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Author Topic: Preference
TMan1969
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I am stuck away from home on tour overseas, and I didn't bring a laptop - only because I don't own one (that's going to change). I thought I could write my stories handraulically, but it turns out I prefer typing them out on the computer. Does anyone here prefer pen over computer or both?? It feels to me I can flow better when I type and that I lose my edge when I write - probably just me.
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Max Masterson
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If I work on the pc, typing, I go much slower and keep going back and changing things. If I work with pen and paper I don't go back at all and can produce a lot of work in a short time. But the quality of work is better on the pc. So I tend to write longhand first then type what I've done onto the pc and edit it there.
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Rommel Fenrir Wolf II
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I write both ways but found the computer is easer than writing on paper only because the computer doesn’t get smeared or torn up like paper.
Rommel Fenrir Wolf II

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mommiller
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Paper and pencil, for my most creative, and what I feel is some of my best work. No power supply necessary, just a sunny window sill and some notebook paper.

When I write the first rough, I just write. Editing comes later. Also my pbk dictionary and thesaurus, along with a grammar book are usually nearby.


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Survivor
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It's basically impossible for me to write in any kind of significant volume using longhand. I can type a word in the time it would take me to write out a single capital, and lowercase letters go faster simply because I represent them all using slight variations on about three basic strokes, so only I can read what I've written. If I couldn't type, I wouldn't write.
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rickfisher
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I haven't written fiction longhand in about 40 years. No regrets.
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Spaceman
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I only write in longhand on my PDA. I hate retyping.
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hoptoad
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I prefer to write with a keyboard.
However, I can't plan a story that way.
I have to do that on paper with a pencil, so I can draw and paste as well.
Is that weird?

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starsin
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I have no preference...actually...I do.

I handwrite most anything I write to give it the "skeletal structure", then go off and type it into the computer, making edits as I type - giving it the "muscles", then I go back at a later date after I've forgotten everything about it, and make more edits, making it fully fleshed out...theoretically...

- starsin


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dee_boncci
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I can't say as to whether I have a strong preference one way or the other. I do both. Typing into the computer is a bit more efficient, but also a bit restrictive.

There's something about the smell of paper, glue, ink, and leather that make make scribbling stories in a journal somehow less sterile.

My next experiment will be to invest in some voice recognition software and give a go at divorcing my hands and the corresponding parts of the brain from the process, at least the initial creative portion. I'd do it now, except that my "writing" computer still runs on Windows '98 and I haven't found a voice recognition package still available that will run on it. Means I'll have to spring for a new computer first, then the software.


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Robert Nowall
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I grew up with typewriters, then switched to a one-lunged word processor, then to computers. I find the flexibility to constantly fiddle with what I'm written to be very useful, but I'm not married to the process. I can still write either way.

In fact, a couple of years ago when I had writer's block, I dug out my old manual typwriter, a birthday-gift-by-request from my parents, and started writing out a couple of short stories on it. I called it Going Back to Square One. After that I returned to word processing. (One story bounced when I finished and submitted it...the other I typed up a revised draft on my computer, and filed pending further revision.)

Retyping something does force you to reconsider every sentence and word you've written...not just by fiddling with one draft until you think you're finished. It wasn't just to make it look neat and presentable.


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goatboy
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I can write either way, though I find with a keyboard I produce more work and better work than I can with a pencil. The reason appears to be that while typing, I can keep up with my thoughts and when handwriting I cannot. The slower speed allows things to be lost while I concentrate on trying to keep my handwriting neat enough that I can read it later.
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Lynda
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I type REALLY FAST, and I have carpal tunnel, so I avoid handwriting as much as possible (typing doesn't hurt my hands because I'm a trained pianist and don't drop my wrists - I'm also a sculptor, which gives me even stronger hands - but I was born with weak wrists, go figure). I can type about as fast as I can think (honestly) and it's much more satisfying to see the words FLOW onto the screen than to struggle and pick and choose words when writing by hand (as I do in hard-copy edits). I work best on my desktop computer, but when we're traveling by car or truck, I use my laptop computer the whole trip while my hubby drives (he likes to drive, and he's a quiet man, so he doesn't mind not having a lot of conversation going on while he's driving). Works out well for both of us!

Lynda


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dee_boncci
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I read somewhere that humans think at somewhere around 300-500 wpm, if I remember correctly. You gals/guys must really fly on the keyboard. My kids can't even go that fast.
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InarticulateBabbler
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PC... Laptop... Anything with a keyboard, thesaurus, and a spellcheck!

I literally just bought another PC yesterday, 'cause my laptop just sh**-the-bed; PCs are cheaper.

Ironically, I'm a professional artist, have won over 137 awards for work that was started with paper and pencil, yet, I can't produce anything but dribble, if it's not on a keyboard.

Go figure...<shrug>

[This message has been edited by InarticulateBabbler (edited February 19, 2007).]


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Pyre Dynasty
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I like the keyboard, because when I do the pen & paper thing I lose energy thinking about how I would later have to type it up anyway. Also sometimes when I'm stuck I see the words I need highlight themselves on the keyboard.
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franc li
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I use both. I think writing by hand definitely has some advantages.
1. You don't have to be at your computer.
2. I like my handwriting.
3. I can doodle if I feel like it.

[This message has been edited by franc li (edited February 20, 2007).]


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Robert Nowall
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Well, when I write longhand (I've kept a boring diary of my day's activities that way for twenty-five-some years now), I'll misspell words as if I'm hitting the keys next to them on the typewriter. I can't imagine why, or how I could even pick up such a habit.
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Survivor
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In the old days, you couldn't see the words as you were typing. But now you can. You see a common misspelling of a word often enough, and that imprints on your mind as an alternate spelling, even though you know it's a misspelling.
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Dulci
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I prefer the computer--when my thoughts burst, I love how I can get it all out FAST (although my wrists protest later.) Longhand I like for development, character interviews/sketching, initial stuff. And of course, line editing (you just don't catch those odd mistakes on the screen!)

I use a manual typewriter too at times, when the computer's otherwise occupied, but hate the "typing curve" when I go back to the keyboard--I try to pound it.


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TMan1969
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I have to agree with some that the one draw back to the computer is that you often slow down to correct (maybe not all the time). Which draws you away from your initial flow, although when writing I need to re-read it a few times - just to understand it (sloppy hand-writing, hence why I prefer computer/typewriter).
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Robert Nowall
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One other thing---at least for the moment, before I think of something else. Mention of "doodling" brought it to mind.

Just before I switched over to word processing, I had taken to sketching out assorted maps and diagrams on the rough draft pages as I wrote them. Layouts of the rooms the action takes place...maps of the immediate location...uniforms and insignia...story diagrams...drawings in perspective of the "set"...all sorts of nonsense.

I tried to carry this on when I switched over, on separate places, but I kept losing track of the papers and notebooks I'd write them in. I've learned to do without, but I tend to regret not doing it...


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