This is topic Q:What do you write on? Pencil,Paper,PDA,Laptop,Desktop,Stone? in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.
I'm really proud of myself. It looks like I'm going to finish my first full on book.
I've done so so so many outlines in the past and super summarized treatments etc.
But this pup is on schedule as an audiobook and I even found someone pretty cool to edit it for me.
However now that I am an everyday writer the claustrophobia of sitting at the exact same place to write everyday because of the technology issue is bonkering me out a bit.
I even have an old laptop but the battery situation makes it virtually unusable as anything but a desktop in a different static location?
So today at the bookstore like I always do I go to a rack of stuff that is stuff I'm into. I pick up yet another "writing etc etc managing creativity etc etc" type book and there is literally a whole chapter to the importance of writing with pen or pencil on paper.
Here is why that bothered me.
1. I LOVE writing in fancy, premade, journals already yet have forced myself to abandon in because what goes in their just stays in their as no matter how good the story is it is to painful for me to simply retype exactly what I penciled in? Argh, I'm a creative and its hard enough to finish one when ten more are firing in like rabid locusts! Retyping sucks!
2. Since all data today at somepoint ends up in a computer format, isn't it the most logical to just start it there?
(geez I'm becoming such a writer I can't even get to the point anymore?
SO... WHAT DO YOU WRITE ON! How do you do it? What is the whole step by step process you get that wild imagination into printed or recorded mass market format?
Thank you, Muogin
Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :
The writing police aren't going to arrest you if you don't write with a quill pen in a lovely perfect-bound journal at a cafe in Paris, you know. Do it however works for you.
I plan on paper, do drafts at the computer, revise with a red pen on paper, then do final polishing at the computer. Away from home, I have an Alphasmart.
The big experiment coming up, though, is I've ordered speech recognition software, and I'm going to try working that way. I have pretty significant RSI issues and want to type less. But the tactile element is pretty well engrained; I don't know how well it will work to write out loud. But it might be good enough for recreational typing, like this, which would help a lot.
Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :
I've worked in many formats. I did much of the first draft of my novel freehand on yellow notepads, but it was sketchy and terse.
I wrote the first novel in earnest on my laptop. I can carry it upstairs and write while my wife watches TV after she complains enough that I'm always in my office. I have trouble with repetitive motion injuries (mostly from non-ergononic stations at work, not from writing at home) so I occasionally use speech-recognition software when I write. I'll write short ficiton, non-fiction, and even parts of my novel on my iPAQ. (I've been told I was nuts for doing this.)
Posted by Thieftess (Member # 1683) on :
I mostly work on computer of course - like muogin said, that's where it ends up anyway. But I do have that pen and legal pad handy for, say, the odd boring meeting during which I am compelled to start that blog I've been meaning to get to...or the back of the ATM envelope in the glove compartment because I'm at a stoplight and this phrase might vanish from my head before I get to where I'm going...
As long as I'm writing, I'm not particular as to what I'm writing on.
Recently, though, the medium DID make a difference. I was struggling with my main character. I had shifted into her brother's POV (and absolutely fallen in love with her brother), but I didn't know how to shift back. It scared me. Had I fallen out of love with my main character? Yikes! Oh, no!
What would it take me to get back into her head?
It popped into my mind exactly what would get me back to her. The physical act of writing it down. I was lying in bed at the time poring over the dilemma, so I mentally put myself into the position. I sat myself outside at one of the tables at work with a fresh notebook and pen in hand. What would I write first? Well, first I would describe the weight of the book in her lap...and the whole scene just fell into place.
There is still something - for me at least - about that basic connection between pen and paper.
Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :
spaceman, how has the speech recognition thing worked out for you?
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
I'd sooner carve it in stone than write on paper. Pretty much anything other than a full sized keyboard and I'm not going to produce efficiently. Also, I need the display to stay at eye level without requiring gymnastics or superpowers.
Simply put, before the advent of computers, I had no aspiration to be a writer. If there should be no desktops in the world, then I will give up and stop writing, just as surely as were I to suffer a stroke that deprived me of the use of my language processing centers.
Posted by Elan (Member # 2442) on :
I can't seem to keep a hand-written journal going. I never realized I was a writer until I got hold of a typewriter. When I first started writing, I used a manual typewriter and onionskin paper because it was easier to erase. Now they don't even make that onionskin paper! And who would have thought that typing class in 9th grade would pay off so well?
Good thing I learned to use computers. I love my computer. I feel crippled without it because I need the ease of editing, of copying and pasting and moving things around. I love it. Did I say that I love it?
I currently have a laptop, which is handy on occasions like, say, Memorial Day weekend where I can take my computer WITH me on the family holiday and get an hour's worth of writing in before everyone else gets up. But I'd be equally happy on a desktop unit.
Now, if I only had more hard disk space, I'd be a happy camper.
Posted by Gingivere (Member # 1936) on :
I mostly write on my desktop PC, but I usually write at least part of whatever I'm working on in a random notebook with a mechanical pencil or pen. I don't mind typing anything I've written down into the computer since if I was using a notebook I was probably fairly tired and made a lot of stupid typos. Typing into the computer gives me a chance to look over what I've just written and do a little editing if necessary. (it'll drive me nuts, otherwise)
Also, I've used a spiral to help flesh out characters when I've gotten stuck. It helps me to write out info concerning physical features, and then a background, even if that stuff never makes it into the actual story.
Posted by Silver3 (Member # 2174) on :
I write on my laptop, mostly, but I use my commuting time in the morning to bring a notebook in case ideas strike me. I do end up discarding most of these.
Posted by Phanto (Member # 1619) on :
Poetry and some short fiction? Notebook. Book? Computer. Book when I am stuck on it? Notebook. Book when I have to get over a block or I'll die? Quill with candlelight, with all the telephones disconnected.
Posted by Rahl22 (Member # 1411) on :
Laptop. If, as has happened before, my computer is out of commission, I've been known to scribble longhand on looseleaf paper... but that really blows due to mid-writing editing that becomes really impossible, as well as speed (I type ~100wpm) and the hassle of having to retype it all.
Posted by wbriggs (Member # 2267) on :
Laptop for everything.
Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :
>>how has the speech recognition thing worked out for you?
I have Dragon Naturally Speaking Standard v7. I used it for a couple of the early chapters of my novel when I had some early carpel tunnel syndrome. (Reversed, fortunatley). I wasn't willing to give up writing.
The speech recognition software is great when you need to rest your arms, but it is a bit expensive.
Benefits: * You can write probably twice as fast as you can with your hands. * You don't need to touch the keyboard very often. * The software learns your voice and vocabulary * You can still use the keyboard
Drawbacks: * You must proofread *VERY* carefully. The software will interpret any sound you make, such as clearing your throat, as a word. It also misunderstands you from time to time, and when you proofread, you have no idea what you said. * Training the software can be a pain in the arse, especially in SF/Fantasy where you invent words. * You need a quiet environment, probably without background music. * You have to wear a headphone/microphone.
Overall, if you have RSI problems, the software is great, but you need to train the software to your speech patterns, and you have to train yourself to interface with the software efficiently. Just remember that your proofreading efforts need to at least double.
If you can use your arms without any problems, I wouldn't bother.
Posted by ely (Member # 2558) on :
Seems most everyone uses some type of computer. My question, what software do you use for writing?
Posted by autumnmuse (Member # 2136) on :
Personally I haven't used voice recognition software, but I don't want to. I don't do very well writing out loud. I've tried recording my ideas into a tape recorder, and that didn't go very well for me. Beth, maybe a cheap way to find out if VR will work for you before you take the plunge is to try that first. If you find the ideas and words flow well when you talk out loud, then you know that VR may be an option for you.
When I am brainstorming or worldbuilding, I scribble randomly on whatever. I can't do that part on the computer. Using a keyboard makes me want to write complete sentences and watch paragraphs grow. It isn't organic and flowing in the way a blank sheet of paper and a pen are for me. The pen has to be a good one of course. But I typically scrawl all over the page, use sentence fragments, sometimes draw pictures, or just write down single words or phrases.
But I don't do any actual drafts by hand. I'm far too impatient at the speed and forget what I was going to say next by the time I get there, which means my handwriting gets worse and worse and faster and faster until at last it is unreadable even by me, and I'm still not going fast enough, and then my hand cramps up and I give up in frustration.
So the PC has been a wonderful invention for me. I don't have a laptop, but if I get one I would absolutely insist on having a full size keyboard built in. I've tried typing on the smaller ones and hate it with a passion.
Posted by derdirector (Member # 2621) on :
I write with whatever I can, a pen and notebook, a pencil and a napkin, laptop or my desktop. I usually finish on a computer, but ideas I like to write on paper. Thet makes them more tangible and easier to manipulate and add to. I use Final Draft software when writing a screenplay, I am looking for software that helps with novels and the such.
Horst
Posted by Dandelion (Member # 2582) on :
I use a laptop - and I'm coming up on the same battery situation that Muogin has. I get to write for 55 minutes at a time (lunch break), and just yesterday I fired it up and realized that I hadn't recharged after the last session. Battery was at 50%.
Guess how long a 9-year-old laptop battery at 50% lasts? If you said 12 minutes, you're RIGHT!! No warning or anything. Sigh.
Anyway, I'm in Survivor's "rock beats paper" camp. Tried it, can't do it. I need to be able to cut/paste big swaths during drafting. Scissors and tape get messy.
Lisa
Posted by Ahavah (Member # 2599) on :
I have WAY TOO MANY notebooks floating around all over the place. I try to write at the computer whenever possible. I type much faster than I write, too, so this helps me keep my flow going. I usually have a little note book in my purse for ideas or references, and then I always carry at least one book & notebook that I'm currently taking notes on for some project or other.
Posted by Winin (Member # 2508) on :
I tried Dragon software, but I found that I had to compose in my head, stop and dictate, compose the next bit, stop and dictate, etc. On the other hand, I can compose with one part of my mind and type with another simultaneously, so it flows better.
I use a touchstream dvorak keyboard, which makes a big difference for my RSI. Even a regular keyboard on Dvorak mode is a big step up. I used Ten Thumbs Typing Tutor to learn.
When I want out of the office, I synch my Word doc to my Palm and edit it using the Document-To-Go software (comes with it). I'll either write with a stylus/pen, or use a Palm keyboard. The typing is as good as a laptop, but the charge lasts a lot longer and the setup weighs a lot less.
Posted by ChrisOwens (Member # 1955) on :
Once, my father asked my opinion of what was wrong with his computer. So we looked at it. He thought it a virus or a hacker over the cable modem. Random text spilled into any available area. Especially MS Word. Then suddenly, I said a single word and it appeared on the screen. I about had a heart attack.
And then I figured it out, my father had a microphone and had been playing with some speech reginition software. It'd been on the whole time, and everytime it picked up voices it globbed gibberesh on the screen.
[This message has been edited by ChrisOwens (edited June 01, 2005).]
Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :
Heh! All this discussion led me to thinking about the Ten Commandments having been God's first attempt at flash writing. What a strange idea.
I write most of the time on my laptop, but also use my Palm and a keyboard when I don't want to lug the laptop around.
Regarding writing software, I often use Word as I work in it all day anyway, but more and more I am using RoughDraft, which is freeware. You can find it here.
Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :
I love RoughDraft.
Lately I've been using KeyNote. The text editor is really really primative, but I love the way it keeps all the files together.
Posted by Monolith (Member # 2034) on :
I write on paper with pen or pencil, but most of the time I use the computer.
I can type a bit faster than I can write on paper (unless I don't want to read my own writing).
I love the computer. Mr Simpson would have a cow about now if he knew that his typing class has helped me do this.
But overall, I enjoy writing on paper mostly, but the paper looks like poo when I start to rewrite.
But my opinion only.
-Bryan-
Posted by GZ (Member # 1374) on :
I write on a laptop, setting on the couch or other soft surface with the computer balanced on my lap (which seems to be the perfect height for my hands, if a bit warm on the legs), using MS Word.
Paper and pencil come out when I'm either doodling ideas, or feeling really stuck and need to do something else to get back on track.
Posted by DeepDreamer (Member # 5337) on :
All my original drafts are done on paper -- looseleaf, not a notebook, because I only use one side of the page and feel, strangely, more guilty about wasting paper in a notebook than plain paper -- and then the next morning I type up what I wrote the afternoon before. When I'm writing those initial drafts, I have to be able to scratch stuff out and reword things, and see how I tried to say it before. I also need to be able to scribble in little notes to myself in the margins or whatever, and I don't feel as badly about messing around with a paragraph or a few lines of dialogue a half dozen times before I get it close-enough-to-right when it's on paper. On paper, you see the progress from making those changes, ("Well, I only did seven paragraphs today, but if you count the number of times I wrote them, it's more like two dozen...") but on the computer, if you type up two paragraphs and you take an hour to get them right, it looks like you've been goofing off. I'm the kind of writer who has to mess with that first paragraph before they can go on to the second. At least I'm not a perfectionist.
So I use paper and pen (free-flowing, not ballpoint) for writing and rewriting, then computer for revising and moving things around.
Posted by dpatridge (Member # 2208) on :
i write on whatever is available.
well... it's either pen/pencil and paper or full-size keyboard attached to a computer...
as for the paper, it's whatever paper i can find...
Posted by Josh Leone (Member # 2365) on :
Usually I'm on my laptop. Now that I have it, I don't know what I used to do without it. On the other hand, there are times when my screen looks like a sunflower for all the sticky notes attached to it. For planing out scenes (designing ships, blueprints, etc) I like paper.
Josh Leone
Posted by cvgurau (Member # 1345) on :
I use a computer more often than not, but I don't have a laptop, so I'll write with a paper and pen if I'm away from home, or if the day's too nice to stay inside.
I'd rather have a laptop, though, because a laptop won't blow away in a strong wind. Not the good ones, anyway.
Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :
Why don't you guys plug in the laptop instead of running off the battery?
Posted by Dandelion (Member # 2582) on :
Because the tree in the far back corner of my yard doesn't have an outlet.
And neither does the public space where I go (former train station lobby). No trees there, either.
Lisa
[This message has been edited by Dandelion (edited June 02, 2005).]
Posted by mythopoetic (Member # 2624) on :
Personally, I prefer the computer. It makes it easier to edit stuff as I go. I don't mean heavy duty editing that one might do after a first draft,but just stuff where after I've written something it sounds so bad that I have to go change it right away. I do write on paper sometimes when I'm not in a position to type, but it's slower and frustrating because the paper ends up with lots of sections scratched out and it's hard to get to retyping.
Posted by muogin (Member # 1963) on :
test?
Posted by rmbryan (Member # 2592) on :
I like to write my short stories in a journal then rewrie them on the computer.
Posted by Elan (Member # 2442) on :
Gee, for all you folks who like writing long-hand but have problems holding the pen, there is a cool device called the Pen-Again. http://www.penagain.com/
We sold buckets of them at the office products store I worked at. People with carpal tunnel or arthritis or MS would come in and buy one, then come back the next day and buy four or five of them. If you like to hand write, but have a hard time holding onto a pen, this is for you.
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
I don't have a problem holding the pen, it's just that it's literally easier and more comfortable for me to carve stone than to write legibly using pen on paper.
Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :
that really does look like a cool device! sometimes I do have problems holding a pen and that looks like it could really help.
Posted by ParanoidRook on :
I alternate between my desktop and pen+paper, until I decide on a laptop.
Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :
so now I've got Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 8 installed on my computer. so far it seems to be working really well. it's pretty good at recognizing the words I say. I still don't know if I'll be able to write fiction by thinking out loud like this but we will see.
Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :
It works best when nobody is spying on you.
Posted by Shendülféa (Member # 2408) on :
I have this overly complicated method of writing.
First, I may or may not write an outline. Then I start writing--on paper. I've written my three novels entirely on paper (in pencil...in cursive, which is...weird for me). Then I start slowly typing it up on my computer. After that, I revise and edit a few things on the computer when I know I'm going to waste ink printing it out. If I can manage to print out a manuscript, that's what I do and then I go through and mark everything I need to fix in red or blue ink. Then I go back on the computer and revise everything I marked.
So basically, I work on paper with pencil, then on the computer, then on paper again but with ink this time, and finally back to the computer again.
Posted by Isaiah13 (Member # 2283) on :
Shendülféa: I operate in pretty much the same way. I bounce from paper to computer, then paper to computer again.
Posted by dpatridge (Member # 2208) on :
actually, shen, that sounds like a pretty good method... actually, that's the way that i was taught to do it in HS... i've attempted doing it purely on a computer since, and it's just not working out, i'm thinking i'm going to go back and pen and paper again...
