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

[yhlee]

Yeah, I bet! I kept lamenting to my husband that I have suck hand-eye because I kept failing at video games, especially handheld controllers (I didn't grow up with them, and I didn't play many games after turn-based strategy went out of fashion). Husband looked at me and said, "Yoon, I have seen you fence and play tennis, and play piano, viola, and classical guitar. Your issue isn't hand-eye, it's unfamiliar controls."

I switch back and forth between handwriting, typing (various devices: laptop, different keyboards including very weird ergonomic ones like the Kinesis Advantage360 Pro, manual typewriter, Freewrite, Alphasmart, etc.), and even apps on my computers because I crave variety - and as you say, the thinking process does shift between media!

[olivermoss]

Unfamiliar controls and hand dexterity is definitely a thing. Some GW2 players are actually working on hand dexterity right now due to the recent hard content that was put into the game. But also with video games, controlling an avatar of yourself in a 3-d is something that can take a year to learn. People who grew up doing it don't realize it's a skill and a hard one.