Hey guys, have any of you tried writing your stories by hand? How does that work out for you? I have been on a keyboard since I was a baby, but I just this week decided to try a notebook as a way of breaking out of this writer's block I've been struggling with all semester.
It's slow but I think it's helping me concentrate slightly better. Problem is I'm left handed and I hook, so I smear my ink all over the page and my hand. Here's the notebook I bought from Target. I had to have it because I'm actually writing about space robots!
I think there is something freeing about handwriting vs. typing. Gets the brain working in a different way. But like you, Dave, I run into the problem of legibility. Not because I smear the writing, but because my writing is so awful to begin with. When I go back to transcribe, I often can't read my own writing!
ReplyDeleteI sometimes use an old manual typewriter, too. The clicks and snaps are satisfying, and, like with handwriting, there's no delete button so I censor myself less.
Happy writing/typing! Hope the weather's as beautiful where you guys are as it is here!
Ri
It depends. I like to start a story on paper. Get the ideas out, maybe a few key lines, then move on from there. However, a few years back when I was working at the White Bear Township movie theater I always carried around a little black notebook. When I was stuck on ropes (movie theater talk for tearing tickets), I would write out whole chapters. I feel like writing on paper helps you visualize it better and lets you not worry too much about about constantly editing things.
ReplyDeleteI would, however, switch from pen to a good old fashioned #2 pencil. This will allow you some degree of editing and eliminate the dark ink smeers (it may cause pencil smeers, but they are less distracting and not permanent at all).
Great notebook, btw! ^^
I love carrying around little notebooks! I love those little pocket moleskins. I always feel more confident when I have something in my pocket to write stuff down on - like observations, story ideas, things people say.
ReplyDeleteI love writing in a notebook (I also love typing on the computer!). Something about scrawling--it lets me sink into characters and scenes and voices. It's a different pace.
ReplyDeleteI always journal on a generic college rule 10 cent notebook. I only write on one side of the paper, so when I flip it over I can feel the Braille-like embossing on the back. It gives me a sense of permanency I guess. No one else can cut and past THAT document.
ReplyDeleteI storyboarded all of the picture books I have written in the residencies. It is fun, and really gave me a sense of where I was going. I think I might try it again with Cherry Picker... Being a high school English teacher, I think I end up writing a lot more with pen than most. I am always jotting story notes all the time.
PS: Great notebook, Dave! ;)
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