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Going back to where I was comfortable: handwriting

nastyjman

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Halfway through my work in progress, I switched from computer to pen & paper. (Here's the moment of the switch.)


It's not that I get distracted with internet and social media; it's that I get distracted so easily on the sentence level that I can't help but revise and delete and fix and agonize at them to get it right.


So, I'm tricking my brain into writing by hand. I'm following Terry Pratchett's process where he writes one day and then edits the next day. For me, I will write by hand, and the next day I will type it up on the computer as a form of revision and edit.


It's working great so far. 25 minutes in, and I've written about 400 words. The "type up" took another 15 minutes for those 400 words, which I whittled down to 350. This is ways better than sitting in agony as my brain wants to correct everything on the word processor.


So, lesson learned? Experiment. Try new things to get words on paper. Read up on your favorite authors or any authors, and find out if you can steal or innovate on their process. Eventually you'll find how your writing brain works.
Here's my current writing station
 

maggiee19

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I have been writing my manuscripts by hand and then typing them into Word, when I'm done, been doing that since 2016. I find it more comfortable and my ideas flow more easily. It's easier also to transfer everything to Word because I now use the Dictate feature and do my work a lot faster than before. Handwriting is the best.
 

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There are a lot of writers who have always drafted in long hand; and now, many are returning because they find the process less distracting, especially in terms of the "internal editor."

You might also consider trying pencil; either a mechanical pencil with a good eraser, or a better-quality wood-case pencil. I say "better quality," because you want the physical part of writing to be almost effortless, so you don't want to deal with constantly breaking lead.

Pencil can be very easy to use, and relaxing. Might not work for everyone, but it's worth trying. And of course it's very portable.
 

Old Hack

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I much prefer writing by hand when I'm writing fiction. The quality of the work I produce is so much better.
 

lgallo

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I tend to write by hand, as well, because I run into the same issue. I don't get distracted by internet rabbit holes (that's what my phone is for when I wake up in the middle of the night), but everything takes me twice as long when I'm staring at a blank doc on the screen versus a blank page in a notebook.
Also, I have a pen obsession and it helps me clear up the pen holder on my desk (so I can buy new ones).
 

Peggles

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Lately I've been writing on my computer because I've got a tight deadline coming up, but usually I like writing with pens for exactly the reasons already mentioned in this thread. And you know what? I'm dying to get back to my pens! I find it less distracting, I can't edit it there on the page, and it makes my brain work more slowly, which I think is a good thing. Plus, it's kind of like cheating on the editing front. I usually write one day, then type it in the next morning before work so I'm processing it all day and am ready to write when I come back to write in the afternoons. As I type, though, I make minor alterations, so I'm finding between being slower and that, my prose is already much cleaner than it is when I'm typing as fast as I can.

I've actually really gotten into fountain pens lately as a result. I find that they make me want to write when I'm blocked up and the computer isn't helping because they feel so nice to write with. Plus cleaning them and refilling them is like a ritual that tells my brain it's time to focus.
 

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I've also found that writing by hand is a good way to get things moving sometimes. I don't use it that often though because I end up crossing out a lot. Computers are a lot neater with that.
 

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I went through a phase where I only wrote on pen and paper. It did alter my writing style slightly, things are slower, and I was more conscious about each sentence.

The speed of the keyboard, and the backspace feature should be a luxury, but it sounds like you're not having a great time with it. I think its one of those perfectionist things, and over editing is the issue. It's a trap I've fallen into myself, spending a lot more time than I should to get a sentence, or paragraph sounding right. Then when I'm done with the work I'll look back and think those parts really didn't add much to the story, or even worse they get scrapped.

I would say if you can identify when a section is giving you fits, throw something together that's good enough, and continue to work to the end. And after that go back and see if it's something that's worth tinkering with, or maybe the solution is obvious after spending time away from it.
 
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PostHuman

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Been hoping to try this with a stylus phone, but so far haven't found the right one.
 

Auteur

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Often, when I write by hand, I'll think one word but write a different word. WTF is with that? Old age? :rant:
 

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I was talking to my wife several nights ago of why I love hand writing. It's all unique even if it's the same person writing it. I mix printing and cursive all together and my had writing varies and I love that variation. While on the word processor everyone types in the same font. It looks so manufactured.
 

Lex_Shoulta

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I really enjoy writing by hand and I find that the ideas flow easier for me there. Something about physically being able to turn the page and see how much I written rather than scrolling on a screen is more satisfying/motivating. The only problem is converting it over to digital. I write less detailed by hand but get a better bigger picture, when I type I am much better at not underwriting but get too stuck. I can't use voice to text because I lose that important synthesis stage, but converting is getting pretty frustrating.
 

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A Neil Gaiman interview recently converted me into a handwritten drafter. As a result, I have begun to hoard notebooks (the cuter the better) and I dream of visiting the Fountain Pen Hospital in NYC.
I use pen instead of pencil, though. There's nothing like a buttery smooth gel pen.
 

Albedo

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I haven’t written anything of length by hand in maybe a decade. My hand just about cramps up at the thought of trying to compose fiction that way. It may work for some people, but it’s my idea of Hell.
 

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I use a device to write, but I’ve been copying out a novel in longhand. I find I go much faster if I write consistently and I also have a certain amount of freedom, since it’s not anything I have to read later. My handwriting is illegible, so I can scribble without worrying how it looks.
 

Paul Lamb

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John Updike was famous for doing all of his first drafts by hand, and he published so very much, that he must have had terrible writer's cramp.

I have kept a handwritten journal (pencil on paper) for forty years. I have a stack of notebooks two feet tall of them. (I'll never be able to find anything in them.) Writing by hand has its pleasures, but when I'm drafting a story, it's always on my laptop.
 

Taylor Harbin

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There are times when I thoroughly enjoy writing by hand, especially with my Parker fountain pen. Sometimes I want to be as quiet as possible to better enjoy my morning music, or maybe the morning ambience. However, I haven't finished a story by hand in a long time. If the writing is going very well and I get excited I fatigue easily and switch to a typewriter. It's certainly a tried and true method! Robert Caro has hand-written his multi-volume biography of LBJ, and Brian Jacques wrote all of his Redwall books with pencil.
 

Layla Nahar

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... he must have had terrible writer's cramp.

Cramping is not guaranteed. A person who writes with correct posture and stays relaxed can go on writing for a long time.


I write my first draft by hand, study it, see what needs to be improved, then I put it away and write a new version on the computer. I usually don't look too much at my first version while I'm writing my second.
 

Bufty

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Cramping is not guaranteed. A person who writes with correct posture and stays relaxed can go on writing for a long time.


I write my first draft by hand, study it, see what needs to be improved, then I put it away and write a new version on the computer. I usually don't look too much at my first version while I'm writing my second.

Agreed re posture etc..

Cramp usually arrives because the pen or pencil is held in an odd fashion. A correctly held pen or pencil enables one to write effortlessly for as long as necessary. In the days before computers, most clerical workers were able to write legibly and quickly with ease. I used a dip-in pen for years and, as a banker, my father used one (or a fountain pen) his whole life.

I see kids nowadays both holding biro pens/pencils/crayons and writing, with fingers, hands, and head all in what appear to me to be extremely awkward and forced positions.
 
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CJEvermore

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I find it so much easier to write a first draft on paper! As others have mentioned above, you get the opportunity to edit as you type up the draft onto paper. Then there's the whole thing of not being able to nip back and continuously correct stuff. You're just getting it out there, getting it on the paper, ready to be edited at a later date.

It's probably the purest way of writing, maybe just because of that?
 

Klope3

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I used to write by hand, but I prefer typing as a faster input method. Typing a word is a second or so faster than writing it by hand, and when you're writing tens of thousands of words, those extra seconds really start to add up.

Of course, if writer's block is far stronger for you on a device than when writing by hand, the speed issue balances out, and maybe even overbalances in favor of handwriting. But I prefer to address writer's block with a paradigm shift ("Give yourself permission to write junk") than with a technique shift. Plus, I really believe that using Scrivener has become an essential part of my writing process. Its organizational tools help me keep all my worldbuilding in order, and I love the "well-equipped" feeling I get from having all my material readily accessible in a single program built solely for writing.
 

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Wow, that sounds cool and actually makes a lot of sense. I never thought of that before - writing on computer is easier for editing vs writing by hand is easier to reach word-count. Thanks for sharing a great tip!
 

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I generally draft the Ur-draft in pencil, move to fountain pen, and then at some point move to computer.

Even technical writing begins in pencil.

I have serious carpal tunnel; pencil and fountain pen require breaks to sharpen or fill.

And yes, I could do Steinbeck and sharpen a dozen pencils or rotate among pens, but I am really trying to avoid more hand problems. Taking breaks is good for my brain and my hands.