9
Showerthought: I compared writing with pen and paper versus typing on a laptop for my fantasy novel draft.
I spent last Saturday at a coffee shop in Austin trying both approaches side by side. With the laptop, I churned out 2,000 words in an hour but deleted half of them after rereading. With a cheap Bic pen and a spiral notebook, I only wrote 800 words, but kept nearly all of them because I thought through each sentence before putting it down. The physical act of writing forced me to slow down and avoid the backspace button trap. Has anyone else found that switching tools changes how your brain processes a story?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
riley_schmidt20d ago
Does the physical feel of the pen scratching paper actually trick your brain into thinking more carefully about each word? I've noticed if I try to outline on a laptop I just end up typing full sentences and then having to delete them later. Maybe the slowness of handwriting is what keeps those 800 words from being total garbage.
6
maryt6220d ago
Totally had a friend who tried outlining on her iPad for a novel and ended up writing 3 chapters instead lol. She said the pen feel just made her want to keep going and not stop to plan.
0
hall.nina20d agoMost Upvoted
Didn't you mean outlining in the first place though?
6