1-2-3 Writing Blog: Let’s Talk About Writing In Longhand
Photo courtesy of Gift Habeshaw @gift_habeshaw
Each blog contains 1 idea, 2 quotes, and 3 questions to ponder.
1 WRITING IDEA
Consider writing your first draft in longhand instead of at the computer.
Yeah, that means actually writing-writing. I can hear you screaming now: “What?! Are you nuts? I type faster than I write!”
That’s true for me, too. But I argue, ahem, there’s something downright magical about putting pen to paper.
There, I said it.
To me, staring at a screen seems sterile. Computer keys, blinking cursor, word processor. All that’s missing is a doctor’s exam glove. But writing on paper unleashes the creative muse, that invisible fairy creature who sprinkles pixie dust on your frontal lobe and makes your literary loins do a breakdance. Or something like that.
Writing in longhand also limits those dang distractions. With paper, there aren’t notification bleeps for social media and email. You’re not staring at a clock in the corner of the screen. You’re not tempted to visit YouTube and watch adorable dogs on escalators. (alright… go ahead, I know you want to look)
And yes, while certain programs allow a distraction-free view, I don’t trust myself. No, sir. It’s too easy to move my cursor and chase a rogue thought down the internet bunny trail, like, “Hmmm… what years did Tim Conway appear on the Carol Burnett Show?” Yeah, I actually did that.
Writing on paper also encourages deeper thinking. That extra second or two to scribble a word clears needed room in your brain receptors, and sometimes those little neuron spaces can explode a spark of clarity about your character or theme. Compare that with fancy-pants typing. On a keyboard, you’ll go faster, yes, but beware the temptation of pesky mechanics — you know, the font, the formatting, the spellcheck, those squigglies under bad grammar.
But let’s not forget that paper also allows for fantastical doodling. The free flow of your pen/pencil in the margins, or coloring outside the lines, letting your imagination run wild, crossing things out, and adding notes in the margin. It’s all about staying playful in your writing. Longhand isn’t efficient, and that’s the beauty of it. When you’re stuck, you can draw pictures of a horse with a man’s head, or an alien spaceship, or practice your signature for when you become a celebrity.
So here’s your big money sentence: the computer screen feels like an examination table whereas a sheet of paper is a sandbox.
Alas, it comes down to personal preference. But if you haven’t held a writing device between your fingers since third grade, give it a try again. It may surprise you.
Now excuse me, I’m off to sharpen my #2 pencil.
2 WRITING QUOTES
“While you can easily see your word count and page count while typing in a word processing program, there is something magical in seeing the physical accumulation of pages as you create them. Writing longhand in a notebook allows you to see yourself creating page after page of your work. I have found that seeing a stack of handwritten pages serves as motivation, as it shows me what I have already done and that I have the ability to do even more.”
“I write my novels longhand. I love the feeling of writing; I love to see pen on paper. It feels more creative than typing, and it’s a more visual process for me – I can picture the entire scene in my head and am merely writing what I see.”
3 Writing Questions
What benefits have you found in writing a story in longhand?
Do you have a favorite type of pen/pencil/paper?
Until recent history, books were written by hand. Do you feel it’s a logical argument that the best books in history were written apart from computers?
What if a trip to the Amazon resulted in an amazing discovery?
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About Me
Hey, I’m Brian. Born a Tar Heel but now a Virginian, I’m a father of five and the husband of one amazing lady. My family has a thing for Golden Retrievers. Given the right circumstances, I can do a smooth moonwalk on a slick kitchen floor. I’ve also written a book called The Jungle Within.