Is it crazy for someone like me to write longhand?
As soon as I’ve written this blog I’m going to start writing a novel longhand.
It’s probably crazy. I know it will be frustrating. Here’s why:
- At a somewhat normal speed, my handwriting is atrocious, so much so that I struggle to read my own words when I can figure them out at all.
- When I make a point to write legibly, the words hit the page at a painfully slow rate.
- I love to type!!!!!!! I love how fast the words leave my mind and come out my fingers, and I love, love, love, fixing mistakes quickly and easily.
So here is a short list of what propels me to embark on this kind of crazy, awkward, and painful behavior.
- My laptop bit the proverbial dust at an awkward moment.
- My initial exposure to writing (as an adult) was a writing workshop where we wrote longhand
- Because of that workshop, I’ve only ever written short stories in longhand.
Here are some reasons why writing longhand might be a productive choice.
- You get a free edit when you type your handwritten story onto the computer. (This is something I find a real bonus when writing short stories longhand.)
- Writing longhand slows the writer down to the speed of a writer’s creative brain.
- There are fewer distractions when the computer is out of reach.
- It’s faster. (Yes, this seems counter-intuitive, but that’s what they said.)
- “as your hand executes each stroke of each letter, it activates a much larger portion of the brain’s thinking, language, and “working memory” regions than typing, which whisks your attention along at a more letters-and-words pace.” http://www.fastcompany.com/1798782/pen-mightier-phone-case-writing-things-out
- “Scribbling can be efficient.” http://pitchpublishprosper.com/retro-hack-writing-longhand/
Here is a list of authors who write (or wrote) at least partly in long hand:
https://chrishiltonwriter.wordpress.com/tag/writers-using-longhand-are-better-writers/
http://www.pencils.com/blog/authors-who-write-longhand/
JK Rowling
Jackie Collins
Cecilia Ahern
Orhan Pamuk
Tess Gerritsen
Andre Dubus II
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