Writing with pen and paper - is it better than typing?

[havocthecat]

Writing SFF With Paper and Pen Spurs Memory and Creativity by R.J. Huneke

While the article has a SFF focus because it's written for the SFWA blog, it's really also about general handwriting and whether it's better. It links to studies and articles on handwriting vs typing.

Personally, I turn to handwriting fic in a notebook when I'm trying to break out of writers block. It's a change of format, for one, and for another, I do then stop getting tempted to scroll through whatever social media site I've got loaded. Also, I do just like handwriting fiction.

So this is definitely a biased site for handwriting because it's journalsandplanners - but really, we're all on Dreamwidth. What do you think?

Comments

[cindybug]

"I find that I spend more time writing longhand but less time editing, as my attention to the text is keener from the outset, and the transcription process from paper to screen is an opportunity to further expound on the voice in my work."

This rings true for me. I also tend to be less of a perfectionist when I write by hand, which is a massive help when it comes to drafting.

[biteshelter]

I also find the paper-to-screen process to be very helpful. For journaling, I try to summarize a lot of my handwritten journal entries into digital notes. It works both to further process my thoughts and to make my notes easier to find for reference.

Handwriting is when I'm more of a perfectionist, though. I feel more pressure to "get it right" because my thoughts backtrack often. When I type, I can get all my thoughts out before I lose track of them because I know I can come back to insert more.

[cindybug]

That sounds like a useful way to journal! I tend to forget about journal entries after I've written them, so I may give this a try -- it would be nice to have a quick way to look back on old memories and ideas.

I think I used to be better about typing up first drafts, but essay writing kind of ruined me haha... Unless I'm doing something like NaNoWriMo (which necessitates speed) I find myself obsessing over stuff like sentence structure, when I should just be filling space.

[havocthecat]

I find I can't be a perfectionist writing by hand. It's impossible to avoid making mistakes that can't be erased - hard to erase ink, for one. And that makes it okay to keep going when things are "wrong," if that makes sense. Even if they're not wrong, it's just a draft.

[cindybug]

Exactly! Not having that back space is so freeing. :'D I also kind of like to have a record of my mistakes -- I know GDocs has that function too, but idk. For me, it's nice for discarded passages and stuff to be immediately accessible.