This month I'm working on my new novel, which is going to be a really great book because even I'm finding the story fascinating and I know how it ends. :)
The problem though is that I've outlined it by hand (dozens of pages) but I've been writing the manuscript itself straight onto the computer. And this is a problem because I'm finding that working this way is stifling my creativity.
Usually, I much prefer writing by hand and typing things up later. But I thought it would be better to write this book straight onto the computer because it's a long book (hundreds of pages), so time is of the essence.
There has always been a big debate amongst writers as to whether it's better to write books by hand or straight to keyboard. And what I've found is that it's entirely up to each individual writer. Although the 'experts' have said, that from studies that have been done, most writers are more creative when writing by hand and also, that handwriting notes while studying, helps students to retain more knowledge than when they type their notes straight onto their computers. So according to the hex-purts, handwriting always wins over typing straight to the keyboard.
And this can be substantiated when you see authors like Jackie Collins who has a complete collection of her books in handwritten volumes. I was amazed when I saw it in a TV interview with her once. Apparently, she handwrote all her books (and she's written many) and had those handwritten pages made into a beautiful collection of huge, leather-bound books.
In an interview with her in the L A Times, what they said about her handwritten tomes was, "They’re handwritten on legal pads—she doesn’t type— and, on occasion, the spelling is a little shaky, not that she gives a damn." And when asked what she writes with she said, "It must be black felt pens. Or blue felt pens. And white typing paper or yellow legal pads. There’s no other way."
You can read more about Jackie's writing life in another interview at https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/09/jackie-collins-hollywood-mansion.
So getting back to my own book, although I enjoyed creating the outline by hand, I then found that not only was typing the manuscript creatively stifling, but also (and this is the worst) I kept procrastinating and not WANTING to write because I was not enjoying it. So I was writing less.
All of which helped me to make up my mind about how to write it and that was to go back to handwriting because, ironically, my reason for wanting to type it instead was because I thought it would be quicker. It takes me a lot longer to write things by hand than to type them because I'm a pretty fast typist (I learned touch-typing years ago at school).
But the reality is that it's actually faster for me to handwrite my manuscript because although the initial writing takes longer, I find I write more often and for much longer when I'm sat working with a notebook and pen. Plus I can work anywhere without needing to drag my computer along with me.
So for me, handwriting wins hands down because although I feel like it's taking me longer to write, the fact that I write so much less when I have to type it instead means that I'm actually writing less, not more. So trying to do it faster is completely defeating the object.
And what takes me two or three hours to write, takes me only 30 minutes or less to type up because I can type so fast.
And, most importantly, now that I'm back to handwriting my manuscript, I'm enjoying writing again and I WANT to sit and down and write whereas before, I had to force myself to do it so I was procrastinating instead of writing.
So no matter whether it's faster to handwrite or to type, at least when I'm writing by hand, I'm actually writing.
Watch the short (2 minute) video below for a bit of Jackie Collins' inspirational writing advice.
Enjoy.
The problem though is that I've outlined it by hand (dozens of pages) but I've been writing the manuscript itself straight onto the computer. And this is a problem because I'm finding that working this way is stifling my creativity.
Usually, I much prefer writing by hand and typing things up later. But I thought it would be better to write this book straight onto the computer because it's a long book (hundreds of pages), so time is of the essence.
There has always been a big debate amongst writers as to whether it's better to write books by hand or straight to keyboard. And what I've found is that it's entirely up to each individual writer. Although the 'experts' have said, that from studies that have been done, most writers are more creative when writing by hand and also, that handwriting notes while studying, helps students to retain more knowledge than when they type their notes straight onto their computers. So according to the hex-purts, handwriting always wins over typing straight to the keyboard.
And this can be substantiated when you see authors like Jackie Collins who has a complete collection of her books in handwritten volumes. I was amazed when I saw it in a TV interview with her once. Apparently, she handwrote all her books (and she's written many) and had those handwritten pages made into a beautiful collection of huge, leather-bound books.
In an interview with her in the L A Times, what they said about her handwritten tomes was, "They’re handwritten on legal pads—she doesn’t type— and, on occasion, the spelling is a little shaky, not that she gives a damn." And when asked what she writes with she said, "It must be black felt pens. Or blue felt pens. And white typing paper or yellow legal pads. There’s no other way."
You can read more about Jackie's writing life in another interview at https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/09/jackie-collins-hollywood-mansion.
So getting back to my own book, although I enjoyed creating the outline by hand, I then found that not only was typing the manuscript creatively stifling, but also (and this is the worst) I kept procrastinating and not WANTING to write because I was not enjoying it. So I was writing less.
All of which helped me to make up my mind about how to write it and that was to go back to handwriting because, ironically, my reason for wanting to type it instead was because I thought it would be quicker. It takes me a lot longer to write things by hand than to type them because I'm a pretty fast typist (I learned touch-typing years ago at school).
But the reality is that it's actually faster for me to handwrite my manuscript because although the initial writing takes longer, I find I write more often and for much longer when I'm sat working with a notebook and pen. Plus I can work anywhere without needing to drag my computer along with me.
So for me, handwriting wins hands down because although I feel like it's taking me longer to write, the fact that I write so much less when I have to type it instead means that I'm actually writing less, not more. So trying to do it faster is completely defeating the object.
And what takes me two or three hours to write, takes me only 30 minutes or less to type up because I can type so fast.
And, most importantly, now that I'm back to handwriting my manuscript, I'm enjoying writing again and I WANT to sit and down and write whereas before, I had to force myself to do it so I was procrastinating instead of writing.
So no matter whether it's faster to handwrite or to type, at least when I'm writing by hand, I'm actually writing.
Watch the short (2 minute) video below for a bit of Jackie Collins' inspirational writing advice.
Enjoy.
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