Success only flourishes in perseverance -- ceaseless, restless perseverance.
--Baron Manfred Von Richtofen

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

By Hand


You may have seen in my last post that I just finished writing 626 pages long hand. I like to write by hand. I like to take my notebook with me wherever I go, so I can write whenever I can. I like to curl up in my writing chair and get comfy. I can't really get comfy sitting at the computer, and even a laptop just isn't as portable as paper. Besides, I think there's just something special about actually forming the letters with my own hand. There is something about moving my hand across the page and watching the ink flow. Actual ink, not just pixels on a  screen. Yeah, my handwriting is bad and I have to type the whole thing in to the computer at some point, which I really hate, but I don't think I'll give up writing by hand anytime soon. For me, that bit of physical creation to go along with the mental creation is part of the joy of writing.

21 comments:

nephite blood spartan heart said...

I was the same way for avery long time. I have dozens of notebooks with rough drafts in them-and I still takje notebooks with me and am constantly scrawling out ideas, themes and shards of inspiration-but I have moved to actually typing out rough drafts directly onto the computer but only in the last yearish. It took a while to get used to it.

Carolyn V. said...

I think that's awesome! I have use my lappy. I find it really hard to write on paper (because I usually end up writing a list of some kind of things to do). So I guess, for now, I'll have to stick with my lappy. =)

Tere Kirkland said...

I'll definitely scrawl longhand ideas for pages and pages, but because I "tell" more than show when I write longhand, I tend not to feel like I've actually written anything until I go to type. I reform the sentences as I go and change the dialogue to be less awkward, but if I try to sit down in front of the computer without doing this, I just sit and stare at a blank screen.

I need to put pen to paper to get the creativity flowing, but I need to type my ideas to make them fully realized. Good to know so many others would be lost without their notebook, too!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! That is amazing, especially to have hand written it. I don't think there is anything wrong with writing by hand, if that's what makes you feel more creative. That's what writing is all about!

Tana said...

I've done this with certain scenes. It's a good way to edit when your inputting this into the computer. I love me a good spiral notebook. =)

Kathi Oram Peterson said...

I have a close friend who has written many novels, and she does it long hand first. You're in good company.

Shallee said...

That's awesome that you write longhand! I still write a lot of my notes that way, but when I'm writing, my hand can't keep up with my brain unless I'm typing! It sure would be more convenient sometimes to just grab a notebook and go.

And thank you for your donation to Reach for the Stars! I really appreciate it. :)

Aubrie said...

Whenever I write by hand it comes out less formal and more like a stream of consciousness. I think it's because I kept a journal for so long I've conditioned my brain to think differently when I'm writing by hand. But a notebook is more comfy than a computer.... :)

Karen Lange said...

You know, you need to write the way you are comfortable. I say if it works, go with it! :)

Jackee said...

First, congrats again! And secondly, I doubly admire anyone that can long-hand write a novel because they literally have to write it double. I'm such a slow writer anyway and then to copy from paper to screen? Wow!

But you are in good company. Jo Rowling still writes that way and couldn't fathom typing a novel first.

Thanks for this glimpse into your method!

Jan Markley said...

Cool. You're probably recovering from writers cramp right now!

Amber Lynae said...

I enjoy writing by hand as well. For some reason i don't get writers block as much.

Lisa Gail Green said...

I am very attached and grateful for my laptop and the speed with which I've learned to type. But there's still that magic that happens when you feel that special notebook and pen. I've been obsessed with them since my childhood, guess I should've known then, huh?

Anonymous said...

I do understand your desire to write by hand. My handwriting is also bad, but sometimes I still endulge in this process.

Mostly, the keyboard works for me. My fingers can keep up with my thought much better through typing rather than pen.

LisaAnn said...

My writing teacher used to say that writing longhand was the best way. But I just can't give up my keyboard!

Congratulations on the accomplishment.

The Writer said...

I have to be careful when I write things out long hand. A) I have a few too many jounrnals. B) Once I write it, I think, "I wrote it. It's done. Whew! Now where is it?"

But really, writing longhand has to be be more healthy for the soul than punching keys...

Love it!

Angie said...

Thanks for all your thoughts and comments. It's nice to know what works and what doesn't for all of you.

Becky Mushko said...

I used to write longhand until my writing got so bad I could no longer read parts of it. Thank goodness for keyboards! Like some of the above posters, I find that typing is fast enough to keep up with my thoughts.

I imagine ideas to be electric currents that run from my brain, down my arms, into my fingertips, and onto the screen.

Tyrean Martinson said...

I love new ideas! And I know how hard it is to resist the pull of them. I think that is why I write so many short stories, and poems.

Your notebook writing intrigues me. I've been writing on my laptop so long, but I still take a lot of notes, and do a lot of "fun" stuff in my notebook that I don't do anywhere else.

Nishant said...

I think that's awesome! I have use my lappy.
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