you do when you type. For some, it may not make a difference. For others it does (maybe in both directions). People should do what works for them.
That doesn't mean there isn't value in the writing and keeping of notebooks. Get S. King drunk, and I bet he will tell you that he benefits from the writing.
To be honest I do both. I can type faster than I can write, but usually writing allows for more ideas to be written. It does come at a cost for me. I often find myself having to expand on the ideas when I am converting it over to a typed file. But if I don't like the idea, then I don't type it, so it does have its advantages.
Believe me. I really wanted to stick with a word processor for my current work in progress, but my brain seems to be preoccupied with styling and correcting my sentences. Some will say, "just fix it later and move on!" but my brain just can't seem to shake it off, and I get frustrated and type less and end up mentally blocked. Having to write by hand tricks my brain, and the words just flow. Now, this works for me, and it may not work for others (probably detrimental as well). I'll take the extra steps, but at least my creative brain is happy.
I can't write by hand - somehow it never gets beyond one or two sentences because I edit as I go. I'm a quick writer - I average about 4-8k words per week and I still edit as I go. I'm quick. But when it's by hand, I can't move forward. I'm crossing out so many things, writing options and alternative structures below or next to the sentence I'm working on, and I can't even read what I've written properly because of all the edits. And then I just give up.
Yeah. The writing process is so unique. Everyone has their own unique way in finishing a copy. You have Vonnegut who will fuss over one page until it's perfect and then move on to the next page. You have King who doesn't use an outline, and then you have Patterson who can't live without his outlines. Then you have Joyce Carol Oates who writes in longhand and then George RR Martin who writes in an old computer that runs on DOS.
I can't be bothered to write much anything on paper, least of all the text of a story or an article. It's comparable to rubbing two wooden sticks together to make fire instead of using a lighter. The finished work will need to be in the format of a computer file anyway, so what's the point writing it twice? Paper is for goals and affirmations and such, where the primary purpose is the physical activity of writing, not the creation of a text to be shown to others. However, I would use paper for things like a diagram of connections between main characters, a geographical map etc., so it'll be convenient to keep on my desk for quick reference while my computer display shows written text.
When I was a ‘junior writer,’ without the many years of my writer success under my belt I kept a writing notebook. I would pause in streets and write my significant thoughts in my notebook. Sometimes other writers watched me with my moleskin in hand. I always gave the knowing smile to the fellow creative(s). Often this was aside rivers, trees, the road traffic accident that inspired/inspires..
Also wanted to share this: https://mashable.com/2014/02/15/modern-writers-technology/ I think Neil Gaiman was one of the influences that got me starting with handwriting my stories (short and novels).
I love handwriting, it makes me feel more connected to what I am writing. But I am also a perfectionist. If my printing is not up to my standards, I restart. I detest spelling errors, and I hate crossing out words or using white-out. So I mostly write on the computer, but I will make 'character pages'. I will write down all the information about my characters on little flashcards, from their age to their bad habits. It allows me to have the best of both worlds.
