When Actually Writing…

I keep switching between writing long hand and writing on the computer. This greatly impacts the speed at which I can crank out a scene  and ultimately complete a story draft.

This has been a long, hard, vicious battle that must end!

I do like writing long hand. One reason is because I can write only as fast as I can think, in a sense. There’s less start and stop time and I can get into a steady flow fairly quick. Also, I’m less likely to go back and change something or make corrections, because I hate when my pages are all scribbled over and crossed out. I’m well aware of the physical boundaries of the page. It’s only so wide and so long and I can only squeeze but so much into the margins and above crossed out lines. Ultimately, I feel forced to just leave things alone and continue writing.

I like writing on the computer because I see the words on the screen nice, neat, and already formatted on the page. I can go back and make quick corrections without leaving things ugly. The feeling and flow of typing can be pretty relaxing and once I’m done, I’m done, no transcribing.

I feel like I need to choose one method and stick with it.

The main drawback for me with writing long hand is transcribing. It feels like a job. It’s boring because I’m just copying what I’ve already written. Plus, I have to find a comfortable spot to sit, try to read my own horrible handwriting around, over, and below whatever scratches and cross-out edits I’ve made. When I have pages and pages of that to transcribe, I wind up not wanting to do it all. But the thing is, I’ll have to do it sooner or later, and I’m going to feel the same way regardless when that is. There goes my progress.

On the computer, I can type faster than I can think, so there’s more stop and start as I piece together my thoughts. With it being so easy to make corrections as I go, I find myself spending a bit more time lingering over a line of dialog or description until it feels just right. Also, my laptop can be a cumbersome burden to carry around at times.

I suppose, if anything, I’ll stick with using just the computer.

At the end of the day, I really don’t want to be stuck transcribing page after page after page…after page of text. I’d much rather get it down once and be free to move on. I’ll just have to work on my willpower and not allow myself to linger on things and go back to make corrections until its necessary.

Hopefully, It’ll work out. To be honest though, I did hand write this post then transcribe it, ha, so wish me luck.

Which do you prefer? Handwriting then transcribing, or just getting it down once digitally?