(no subject)

[skygiants]

The plus side of drowning in final papers: because I can't work on my Yuletide, it makes me really want to work on my Yuletide! So much so that I . . . have been writing bits and pieces surreptitiously in my class notebooks when things get dull, um.

Here is the thing, though: it's been ages since I've hand-written anything besides notes, especially anything fictional. I actually can't remember the last time I've hand-written anything properly that wasn't an in-class final (and that was four years ago.) And it's weird! My brain seems to work differently when I don't have the option to go back and instantly delete, cut and paste, and rephrase stuff as I'm in the process of writing it, and by 'differently' I mean 'not as well'. Also there's the factor that when I'm hand-writing, my hands just don't go as fast as my brain can go, and so I keep having to hop back and remind myself what I was thinking. It's SUPER FRUSTRATING. It's impossible for me to imagine having to do all my writing by hand, having to go that slowly all the time, and not having the opportunity to go back and instantly self-edit and be constantly making it better. But of course up until recently that's what everyone did.

I don't know, someone must have written up the theory about how typing does different things to your brain than hand-writing does. And I know some of you prefer to hand-write! I would love to hear if you guys have thoughts about this.

I have a poll over on LJ about it, so go over there to vote!

Comments

[katta]

I have very, very occasionally been known to handwrite, such as when I'm travelling and don't have access to a computer. But I've hated handwriting all my life, and started using a typewriter at the age of ten (while being really grumpy at my teachers for not letting me type my homework). It was, at that point, an entirely manual typewriter with keys that tended to get tangled, but it was still a vast relief - I've always had lousy handwriting, and like you say, the words would never make it onto paper fast enough.

I'm thoroughly in favour of schools letting kids write on computers before they can even read properly, as one of the classes at work do. Lack of hand coordination shouldn't be allowed to hamper creativity. (Obviously they should still learn to write by hand as well!)

[skygiants]

Oh, I love typewriters! There's something about the clacking of the keys that's extremely satisfying. (Anyone who has heard me type in real life is probably not surprised to hear me say this; I type very hard because I somehow associate the sound of keys clacking with productivity.) I've never used them for fiction, but even though they're not as easily editable, I suspect they would be much easier for me to get my thoughts flowing than hand-writing is.

[katta]

Editing with typewriters is actually harder than with longhand (provided you do the longhand in pencil) - even when I took over my dad's electrical typewriter a couple of years later I could only erase the things written on the same line. Everything else required Tipp-Ex. So I ended up just plain throwing things away. (Once I threw away a fifty-page beginning, and I'm still not convinced it was a bad thing to do, even though I'll probably never write the story again. The version in my head was so much better.)

I don't tend to throw things away now, that's an upside with computers - if I leave it lying around it takes up very little space and I don't have to see it if I don't want to. :-)

[skygiants]

Not throwing things away is definitely a plus -- you will have so much entertainment looking at it years later!

On the other hand, if the hard drive fails and there's no backup, then, poof, it's gone. :( Or if the file format becomes obsolete! That is the worst, when you have a hidden (hilarious) treasure of an old piece and you can't open it . . .

[katta]

So far, the computer guys have always been able to save my files whenever my computer broke (even when I had to replace pretty much everything in 2007).

The file format could be a problem - it happened once, but I transferred things. Most of my stories are in odt, which is of course a pretty rare format.

But truth be told, I'm not that attached to the written form of my unfinished stories anyway.

[holyschist]

I have a strong preference for typing, and I definite write differently (and I generally think worse) when I hand-write, BUT a) I have taken to outlining longhand recently and found it works pretty well, b) if I am separated from my computer and I get storywormed, I will write longhand if at all possible, although it is rougher than my usual first drafts, and c) if I am completely stuck on something, sometimes switching to longhand will get me unstuck because it turns off my mental editor somewhat.

I personally find writing longhand to be fairly similar to using a typewriter--less mental editing because corrections are a PITA.

(I have no objection to the process of handwriting itself, and I also do calligraphy--the major appeal of a computer for me is painless editing. I always took notes longhand in school, because typed notes don't stick in my head as well.)

[skygiants]

I've never tried switching to longhand to get unstuck, but enough people are saying it works for them that maybe I should! Outlining is frustrating by hand for me, though, because I like to be able to move stuff around and then I get annoyed that I can't. (PAINLESS EDITING IS THE BEST.)

[holyschist]

Well, for me it tends to be very rough first crack outlining, more like brainstorming--that I do at times when I don't have a computer handy. Then I type it up and start rearranging and flesh it out. (Possibly I have a weird outlining method.)

[skygiants]

If it works for you it isn't weird! It has been super interesting seeing what everyone says about their different writing methods in answer to this thread, because everyone does it so differently.