Despite the fact that my mother taught me how to type when I was quite young, to this day I still compose fiction stories by hand, preferably with a soft lead pencil or fountain pen. These instruments glide across numerous pages without causing hand cramps. At write ins, I’ve watched fellow writers typing away on their laptops, quickly composing page after page. I’d stare at them—fascinated that they could compose their story that way.
I’ve been typing nearly every day since the 70s, so I’m pretty fast at it. With a computer keyboard, I easily compose emails, articles and essays…I just can’t seem to do that with fiction. Something about the mechanics of hitting keys and hearing the subsequent clicking sounds conflicts with my fiction-writing thought process.
Maybe because I started penning short stories as a child, I need to use those same old tools to compose fiction today. I don’t know, but that’s the way it’s been with me for many decades. I can edit fiction on the computer, whether mine or someone else’s; I just can’t seem to compose fiction that way.
During my creative writing times, I often make solo visits to coffee shops and diners to get away from my little office for awhile. I always carry a bag with a book, writing tablet, eraser, pencils and pens. While I sip coffee and munch on something, I alternately read and write, not bothered by background noise. I’ve created some great short stories this way. The last time I visited the Red Rock Bakery in Moab, I ordered a latte (no flavors) and a parmesan bagel (yum). I found an unused table and started to read, which lasted less than ten minutes when an idea struck me about how my protagonist could climb out of the hole he’d dug. I closed the book, put pen to paper, and wrote a few pages about my story’s hero and his struggle to get out of trouble.
Since this desert town is often rife with tourists, I try to beat the crowd by going after the morning rush. Nevertheless, sometimes I find myself seated next to a line of people waiting to get their own lattes and bagels. One day I failed to notice how many customers had entered the shop—a whole line of people stretched from the door to the counter, with most of the line passing my table. As my fountain pen filled pages of a steno pad, I became aware of a stranger’s eyes on my hand and paper. I looked up to see a guy unabashedly reading line after line of what I’d just written. I smiled at him and kept writing.
Many coffeeshops are magnets for people with laptops, and no one seems to pay much attention to them. But someone filling lined pages by hand? Now that has become an anomaly. A few weeks ago, I sat in a local Pizza Hut writing away between bites of salad and pizza. At two in the afternoon, I didn’t have to worry about anyone wanting my table. After half an hour of eating and writing, a waitress came by to see if I needed anything. Before she spoke, she watched me for a moment, shook her head and said, “No one writes by hand anymore.”
I wanted to say, Well, that’s not quite true – because I do. Instead, I smiled and agreed with her that it had become rare.
Some observers might surmise that I write by hand because I can’t afford a laptop, but I own several. Since older computers aren’t worth much, when I get a new one, I just keep the old one. I’ll admit to being a bit of a nerd. Computers are wonderful for email, editing, research, creating newsletters, building websites, paying bills, and digitizing handwritten notes. With their huge storage capacity, people can and do store tons of “stuff” on them.
But for creating stories of fictional characters and exciting scenes, I’m grateful I learned cursive.
Keep writing, however you do it!
~Ann
I’m the same way. Once I get something going, I can continue it on the computer, but the initial sketches all have to be in my notebook. There’s something about the physical act of writing that sparks creativity for me. Plus, on a computer, I have a tendency to edit before I’m done brainstorming, and I lose thoughts that I can’t delete in my notebook.
Hi Susan,
I agree – I absolutely have to begin by writing in a notebook. When I’m writing in a notebook, I don’t edit as I write. I just write. The editing comes later after I enter the text in the computer. I’m glad to meet a kindred spirit. 🙂
Ann
For me, poetry is the one kind of writing that I can’t do on a computer. I’ve tried, but like your fiction, it just doesn’t work. My poetry’s primarily for myself. It’s a way of dealing with difficult things, or celebrating wonderful ones. I’ll occasionally post a haiku on Facebook, but that’s about it.
Thanks for the blog post.
Hello Jane,
I appreciate your comment – and I agree about writing poetry. I’ve only been able to compose poetry by hand. I also edit my poetry by hand several times before I type it.
I’m glad you enjoyed the post,
Ann
Hi Ann, that’s how I write too. And I am also an experienced typist. I am very happy to write manuscripts with a pen and then type the final project. I have always done creative writing, reports, project papers for college and work that way. To me typing is too mechanical and too fast for my creative mind. It can be useful as the final critique and correction opportunity.
Hi Melissa,
I agree. I can compose emails and letters on the computer, but my mind seems to clam up when I switch to fiction. It’s good to find others who compose the same way.
Write on,
Ann
I love this. I also write by hand–in pencil usually, for first drafts. I figured it was just me, but I’ve started a creative writing club at the school where I teach, and one of my ninth graders does the same thing. The kid has been raised on electronics, but still finds something about handwriting more conducive to the creative process.
I don’t understand it, but it works for me…
Hi Rachel,
Thank you for sharing. It’s exciting to hear that you have a ninth grader who also writes his creative projects by hand. That’s good to hear. I hope he’s not in one of those school districts that decided not to teach cursive anymore. Printing letters takes a lot more time. 🙂
Thanks,
Ann
I also write by hand. More of an art that way. I can change things easily, writing up the sides, see two pages at once. As soon as I get on my laptop I’m in editing mode which inhibits my creative self.
Hi Karen,
I totally agree – when I write by hand, my editing and remarks run up the sides of the pages and onto the back. But as soon as I transfer the story to the computer, the editing process feels stymied. I’ll often print a hard copy and take it to a table where I continue to edit by hand, writing in the margins and such. There’s something more creative about the tactile relationship between pencil and paper.
Thank you for your comment,
Ann
I wonder if writing by hand connects us more deeply in some way than typing does. Interesting to consider. Thank you for your thoughtful and enjoyable article.
Hi Patti,
That’s my interpretation too. When composing, I’ll take a piece of paper over a keyboard every time.
I’m glad you liked the article,
Ann
I know a lot of writers who prefer to write by hand–it’s not as uncommon as some may think. And there have been studies that indicate there may actually be a stronger connection to creativity when writing by hand than when writing on a computer. In looking at the comments here, many agree with you. In fact, I feel like the anomaly. I have had a long career as a technical writer, medical writer, magazine feature article writer, and fiction writer. I am okay with writing by hand, but my hand can’t keep up with my brain, so I greatly prefer writing on my computer! I go into the same “zone” as other writers do when they write by hand–the outside world disappears, and the words just flow. And I truly hate having to transcribe my handwritten stuff onto the computer–it feels like such an inefficient use of my time! LOL. I think the key takeaway is you have to find what works for you, and ignore the occasional barista or friend who tells you you’re doing it wrong! If it works for you, you’re doing it right!
Hi Kelley,
Thank you for your comment. I’ve sometimes wondered if that extra step of digitizing what I’ve written by hand is inefficient, but for me, it affords yet one more time to edit. The problem is, sometimes I don’t type what I’ve scribbled for a long time – which can be problematic.
🙂
Keep writing!
Ann