Lynn Viehl (aka Paperback Writer) had a really interesting post last week where she talked about how she was influenced by learning to write books on a typewriter.
She writes:
“It’s not easy to backspace and rewrite on a typewriter; with the two I owned I had to use White-Out or correction tape, or rip out the page and start over. I also couldn’t review and edit anything I wrote before I printed it out — naturally using a typewriter = printing it out instantly. Add to that the fact that back then typing paper was expensive, and my mom had a fit if I wasted even a single page of it.
I never thought about it before, but I guess subconsciously I did teach myself to wait until I was clear in my head about what I wanted to put down on the paper because of the limitations of my equipment. When I typed, I wrote straight through the page while trying to make as few errors or mistakes as possible.”
This got me to thinking. Do you think how you write affects what you write?
As in, if you’re using pen and paper, typewriter, or a computer, how much (and how) does that impact your writing style?
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Anonymous says
It’s a lot easier to write these days.
It’s still hard to write well.
Bane of Anubis says
Without computers, there’d definitely be far fewer “writers” (maybe 10 – 20%) – I’m w/ Cinda – w/o a computer I wouldn’t be able to do this… I’m definitely a child of the ADD culture and can’t suffer the sluggish nature of old-school editing.
Also, I’ve never noticed any difference between typed writing and handwritten writing (other than legibility).
heather jeanne says
I used to hand write my stories and then type them out, and often, when I did that, I found that none of the paragraphs were quite as full as I thought they were. I think that the amount of physical space my writing took up on paper, as opposed to on my computer screen, made me feel as though I’d written more (more details, more description, more dialogue) than I really had.
On the other hand, my drafts tend to be a bit more crowded and messy now, since it is easier to change things on the computer.
Matilda McCloud says
I wrote my short stories in college by hand and then sometimes re-typed them. Back in the “old days” when there weren’t any computers, you often had to bribe a friend to type your papers because typing was hard and I never really mastered it.
I didn’t write again after college until the computer age…and now I’m incapable of writing longhand, even though friends keep insisting on giving me blank journals as presents, which more or less remain blank.
I do, however, use only a red pencil and paper (proofs) at work. I highly recommend to those “born after the Vietnam War” as Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist puts it, to print out chunks of your ms and to go over it with a red pencil. It’s so much easier to edit on paper and to see ways to improve your ms(and I’m not just talking about typos) than it is when looking at it on the computer screen.
Jason Crawford says
If a writer has a clear sense of his/her voice, I can’t see how the instrument would affect style. Because really, the writing takes place in your head and the instrument is the means by which we share it/remember it.
But I think someone else said that word processors sure help to make the editing process easier.
I would imagine the biggest impact would be with regard to time. I type so much faster than I write. Come to think of it, technology helps with time during every phase of the publishing process.
Jason Crawford says
On a related note, I recall the other day trying to explain to my five year old daughter what a typewriter was. The look on her face was classic. She just didn’t get it. It was like I was trying to explain how to use chisel and stone.
D. G. Hudson says
I compose mostly on my laptop, but when I’m having trouble with a character or a scene, I tend to write with a pen in my Moleskine notebook. I get away from the writing place, and try to ‘get in’ the scene or character, or whatever is giving me the problem.
Using the pen and paper forces me to slow down my thinking and make words count, much as Lynn Viehl says she did using the typewriter.
I prefer composing on the laptop as opposed to manual writing but for editing and intense rework I usually use pen and paper. It fits my style, which is get it down, then refine.
Technology has improved our methods of writing, but it’s only a tool.
Indigo says
I learned to type on a typewriter in order to be able to type with ease on a computer.
Do I find computers make it easier? Yes, by leaps and bounds. The ability to edit, spell check leaves you to ponder how anyone could write terribly (unfortunately writers sometimes don’t take advantage of what they have at their fingertips).
Yet…(there is always that isn’t there) I still find myself struggling just to get what is in my head on the page before me. If I don’t plow on mindlessly I would end up editing and rearranged plots until nothing was left of the original pretext. Having said that ease doesn’t always equate easier. (Hugs)Indigo
karenranney says
How funny – I Twittered about that this morning. Great minds, etc.
My first book was written on a typewriter. A little blue electric with a manual carriage return.
I had a devil of a time cutting and pasting, because I did the real thing with scissors and paste. Some of my pages were thick because of all the paragraphs added. I learned, however, to think about what I wanted to write before I wrote it.
Computers are SO much easier.
Laura Martone says
What Purple Clover said about how old literary masters would still be on top today (even with new technology) made me think about the age-old question in sports… I’ve heard many fans put down modern record-holders (especially in baseball, golf, and tennis), saying that technology has improved people’s games and that greats like Babe Ruth would still be on top if they’d had access to today’s better equipment.
While art is ostensibly less competitive than sports – there are still agents to be wooed, contracts to be snagged, literary awards to be won… and I wonder how the work of Dickens, Hemingway, and other classic authors would have changed if they’d had access to word processors and computers. Hmmm…
Bane of Anubis says
Laura – the horror! – Les Miserable would be twice as long, as would War and Peace, The Count of Monte Cristo…
And, as a counter point, I’m not so sure the masters of yesteryear would be the same (they may be near the top, but not at it)… to use your sports analogy – back in Babe Ruth’s top, pretty much the only players allowed to play with a visible spotlight were whites (b/c if a guy like Josh Gibson played, he’d be pretty damn heralded) – never mind the amazing ability of Dominicans, etc.
And guys like Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, though great, would not have been as dominant in today’s era b/c of the increased numbers (i.e., writers of yesteryear had far less competition and many potentially great writers didn’t have accessibility that is available to today).
Polenth says
When I was writing with pen and paper, I never finished anything. I’ve always found holding a pen a bit awkward, so I’d get tired too quickly. I also write out of order, which is hellish if you’re writing in a way where you can’t easily reorder it later (I could cut the bits out and stick them back together in the right order, but that is more time-consuming).
And let’s not get started on trying to spell-check with a dictionary, when you’re dyslexic and don’t know what the first three letters are supposed to be anyway. I have nightmares about those times in school.
All round, I’m not sure if I’d be writing without a computer. Other methods throw up a lot of barriers to writing, before I’ve even got to the stage of thinking about what to write.
Anonymous says
This is a topic that is near and dear to me because I use to edit a newsletter that often discussed technology’s use in education. One guy we followed was researcher Michael Russell, who did studies comparing how students did when taking tests via computer vs. hand writing. And it was so interesting what he found. Most of his studies involved essay question responses, and students who typed were proficient or above at typing.
Students who hand wrote their tests thought more about what they were going to write, were often more concise and to the point. They didn’t cite as many examples. They really conserved the space and perhaps even tempered the amount of effort they’d have to expend physically writing down the answers.
Students who typed tended to write a lot more, give more examples, almost sort of throwing out everything they could, and would go back and edit later. But, it was never as tight as the kids who had to put pen to paper. Russell hypothesized kids actually thought differently when they were typing out their answers on computer than when they handwrite them.
So, his studies were really interesting. And I think they were on point. The mindset you are in when you have a computer, when you can put down any bad thought, go stream of conscious in your writing, is much different than when you don’t. So I definitely say computers change writing.
Anonymous says
In case anyone else found this type of research interesting, here is one of Russell's study's that shows the effect of handwriting vs. computer writing on open-ended esssay questions.
https://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED405359&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED405359
Laura Martone says
Yahoo, Bane!
All good points re: the racial factor in sports (and in writing, for that matter). Besides, you made my day! After all, it’s easier to sleep at night knowing that Hemingway didn’t face the competition I do today. In fact, I was just thinking about that a few days ago… so, thanks for the reaffirmation. 😉
Taylor K. says
Something that seriously affects how I type is the way I type. I don’t do so the traditional way, but instead with two fingers. I go at a surprisingly fast speed this way, but something about the way I have to move my hands makes my mind think over every word a little longer than it would otherwise. This has a major affect on what words I put down on the page just by slowing me down that little bit.
Heidi the Hick says
I failed typing twice in high school. No wonder I crushed down my writing dreams in my teen years eh?
I wrote stories on actual paper with an actual pen for years. In the mid 90s my husband sat me down and said, “Look, it’s just a computer, and it doesn’t bite or explode.” Eventually I got over the typos and forced myself to do this word-processing thing.
Now I can’t imagine writing without. I tend to jump around a lot in the chronology of a story. I’ll cut and paste huge blocks of text. I can’t imagine having to write from the beginning to the end anymore.
I still keep a workbook and pen handy, for those times when I just can’t deal with looking at a screen. It happens. But eventually some of that handwritten stuff will end up in the computer, and it’ll likely get stuck in the middle somewhere.
So how does technology affect my writing style? It doesn’t affect it so much as it ALLOWS it.
MitMoi says
I stand next to Polenth and this,
“And let’s not get started on trying to spell-check with a dictionary, when you’re dyslexic and don’t know what the first three letters are supposed to be anyway. I have nightmares about those times in school.Even now I have long cursing sessions with spell check because it cannot figure out what word I’ve written and I cannot think of any more ways to spell it. (Thesaurus.com to the rescue!)
I also remember NEVER EVER being able to type ONE SINGLE page correctly in college. And trying to figure out bottom margins and footnotes? It’s amazing I graduated.
I also agree about research. I’m writing about California the 1850s. I live in North Carolina. Do you know how little access there is to the documentation I need? Thank God for Google search and the Google Digitized Library.
Kimber An says
Mini Laptops were created specifically for mommies, I swear. With my mini laptop I can write anytime anywhere.
Joel Q says
My spelling is not as good as it needs to be, because I don’t “have to” know, thanks to spell check.
reader says
There’s no way I could’ve written a book without a computer. Writing is rewriting and having to rewrite seven drafts of something from the beginning would just be too damn hard.
I make mistakes, lots of them. Spelling errors, using wrong word choices, overwriting, having to move half of one chapter to a different chapter. Putting in backstory, taking it back out.
Thank god for computers.
mabbilin says
Since the computer has been developing as long as I have, I find it hard to distinguish which changes were due to writing method and which were due to growing up.
csmith says
Hmm, interesting one Nathan.
I carry around a moleskine book where I write thoughts and randomly outline and re-outline stuff and a sketch book so I can draw what comes into my head, buildings etc. (I am completely anal retentive about building orientation and lighting – nothing throws me fast from a story than describing the position of a building and having light coming in from the wrong window)
I can’t type cohesively for the life of me on MSWord or any other program which has pretty functions or spell checking. I use something called etherpad (www.etherpad.com) I then copy my output into a word doc and spellcheck it. This allows me to go back to my typing writing roots – normally asking one of my close circle of friends to whip me when I’m not producing words.
I guess I could write longhand, but I have such elaborate handwriting (either copperplate, cursive, or architectural printing) that while it may look gorgeous, it will take me forever.
However, and there is no doubt about this, I MUST edit longhand on hardcopy. And that goes for anything, writing, drawing, plans. I just see more in the hardcopy, can feel the cadence and flow of it better.
So I guess I am a mish-mash. I just figure I’ll use whatever technology suits the task I’m trying to accomplish!
Chris
Angelica R. Jackson says
I already knew my brain was wired strangely, but when I started on my novel I discovered that I needed to write the first draft with pen and paper. With shorter works, I have no problem sitting down and entering it right into the computer. Maybe it’s something about having to juggle more plot points, characters, the order of scenes, all those details involved in a longer work.
But as for the editing capabilities of a word processor vs. a typewriter—no comparison! I still remember typing a whole page, only to discover there was a typo in a spot that didn’t lend itself to correction. And those fumes from the White-Out . . . which brings me full circle to why my brain isn’t entirely functional, perhaps.
Michael Pickett says
A lot. The way I write is just to write the first thing that comes to mind until something better comes to mind. As I follow my train of thoughts, deeping the characters and story every time, I’ve come up with some pretty good stories. There would be no way for me to write this way if I wasn’t writing on a computer. I don’t know what I’d do otherwise.
Wendy Withers says
I think for a while I was actually stuck in the typewriter mindset. I sat pulling words out of my head like they were really teeth, and I never finished anything, from short stories to novels.
Lately, I’ve learned to plow through my writing until it’s done, leaving spelling errors and typos peppering the pages. Thanks to my new “get it done before you judge it” philosophy, I had my first short story published at the age of 26 and am almost halfway through writing the first draft of my first serious novel.
I’d say technology has saved me, because it’s so simple to go back to revise and rewrite.
K. A. Cartlidge says
In the old days I used a typewriter. Now, I use a laptop.
My main issue for a long while though was the same as many others, in that with a computer it’s far too easy to edit. Rather than getting the first draft done and then revising, I found I would manage a page or so then have to revise it there and then. Unfortunately that leads to slow progress through the entire work, the latest page being at first draft stage and everything prior to it being at second or third.
This had two bad side-effects for me. The first was that I erroneously treated grammar corrections or sentence/paragraph edits as creating a newer draft whereas, when a first draft is finished before revising begins, the revision ideally operates at a much wider scope and picks up larger issues concerning how what has been written relates to the rest of the text. The second side-effect was that I revised text so much it became clinically excellent but emotionally lifeless as the spontaneity of it was sucked out.
My solution was simple, but not possible for most. I’m a software developer by trade so I spent a few weeks creating my own novel writing software. Sounds overkill, but it gives me one feature I have never seen anywhere else which is something I call Fresh Mode. Basically, when I’m writing I can switch on Fresh Mode and it tries to make me concentrate on entering new (fresh) text rather than revising, by the simple expedient of making everything apart from the last few paragraphs of the document read-only. I cannot get distracted revising previous pages because it won’t let me!
Of course I can switch Fresh Mode off but the fact that I have to make a conscious decision to do so tends to make me think twice about why I put the limit in there in the first place.
Before I wrote the software, I did a similar thing by only keeping the latest page or so in my text editor, whilst keeping a seperate document that had newer text continually removed from my work-in-progress file and appended to it. The ever-expanding separate book document grew faster as psychologically it was like filing away the text as if it was done and dealt with.
Hope that helps somebody out there.
Danielle Yockman says
I am just old enough to remember hand writing out my term papers in junior/high school and then typing them on first the electric typewriter at my mom’s office and then my dad’s computer at work. Of course, the handwritten pages never added up to enough and I had no typing skills what so ever! Even with the back correction key it was still painful and more than once I can remember correcting enough times to put a hole in the paper.
I love the computer! But there are times when a pen and paper feel good…they get the creative juices flowing in a way a blank glowing screen with that taunting cursor flashing at you can’t.
Teri says
Technology has certainly speeded up the writing process.
Sometimes I just let my mind wander and try to record my thoughts, but
It’s difficult for the fingers to keep up with a racing mind.
But, yes, technology gives us the freedom to try different things and still be able to
“undo” the words/thoughts.
And, I always write on an “unconnected” pc. That way, I won’t be tempted by Nathan’s blog.
Marilyn Peake says
I enjoyed reading Lynn Viehl’s post. I wrote my Master’s Thesis longhand, then typed the first drafts to show my professor and the final approved draft on a typewriter. I did background research for it in the “stacks” section of the library, paying 5 to 10 cents per page for every article I needed to copy, spending hours in photocopying alone. Even though my Masters Thesis only needed to be about 50 pages in length, I became so absorbed in the topic, it ended up being over 100 pages long. At one point, my professor suggested moving an entire section into another place in the manuscript, so I had to retype everything from the first page where the change occurred. For the final copy, white out wasn’t allowed, so I had to pull out the page I was typing on the typewriter and start over if I made a typo.
When I started writing fiction, I wrote it out longhand, then typed it into the computer because I was used to writing first drafts in that way. I quickly learned that I could save a lot of time and energy by training myself to write the first draft on the computer. Like Pavlov’s dogs, I eventually became conditioned to the new technology, and now write much more creatively on the computer.
I realized something for the first time in reading Lynn’s insight into why she doesn’t do so much “backtracking, editing and rewriting”. I write the same way – I keep unfolding the story in my mind before committing it to paper, editing as I go – and possibly that’s due to early training on typewriters.
I also think new technology accounts for the huge increase in writers seeking publication. It’s so much easier today than ever before to create, edit, and research a manuscript, and to send it out to agents.
Kristin Tubb says
In grad school, I wrote on a Brother word processor. The screen was about 2 inches high, black and green, and showed about 4 lines of text. When I printed something out, the keys clacked forward and typed out the document letter by letter, like a speedy typewriter. The only practical way to edit was to print out the document and do it by hand. I still edit this way from first to second draft. I never thought about *why* until now! Thanks for that trip (way) back, Nathan! 🙂
Mira says
Wait a minute. Nathan, did you just win an award???
Is that new? It had today’s date on it.
I noticed that you are at the very top, and it’s NOT alphabetical.
Nathan, if it’s new, I’m so happy for you. You deserve it! You work really hard – Yea, Nathan! Whoo hooo!
Oh the other hand, if it’s old hat, well then, I’m still happy for you and you still deserve it and you still get a whoo hooo!
Congrats
jimnduncan says
My first writing efforts were on an electric typewriter. I’ve written chunks of my work with pen and paper, and there is definitely a difference.
For one, the pace is far slower. You consider more about what you’re writing. You want the writing to be as ‘done’ as possible if you’re putting it in manually. With a computer you can be lazy. It can be fixed later. The danger in that of course is that you don’t put the same consideration into it and it doesn’t get fixed so your writing is all the poorer for it.
However, there is something to be said for the speed with which you can write on the puter. Can’t tell you how many times, when writing on paper, that some thought would get forgotten because it took too long to get there. Writing on paper though has a very different creative feel to me. I would probably write on paper far more often if it weren’t for the transcribing aspect. It’s awful.
I think though that computers have made writing too easy. At least as far as literature goes. It alters the creative process (not necessarily bad). If you could clone yourself and sit down to write the same story, one on puter and another on paper, I’d bet money you would come out with different stories, and there’s better than 50/50 the paper one would be better.
Jen P says
I’m about to start a new project and this has given me good fodder for thought. I write faster on the screen. I write more creatively, with a better choice of words in paper and (!) pencil. I think on screen it looks “finished” and too perfect, when it’s not. Typos happen which I read over, due to errors in typing speed and computer logic (from / form) and I tend not to do that longhand.
I am in a quandary as to whether to write the next novel longhand on paper, but I think I will. Periodically I’ll need to type it up on screen, which will make me grind my teeth thinking of it as double time spent, but I hope it will be worth it.
In fact I also just interviewed author Patrick Gale and he also felt longhand allowed him to be more creative and organic.
Anonymous says
Say what you want about technology, but at least my typewriter never crashed.
Kristin Laughtin says
I loved that post. It was interesting to read everyone’s responses.
I prefer a word processor because I often don’t think in a linear mode. Even if I’m writing through a book chronologically, a random line that would be perfect a few scenes later will pop in my head, and I appreciate the convenience of being able to skip down a few lines, getting it down before it flees my head, and returning to what I was doing. I could do the same with scrap paper if I were writing by hand or with a typewriter, but sometimes those perfect lines make their exit too quickly!
I do sometimes outline or write small scenes by hand. They’re usually in shorthand, though, in an effort to keep up with my brain.
One advantage to producing a physical manuscript as you go, though, is the ability to flip back a few pages or chapters and check something. You can scroll around in a word document, of course, but you can’t remain on the current page while you go back to the beginning to check something you wrote there.
Mira says
On the other hand, why didn’t I win an award? I like awards. I wouldn’t mind winning an award. I’m sure on some level, I truly deserve an award.
I know I deserve something.
Okay. Anyone who is handing out awards, please know that I’m available to be given an award.
Totally wide open on the award front. Yep. Award away.
Malanie says
When I write on the computer I am able to unleash my inner voice without worrying over all the techincal junk.
I can let the creativity juices flow, and it flows fast! I have noticed when I try to write by hand I cannot write as fast as it is coming and then it becomes distracting.
Lunatic says
On a related note, I wonder how authors have been affected by things like agents’ blogs.
As time conscious as agents are, it only makes sense that they want to pick up a story and get right to the meat of the conflict. I think a lot of authors see that, and they are starting their first scene with the man getting mauled by the lion, instead of introducing the man, and showing him shove off on his safari first and then mauling him on page 5, A thousand words later.
As an author, I can write it either way, but as a reader, I’d like to get to know the man just a bit before I’m asked to feel sorry for him.
I certainly don’t want stories starting too early, and maybe it’s just me, but I’m feeling rushed as a reader these days, even in the books I end up liking eventually.
Elaine 'still writing' Smith says
I cannot plan with out notebook and pen.
Yet, all my characters have computer files kept on them for cross referencing.
I only write with Windows on laptop or computer (being driven totally nuts by one having 2003 and the other 2007)
Gotta dash Man Utd obviously need me back!
Audrianna says
Most of the time, I end up typing my stories straight from my brain. However, I find that if I’m stuck, I can write it out on paper and it will come to me more easily. Don’t ask me why because I really don’t know. I did get my start writing in a notebook, which is kind of interesting to look at now because the writing is way below where I am now (or at least I think so!).
I haven’t ever used a typewriter to write stories, but during my senior year in high school, I had an intern with the city court, which still uses typewriters for bunches of things. I got really, really good at typing on a typewriter. Now this has me thinking that I should try it out!
As for the editing aspect – I am so super grateful that I do have my computer, where I can change stuff before I print. Lord, what a mess it would be if I didn’t. I swear, I must change and add and delete scenes a gazillion times before printing out a first draft, let alone the second draft or the polished draft. The world is a much better place without the stuff I edit half way through my first draft.
Jil says
I wrote my first novels by hand and I would flow through the whole story without looking back. I loved that. Then I would type, filling in until it became full length. But I’m not a good typist so the typewriter was awful, redoing page after page before I got a presentable manuscript. Ugh!
Now, on my computer I don’t sail straight through the whole thing, Instead I mull over each chapter, editing as I go, even my first time through. When I reach the end I, Of course, go through it again, and again and that’s when the computer is priceless.
I tried writing my last novel’s first draft by hand but gave up when I couldn’t read my writing!
By the way, my “writing” computer is far away from this Internet one , thank goodness! (But I’m still here!)
W. B. Schmidt says
@Kristin Laughtin
“One advantage to producing a physical manuscript as you go, though, is the ability to flip back a few pages or chapters and check something. You can scroll around in a word document, of course, but you can’t remain on the current page while you go back to the beginning to check something you wrote there.”
If you use Microsoft Word, you have an option to view two sections of your document simultaneously. Click the Window menu then Split menu item. This will give you a new cursor, allowing you to set your split screen. I typically use the bottom section to find the area of the document I want to reference and the top section to write / edit accordingly. To remove the split, go to the Window menu again and click Remove Split.
KayKayBe says
I had a very difficult time reading my ‘voice’ on a screen at first. I think that’s why so many people want to use purple ink, and ‘Monotype Cursivo’ and all of that. There is this connection that you feel with your own handwriting. You can get over it, as I did. I’m embarrassed now- but I actually studied shorthand to see if I could avoid the sterile Times New Roman. I’m glad I didn’t waste too much time on that.
PS- Does anyone else wonder if the ‘dropped subject’ plague is a result of facebook habits?
Anna says
I write quickly, a C from 8th grade still indicative of my typing skills. I rely on WORD to hold onto all I spill, then regurgitating usually with little pain on my part exactly what in the world I’ve splayed out…
a typewriter would not be so forgiving, I believe… thank goodness for my laptop!
as for the plotting and scheming, it’s all long hand, scattily set down on various pieces of paper, no order, only as it comes.
how this relates, well, messily is the best way to put it. then magically it all seems to come together after a time.
sort of like life, not in a manner you might expect…
(one tiny, embarrassing factoid I’ll admit… when I started, I was still using the space bar, not the tab key… I still put two spaces after a period; some habits you can break, but not all…)
Laurel says
Lunatic:
Agent blogs and online advice on the craft of writing must affect things some. I hope it doesn’t drive everything too far in one direction.
I think the other thing that bleeds over is screenwriting. A lot of the drive to eliminate exposition between dialogue and tell the story through action and dialogue MUST be done in a movie. Otherwise there would be constant narration. That is the biggest reason I like books better than movies.
I miss adverbs, adjectives, explanations of what the characters are thinking. There must be a happy medium between Faulkner and Hemingway and clearly there’s a market for both.
Kate Lord Brown says
Writing longhand (often with inkpen) slows down your thought process and it’s always the way I go with first drafts. There’s something about the mind/body connection that makes the words work. Typewriters are another step removed (think of Kerouac with his continuous roll of paper), and computers pure stream of consciousness. Great for blogs and second or third draft editing but not for the real thing.
Yamile says
I wrote several short stories for an assignment, and I did it old fashioned way, with pen and paper. When it was time to transfer it to my computer, I did the edits (very minute all of them) automatically. At the end of the assignment I was VERY pleased with the end product.
I agree with Laurel than Nanowrimo has left me with too many bad habits. I’m editing my Nanowrimo novel right now, and even though it’s very easy to cut and paste, I also wonder what would have been different if I didn’t have the luxury of cutting and pasting.
I’m writing an YA fantasy right now, and I write on a legal pad during the day, and transfer to the computer at night. When I do this I have the advantage of writing outside while my kids play, I don’t feel I’m neglecting them, and I don’t have distractions, such as your blog.
If I have to research something, I also do it at night. I’ve been trying to get a typewriter, but my husband thinks they’re so outdated they don’t serve any specific purpose. I disagree completely with that, and the first decent one I find on ebay, I’m gonna get it.
Thanks Nathan for the post, and everyone for the wonderful discussion.
Dawn Maria says
I learned to type on my grandparents’ old Smith-Corona and got C’s on English essays because of typos. I’m not sure if my words less deliberate on my Mac, but I can’t imagine writing without word processing. For editing, I mark up my hard copy with red pen because I like seeing and feeling the MS.
Laurel says
Heads up to any of you from yesterday’s post wondering what to ask an agent. I found the blog about it and posted the link on yesterday’s comments.
Cheers!