By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
One thing I’ve found with my writing is that my process tends to change or adapt through the years. It’s important to find what works, what helps us be more productive, and stick with that. Clearly, different approaches will work for different writers.
A big change, that I recently thought about when reading writer Victoria Grefer’s post, The Pros and Cons of Writing Fiction on Paper First, has been switching over from writing longhand to writing on a laptop.
When I first started writing, I’d write everything in a notebook and then later transcribe it into a computer. I tended to feel a lot more creative when I wrote in a notebook—and writing with a toddler around…a toddler who loved punching on computer keyboards…meant that it was easier to write around her.
Then I started getting contracts from publishers. I found that my old method wasn’t working as well for me. I felt as if I were doing twice the work by having to transcribe my longhand onto the computer.
Some things I enjoy about writing longhand:
It’s a lot more portable. It’s easier to cart the notebook around. I don’t feel quite as conspicuous in public when I’m writing in a notebook as opposed to a laptop.
Sometimes it’s the best way to get unstuck or make major progress on a book that I’ve been writing too slowly. Not sure if this is because I’m writing longhand, or because I’m frequently in a different location when I’m writing longhand.
Some book elements seem to come easier to me when writing longhand. I seem to write setting and description better that way.
You don’t get nearly as distracted by social media when you’re writing in a notebook.
I do light editing when I transcribe my longhand into my Word document. I’m not sure if this qualifies as a pro or a con, since editing is something I don’t ordinarily do until after I’m done with a first draft. Although the light editing I’m doing is fairly automatic and I don’t believe I’m overthinking it.
Sometimes I brainstorm better on paper than I do on the computer.
A few words of caution:
Unless you’re a really fast typist or not on any sort of a deadline, I try to cap my longhand writing to maybe six pages. Otherwise, I’ll have to not only spend time transcribing my work the next day, but I’ll also have to hit my word count for that day.
Don’t put off transcribing. Don’t wait until you have a full notebook and then transcribe it. And make sure you put your notebook in a special location. I’ve lost notebooks before and it’s terrifying.
Make sure you can read your own handwriting. :( This tends to be a problem of mine. Apparently, I should have had a career in medicine instead…
As I mentioned above, I try not to get sucked into editing until my first draft is over. If this is something that’s also a problem of yours (getting diverted by editing), then you might want to keep in mind when you’re transcribing your work that you’ll fix it later.
Do you ever write in longhand? How does that approach work for you?
Image: MorgueFile: Jessica Gale
Until I participated in my first NaNo, I wrote longhand. Never lost one, but since I have crappy handwriting, it was difficult to decipher. Now it’s straight into the computer. Only down side is I’m a really slow typist.
Alex–I know you’re not a great typist, but I think you’re so smart to keep plugging away at it. I’m with you on the crappy handwriting. When I have to inscribe books, my handwriting is an embarrassment.
Elizabeth – You have a really well-taken point about having fewer distractions when you write in longhand. And it can help the creative juices flow. But for, I have to admit, it just doesn’t work. For one thing, I type faster than I write in longhand, so when I ‘m writing, that process goes more quickly if I go straight to keyboard. For another, my handwriting is so illegible that it’s more work to try to decipher it than it’s worth. I really only use longhand for notes I make to myself if I get inspired while I’m away from a keyboard.
Margot–Very good point! I type faster than I write longhand, too.
And…wow. Two other writers with bad handwriting. Hmm. Wonder if it’s a weird right-brain thing?
Hi Elizabeth. I write both longhand and on the computer. If I’m having trouble getting started for the day, I find setting a timer and writing longhand for ten or fifteen minutes gets me going. I’m also more comfortable writing longhand after a day at work. I don’t want to spend more time on the computer! And like you, writing longhand helps me brainstorm ideas and resolve problems better than typing my thoughts on the laptop.
Thank you for the reminder not to wait to transcribe the pages. Typing is a bear!
Jeanne–Isn’t it funny how writing longhand can sometimes work better? I wonder if it taps into a different part of our brains?
Yes….no fun to play catch-up with transcribing. I’m a speedy typist, but it just feels like too much extra work.
Jeanne, I think you just gave me the answer to a major problem. I also work on the computer all day and when I’m done, I want off! My eyes want off . . . but that really cuts into my noveling time. Switching to a notebook might just be the perfect alternative. Can’t wait to try it!
Hope it works for you, Leslie!
This is a good post and good advice. I love to write in longhand and have stacks of journals filled with short stories that will eventually be transcribed, I need to obey your point about immediate transcription.
Since I have been working on a novel I find that my longhand writing eats into my limited time writing time and has receded into the background. I miss it though, there is something magical and creative about forming the words with your own hand.
Thanks for the post and this blog. I have gotten some wonderful tips.
John–You’re so right…it makes for a completely different writing experience. Maybe it’s that computers can seem so clinical. But they sure do help us to finish work quickly. Hope you’ll transcribe your short stories–just a little bit at a time will make it easier. Set the goal low.
Typing thoughts directly via keyboards is something I’ve been doing for–oh my lord–47 years now, ever since my mother taught me how to touch type on a Smith-Corona Selectric. But I also wrote in notebooks. The typed pages were my “official” ones, things that were for public consumption, like stories, letters, and term papers. The handwritten pages were my private thoughts, teenage poetry, angst-ridden journals, etc.
This bifurcated system has stuck with me, more or less. I write and re-write on a laptop, but I have a steno pad next to it where I write down notes to myself, such as to go back to a previous chapter and tweak something to line up with the chapter I’m working on at the moment. When a lot of notes start piling up, I enter them into a folder in the novel project (I use Scrivener), and reread them whenever I’m ready to rewrite or edit.
There’s a Moleskine knockoff notebook in my purse, ready at all times for writing down random thoughts at the grocery store, etc. Once in a rare while this results in several pages, which get transcribed as soon as I can get back to the computer. After all, it’s not “official” until it goes through the keyboard!
Meg–Sounds like you’ve got a terrific method! I like the steno pad for the editing notes.
I started out on a typewriter, too. Mine had enough memory for a line of text–very modern at the time…a Brother typewriter. But I preferred to write in notebooks, even back then. I never transcribed the material from those days and I think I’ve lost the papers. It’s okay, though–it would have been pretty bad writing, I’m sure.
I might have a Moleskin knockoff, too. :)
I find that switching to longhand from the keyboard helps when I am stuck on a project or when I need a jumpstart into a new one. The first writing I ever did was in longhand, so I think returning to it taps into those old memories of writing stories by hand. I have a small notebook in every purse and knitting bag I own, so that I can always write a few words if I have some spare minutes. I don’t like having long passages to transcribe either, so I don’t wait long before I type up my notes. Actually, my handwriting’s not too bad–probably from too many years of writing notes on student papers that I hope they can/will read. :)
Heather–I don’t think I’ve ever run into a teacher with bad handwriting…I think careful, precise handwriting comes with practice and the job. I know my dad, who doesn’t think his handwriting is great, does actually have good handwriting. Years of teaching English.
I love using notebooks when I get stuck. Maybe you’re right and it’s because it taps into a more creative place and time.
Hi Elizabeth – here’s a third writer with terrible handwriting. I write directly on the computer but I am intrigued by this post because I do think there is something about pen and paper that induces a different kind of creativity. If I were going to try to write a poem, I would automatically go to pen and paper, not the computer. Hmmmm.
Karen–Join the Bad Handwriting club…ha! And…oh, good point. I can’t imagine writing poetry on a computer.
You know this is a favorite topic of mine!
I love the flow of ink on paper from longhand and like you find the portable aspect delightful.
I do write the shorts and the novels down longhand first. Hemingway did the same as we do: edit a bit as he types the draft.
I cannot resist a little more than line edits if I transcribe a partial and so I have to wait until I am finished to transcribe. Yes, this means I let novel drafts cool on ice in longhand form.
The danger is of an unanticipated loss: a fire, theft, tornado. Of course, I do have the vaulted lair as an occupational necessity so there is that peace of mind. Had to argue with the IRS about the halon system as a business necessity, though. What else should a mad scientist use? Water in standpipes? Ha!
The whole legible business is a learned practice. Required, actually. “A gallon of milk and a fresh brain” is so easy to confuse by lab assistants if scribbled poorly. You don’t want to know how THAT turns out.
The IRS can be very unsympathetic! Especially toward mad scientists. :)
I guess we could always scan in our longhand, just to be on the safe side (although that does seem like some work). I have “CamScanner” on my phone and it saves everything to PDF for me. Then I email it to myself. But I haven’t used it for my notebooks. Hmm.
I think I may have a New Year’s resolution in March. Better handwriting! At least I don’t have lab assistants. :)
Handwriting = almost illegible.
I write non-fiction by dictating it to Best Beloved. I writ my mysteries on a computer.
But I do a lot of songwriting on bits and pieces of scratch paper.
Also, every website design begins on paper, with colored grease pencils.
My father the computer engineer printed his letters like he was a typewriter: neat, identical, precise.
His handwriting was worse than mine.
Dictation! Another form that comes from a separate part of the brain (seems to, anyway). I’ve used Dragon Dictation when my carpal tunnel has acted up and it can be handy.
Can you read those songs once you write them?
So engineers, doctors, and writers all becoming somewhat notorious for bad handwriting…
Since my early days as a newspaper journalist, I’ve written everything in longhand. There’s just something about paper and pen that helps me create. I don’t seem to do as well if I compose on the laptop. Even now, I write my reviews and most of my post in longhand. It’s a habit (trait) hard to change.
Mason–Thanks for dropping by! I bet that would be tough to change after years writing longhand. I think I stopped with longhand at a pivotal moment for me…if I hadn’t stopped then, not sure I could ever have.
I used to write longhand, but gave it up for speed. My theory about my own scary handwriting is that I’m trying to get the words on the paper too quickly. It’s as if I’m competing with the speed on the keyboard. I, too, carry a notebook and keep one next to my laptop.
I’ll stick to the laptop.
Christine–Good point! I think you’re right. I can keep up with my thoughts on the computer…but my hand can’t keep up on paper.
I used to do longhand and then transcribe it to the computer. But now I mostly wok on the computer. The only time I use paper is when I need a hands on medium to help me work through the character plot, or when I need to jot down an idea or skit. I find computers more effective for the first, second, and third drafts. Ideas on paper, work on computer. This combination works pretty well for me.
Young–I’m with you regarding ideas on paper. They do seem to flow easier there.
I usually carry a small notebook when I travel around, to write down whatever comes to my mind. Except from that, I write longhand only when doing mathematics. Then it’s important to have a clear handwriting, since u, n and h may represent different quantities, and I know these letters tend to be almost equal in my handwriting. Same with y and g. Everything else, I write on my laptop >:)
CA–Oh, I can only imagine! For me, math would be tortuous enough…messing up because of bad handwriting and having to do it over again? Ugh.
What a great debate this has generated! I use both longhand and straight to laptop, although the laptop tends to be for things like book reviews or blog posts, while longhand first seems to work better for poems, novel or story ideas, or diary. I somehow feel much freer when I scribble things down on paper than when I type them on a screen – the latter feels too much like work.
Thanks for coming by, Marina! Yes, the computer screen does bring a work-like element to it, doesn’t it? I can totally see writing poems and short fiction on paper. In fact, now that I think of it, the only short story I’ve ever written was created on paper…
It makes me feel so at home to learn that I’m not the only one who can’t always read her/his handwriting… Like Elizabeth and so many of you, I love the feel and portability of longhand. But speed versus legibility, well, doesn’t work so well for me. Of course I’m also a terrible typist. :)
Marialena–Honestly, it’s something I’ve been embarrassed about for a while! I even type notes to my children’s teachers. I had to hand-write a sympathy note recently, and it was painstaking trying to make each letter legible!
There are some great typing lessons online (not there are ever enough hours in the day to do this!) My husband took one years ago and really increased his speed and accuracy.
Elizabeth–it would be interesting (well, interesting to me) to examine this topic in terms of left-handed versus right-handed writers. Whether that’s the reason I don’t know, but my handwriting has been, all my life, grotesque. Readable only to people with special training in cryptology, or to the mentally unstable. I don’t think either of these descriptors applies to me, so I am all too often unable to read what I’ve written in longhand. I have to call on my wife. Over many years and as a simple matter of survival, she has mastered whatever it is that comes out of my pen. My parents, God bless them, saw this early on and bought me a typewriter, when I was about ten. As I say, God bless them.
Barry–Ha! Yes, grotesque! The perfect word for bad handwriting. I’m right handed, although it looks as if I write with my left hand. :) I send packages and worry that the recipients will think I’ve sent some sort of bomb or something…really scary stuff. I just need to type addresses and print them…used to do that and don’t know why I stopped.
Good for your parents and wife! And…come to think of it, I got a typewriter from my parents pretty early on, too. Hmm.
Elizabeth: Not only is my typing far superior to my handwriting, it’s far faster and I seem to be more creative (productive) when I’m hitting the keys. When I have no access to the laptop, though, I’ll scribble out short stories or character sketches on a nice yellow legal pad. :-)
Cortland Writer–Now that’s interesting! But I guess…if we think of all those great writers working at a keyboard (a typewriter keyboard…but still, a keyboard), then it could feel more creative than paper. Iconic Hemingway is the man and the typewriter.
I write all of my first drafts in longhand and I wait until I’m completely finished with the first draft to type it. My ideas flow better with a pen and paper vs. typing. And the distractions of the computer are so bad for my productivity. I also write descriptions better by longhand, like you mention. I’m not in my own head as much when I’m hand-writing. The story just flows. When I see it on a computer, I can’t turn off the inner editor. I see every mistake, every awkward phrase, and I don’t make any progress. Luckily, I don’t have a hard time reading my own handwriting, though my family does :) Good thing they don’t have to transcribe for me.
For NaNo this year, my goal was to both write 50K and transcribe it. I actually ended up doing 59k and transcribing it all within the 30 days. It was a great experience. I was so in the story.
That is amazing! I wonder how many NaNo writers write in longhand? I’d imagine not too many–that’s quite an accomplishment.
I think the top thing about longhand is there is no social media attached to it. :) If I’m right on a deadline, I’ll sometimes go to a diner with a notebook.
I tend to make notes and figure things out in notebooks and also find that answers come to me a lot quicker this way. I don’t write longhand sentences as in actually drafting paragraphs, but I do work quite well in a note book and a lot faster. And as you say, I feel less conspicuous with one!
Rebecca–Isn’t it interesting how we can actually think better sometimes with a notebook?
Yes, much less conspicuous. I don’t mind a laptop in a coffeehouse because so many others have one for their jobs. But in a diner or a park or when keeping an eye on the children at the skating rink…yes, I’ve seen people stare at me before with the laptop. Not that I really care…but it’s distracting.
I used to write everything by hand for the same reasons you did, and I quit for the same reasons. (Not that I had deadlines, but I realized that it cut my productivity in half.)
Now, I do it once in a while, usually the computer is shut down and I have one more idea that I’ve got to get down fast — a bit of dialog, a turn of phrase, a clue. But for the most part, my notebook is filled with sketches now. (Or actual ideas — no prose — something I don’t have to retype, but can just glance at and recycle.)
Camille–That’s me, too–the mad grab for paper in the car/store/wherever when the idea hits.
And…wish I could draw! I think I’d trade in my ability to write to be able to draw…
I had a stroke seven years ago, and have been typing everything since because the hand I wrote with (my right) was affected. Recently I’ve been frustrated not being able to write with pencil and paper, so I’m training myself to write left-handed. Writing definitely goes more quickly on the computer (even if you type with one hand), but for brainstorming, nothing beats pencil and paper.
John–I can’t even imagine what a challenge that must have been! I’ve often thought about having an injury that could affect my ability to write. Have you had any luck with dictation software? I’ve used Dragon before when my carpal tunnel has flared up. Writing left-handed…that’s amazing…kudos to you for your dedication to your craft.
Hi Elizabeth
I fear had I taken a career in medicine my prescriptions would have killed off many a patient :)
As a teacher, I am regularly abused by my students when I try to write stuff on the board. I can’t imagine anything more frustrating than writing longhand. I can type just fast enough to keep up with my thoughts, but using a pencil would feel unbearable!
It does intrigue me though how different people find different methods work better or worse for them. Our minds are strange and wonderful things :)
cheers
Mike
Michael–Now you’re messing up my statement that all teachers have good handwriting (by necessity)! At least now, with Smart Boards and all, you probably don’t have to print on the board too often. :)
It really is amazing the number of processes out there and how some click with some writers…and don’t. I think that’s why I keep trying out new processes and approaches–just to see if I can increase productivity somehow. But yeah–sometimes it just bombs for one reason or another.
I love to write longhand too, but I’ve gotten into the habit of writing/editing on my netbook and now I’m so used to it, that it’s hard do otherwise. I do do so during vacations though. It’s nice to get away for just a little while from things.
My daughter writes longhand first, and now I’m going to tell her to keep going!
Roland–Sounds like she’s got a great method that works for her!
Yay! I’m not the only one with bad handwriting! I used to write stories in notebooks back in high school then I switched to a manual typewriter my junior & senior year and all through college, a desktop PC. And when I was working at my old job, I would write my stories on a laptop and now, I use my iPad to type my stories with the Pages app and when I write Poetry, I write longhand on my iPad with a stylus and the Bamboo paper app and I also keep a journal using the Bamboo paper app since I carry my iPad everyday to work and if I come across an idea and I don’t have my iPad with me, I use my phone’s note app which works fine because when I get to a wifi zone or at home, my notes syncs across my devices so it’s just a matter of copy and paste and so far, I have not lost any data yet. I have lost a couple of notebooks which is sad. So hopefully with cloud storage and nightly backups, no data loss for me and the rest of the writing community.
I find that I use different methods for different books and for different parts of a book. I don’t think it’s so much about finding the one method that works and sticking with that, as it is about discovering what will get the job done today. If I’m ever really stuck, I haul out the notebook and write longhand and the speed or rhythm of that seems to soothe my brain into creative mode and get me going again.