I recently read this post on the Live to Write – Write to Live blog from the New Hampshire Writer’s Network. The post was part of the Friday Fun series where each week, they pose and answer a different question. This week, they posed a question about writing with a keyboard versus writing longhand.
QUESTION: Early adopter or luddite? A shiny laptop and the latest writing software, or crisp paper and a fine pen? Which do you prefer? Why? If you use both, what drives your choice?
This inspired me to think about my own writing habits.
While I love the feeling of pen-in-hand, I find more and more I use the computer (or my iPhone) for note-taking and writing.
I still carry a notebook with me and always make sure to have good pen (or three) on hand at all times. In fact, I have notebooks everywhere; a fun-sized notebook for my purse, a notepad in my glove compartment. You’ll find notebooks in my desk drawers, my nightstand, the end table beside my couch. I have them in a variety of styles, spiral bound, Steno pads, and composition notebooks.
I am known for writing things down on post-its and scraps of paper, then losing said scraps of paper. So I’ve taken to using my phone to record my shipping lists. I used to be an avid journal keeper and always wrote in journals by hand. Despite my tendency toward typing in recent years, I love to write notes in beautiful cursive and fear that good handwriting is become a lost art form.
For my freelance writing work, I have always taken notes longhand on a notepad during interviews, but have recently come around to bringing my laptop for note taking. I can type so much faster than I write, that it’s easier to keep up and much better for accurately recording direct quotes.
I do most of my creative writing on my laptop in Microsoft Word. I don’t have much experience with writing software, however, this past November I tried yWriter for NaNoWriMo and enjoyed it. I have also taken to writing notes or starting drafts using my Gmail, composing an email then saving it as a draft to come back to later. As silly as this seems, I can easily access my Gmail from anywhere.
How do you write? How has technology changed the way you write?
I have an ongoing joke with a writer friend. He will ask, “Did you write today?” I reply, “On paper?” I have empty notebooks stashed in my car, in my bag with my laptop, by my bed, in the kitchen. Mostly I write on my laptop. But some of my best work I write on the “fly” and text to a friend who lives on the other side of the country. Did I write today? Uh….on paper?