Writing by Hand Vs. Typing
In a recent interview, Tom Wolf, author of The Bonfire of the Vanities and perpetual wearer of white suits, described how he hand writes his novels(!). That’s right, he uses a pen – or mechanical pencil – and writes in a notebook with triple-spaced lines. He doesn’t stop until he finishes his goal of 1200 words per day. A writer friend of mine, while holding her Moleskine, mentioned that many writers like Joyce Carol Oates and Amy Tan also start their novels using longhand. Of course old school writers like Hemingway wrote a lot more in notebooks, but he also rode a lot more horses. Today we drive cars.
Why in the world would I write by hand when I have my laptop that practically writes the book for me with software that checks spelling, grammar and English proficiency level (Spell Checker just told me to correct ‘profeciency’). I can now type a hundred miles per hour and go from sentence to paragraph to page to story in a single NaNoWri Month. Why would I want to slow myself down? Why would I care about that arcane skill of penmanship? But when it comes to relying on technology, I’m reminded of those important words of wisdom…
“Don’t be too proud of this technological terror you’ve constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the force.” –Darth Vader
Like wielding a lightsaber, wielding a pen takes a great deal of patience and effort to use. I haven’t written any novels in notebooks, but I do use them for ideas, sections, short stories and outlines. There is something to say of using a notebook. I can take my notebook almost anywhere. Like on an airplane. (Have you tried using a laptop in an airline seat lately?) Or at the beach. Or reclining on the couch.
Using a pen and notebook also helps me disconnect. When I’m using my laptop, here’s my thought process. Oh boy!, I’m really ready to do some writing. Let me check my email first. What’s this? A Facebook message from Larry. He says to checkout out this Youtube video. Oh, those cats are so cute. I can’t believe someone wrote those bad things in the video comments. I’m gonna reply, defending this and all cat videos… I start my writing two hours later.
Using a pen also slows down my actions. It forces me to stop and smell the proses. It forces me to spend more time considering my words. When I use a laptop, I can form the words on page as soon as they emerge in my mind. But when I use a pen, I’m considering the entire sentences before I move my hand, and this means less revisions. The drawback, of course, is I still need to transfer everything to computer, but I’m not sure I lose time given more revisions are needed for a quickly built story.
So, how do you like to write? Pen, keyboard, that dictating stone-pecking bird from the Flintstones?
