Paper vs Pixels

[FreeWhistler]

I could never do my job without a computer. Everything that I need to write and make money in the 21st century is on my faithful laptop: Google, email, spreadsheets, music and a word processor. As useful a computer is, though, when it comes to actual writing, I feel it is a poor substitute for paper and pencil. I find my body more relaxed, my mind less prone to blocks, my eyes less likely to strain, my attention less apt to wander, my mind more susceptible to creativity, and my pencil quicker to words when I write on paper.

So which do you prefer for writing, paper or pixels?

[PoppysInARow]

Depends on what I'm writing. Poetry, for me, cannot be done on computer. I have to write it on paper. Same with rough drafts of Query letters. But novels? The stuff I spend all my time writing? Has to be on computer. Same with short stories. Paper stunts my ability to think, and my hand can't keep up, so I try to write faster than I'm able and my hand cramps up.

[Sevilla]

Pixels. I actually write next to nothing by hand, only little things scribbled on the back of a receipt or something.

[Birol]

So which do you prefer for writing, paper or pixels?

Yes.

[willietheshakes]

First draft fiction is always done by hand - fountain pen in a notebook.
Then the draft is typed into the word processor, but revisions are done on the printed page.

[sunandshadow]

On the computer I get distracted more, with a notebook and pen I'm more likely to fall asleep, so I guess it balances out.

[blacbird]

I do both, as the occasion demands.

Neither seems to work.

caw

[benbradley]

I write checks with pen and paper. For everything else, there's an IBM Model M and pixels.

And isn't Linotype just a bunch of small pixels?

[dpaterso]

This is a clever variation on the "Pen vs. Keyboard" fourth dimensional wormhole theory.

Whatever works for you is the right technique.

-Derek

[fredXgeorge]

Computer. So much faster and easier for me.

[Dr.Gonzo]

Mainly computer. When it comes to reading my work for the first time and then editing, I always have to print out and get the trusty pen warmed up.

[shaldna]

I write everything by long hand with a digital pen, so i don't have to type anything. i get a long hand and a text version at once.

Do i win?

[Lydia Sharp]

The first half of the first draft of my first novel was all written by hand. The subsequent sore on my finger forced me to get a laptop (my writing endeavors before that time were not regular enough to cause physical injury). Since then, I write everything onscreen until the final run-through, when I print it out and tackle it with a red pen.

The only time I'll "write it out" with paper and pen is when I'm brainstorming, idea-bouncing, structuring, etc. For some reason, it feels more natural that way. Whatevs. I just go with it; no point in questioning.

[Lady Ice]

I write all my ideas for scenes, etc. on paper- using paper and pen means you think a lot more about what you're writing, because you can't delete it with the click of a button. Then if I get serious about the idea, I type it up.

[Jhase]

Personally I think it boils down to whichever works better for you. I know I use the computer for all my writing, but lately I've begun to use paper for plotting, jotting ideas down, all that. I do this because of my job, it keeps me up at night along with reading. I prefer the computer, but I've matured from my days when the Pen was the enemy so I do think it serves a purpose as well.

Again though, it boils down to the old saying more or less "to each their own" basically.

[FreeWhistler]

I write checks with pen and paper. For everything else, there's an IBM Model M and pixels.

And isn't Linotype just a bunch of small pixels?

Maybe if you're thinking about Linotype font. I had this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linotype_machine) behemoth in mind. It's not too user friendly I think. Though I could be wrong. It could be the greatest writing invention since the crayon.

And, yeah, I rarely write by hand except to take notes. And when I do write an article on paper I inevitably have to type it up anyhow. There's just something more natural and relaxing about doing it the old fashioned way. You can also take it to the beach. Sand and laptops don't mix well.

[Shadow_Ferret]

I find my body more relaxed, my mind less prone to blocks, my eyes less likely to strain, my attention less apt to wander, my mind more susceptible to creativity, and my pencil quicker to words when I write on paper.


I find this is all true for pixels.

I certainly can type faster (70wpm) than I could ever handwrite. And I can't read my own handwriting, so it sort of defeats the purpose.

Although, I do carry a notebook with me wherever I go because you never know when an idea will hit you.

[shadowwalker]

I actually prefer paper for the pieces that are really giving me trouble. Yeah, there's a lot of scribbling and crossing out, but just having to write slower allows my mind to drift in the right directions. When things are going smoothly, then I have to type or I'd never be able to read what I'd written. :tongue

[benbradley]

Maybe if you're thinking about Linotype font. I had this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linotype_machine) behemoth in mind. It's not too user friendly I think.
I was actually thinking of a Linotron and similar things with their high resolution (lotsa pixels), but as for the linotype, it's a huge improvement over chisel and granite tablet, and even better than a grape press modified for printing books...

[lvcabbie]

I spent 60 years writing on a typewriter or longhand.
Now that I have a computer, my output has tripled. On my current novel, I have 18 folders from which to quickly grab info I need as I write/revise and 8 shortcuts to make getting there even easier.
I also enjoy the feature that tells me the word I'm using may not be correct - and thank goodness for dictionary in the program as well as on-line dictionaries and encyclopedia!
This especially helps now that I find myself facing a major revision of the 90k words I wrote!!!!!:rant:

[ishtar'sgate]

I could never do my job without a computer. Everything that I need to write and make money in the 21st century is on my faithful laptop: Google, email, spreadsheets, music and a word processor. As useful a computer is, though, when it comes to actual writing, I feel it is a poor substitute for paper and pencil. I find my body more relaxed, my mind less prone to blocks, my eyes less likely to strain, my attention less apt to wander, my mind more susceptible to creativity, and my pencil quicker to words when I write on paper.

So which do you prefer for writing, paper or pixels?
Always paper and pencils for a first draft. Always.

[Adam]

Pixels, unless it's warm and quiet outside, then I may break out a pen and pad. :)
(Though I hate having to then transfer it to my PC.)

[ChaosTitan]

Both.

[defyalllogic]

i get distracted on the computer but i hate that i have to transfer it to the computer. i need one of those smart pens! (ooo putting it on my wedding register just in case!)

[TC Beacham]

Love pixels and rarely read a DTB anymore, but still carry a small notebook to jot down writing ideas the moment they come up - and also like to use a big storyboard when working on a novel, much like the ones you see on cop shows for solving crimes.

[Kateness]

I hate taking notes via computer. Because either I a) jam them all into one incomprehensible file or b) create seven zillion tiny files that I have to remember.

Alternately, they get scribbled on random pages of the notebook by my computer.

Gah.

As for writing, it usually comes better via typing, but not always.

[maestrowork]

My handwriting is awful and it's very tiring to write for a long time, and my handwriting can never keep up with my thoughts. It's too slow, too messy, and too tiring. With a computer and a keyboard, I can type all day.

[willietheshakes]

The first half of the first draft of my first novel was all written by hand. The subsequent sore on my finger forced me to get a laptop

You should see the grooves on my writing fingers.

[Flay]

Paper, for the first & second drafts. Anything that makes me write more slowly is helpful. I need time to think between words.

[DrZoidberg]

Only on a computer. I don't like writing on paper at all. As for creativity, I love the keyboard. When I'm done I can transfer it to my Sony reader for proofing in my favourite reading couch. All digital.

[Zefiris]

I can barely read my own hand-writing since it's that bad so definitely computer for me.

[Manuel Royal]

I did my first serious writing on a 1934 Royal (see avatar). I was bereft when it was burned up by arsonists, but the first time I created a document with word-processing, I knew typewriters were on the way out.

Even though I miss the clack-clack, and in the back of my mind I'm still waiting for the *ding!* to tell me to reach out and slide the carriage back, nothing beats the ease with which I can reformat, copy, and revise documents before using any paper. Then I print out letter-perfect copy.

I still use paper for initial notes on a project, timelines, sketches and the like.

[ClaudiaGray]

Everyone should do what works for them. What works for me? Using a computer for virtually everything, save a bit of brainstorming here and there.

[Alpha Echo]

Has to be pixels. I'd die without my laptop. But, notes have to be paper. When I do my character sketches or take notes during my research or on my chapters, it must be paper. Don't know why, but there ya go. :)

[Jabberwokky]

Don't get me wrong. I do a lot of my work on paper. Paper's great! I love paper! But writing out a paragraph on paper takes me 3 times as long as it does to type it, and I'm all for saving time.

Though I have to say in paper's favour, I detest doing rough work on the computer. I'm the type who loves to scribble in the margins and make notes in-between the lines. Still, for all its practicality, I'll choose the comp hands down.

[Margarita Skies]

Both work for me just fine, but I feel like I'm doing twice the work when I write it by hand and then I have to type it.


Shaldna, that reminds me...I tried the digital-pen thing almost two years ago and I just couldn't do it because my digital pen wasn't compatible with my operating system. It was compatible with the operating system that my sister's desktop had, but my sister's desktop wasn't working at the time, so I could never extract what was written in the pen. :( I could try it again in the future. Is it expensive to get refills for the pen? (I hope you know what I mean) Like more ink when you run out of ink?

[Matera the Mad]

Paper -- laborious horror! Permanent despair, endless waste. Unreadable.

Pixel perfection; pick, paste, polish, pleasure.