Today’s article is written by regular contributor Sarah Baughman.
Leading a discussion at a writing workshop a few summers ago, I fielded a question that struck me first as funny, then as thought-provoking: one participant wanted to know how often I drafted stories and poems by hand.
I stumbled over the answer at first; I hadn’t really thought about it before. I’m in my early thirties, part of a generation that generally can’t imagine giving up computers now, despite clearly remembering life before them. I have boxes full of lengthy handwritten stories I penned as a child, so I know I must have done it at one point, but these days I can barely write a page without my hand cramping.
“Not really,” I answered at first, then paused, realizing notebooks filled with scrawled half-pages still filled my desk at home. “Well, wait. Sometimes.” Considering the question again, I realized that despite my reliance on the computer for writing, I still, reflexively, write by hand too. But only in certain situations. Why, I wondered, did I sometimes ditch my laptop for a pen? And did it ultimately matter?
Does handwriting affect your writing process?
A recent BBC article asked: “Is handwriting still important?” The article mentioned a bill drafted by a North Carolina congresswoman demanding that elementary schools teach penmanship; a linguistics professor meanwhile deemed such instruction “not crucial to their education” as technology displaced handwriting as a communication tool.
The brief article touched on the question of whether or not handwriting is a purely nostalgic skill. My choice to write by hand, or not, went far beyond penmanship and struck at the core of my creative process.
I realized I wrote poem drafts exclusively by hand, typing them only after several revisions, when they felt “done.” Essays and articles happened primarily only on the computer, yet if I wasn’t completely sure how I planned to start and wanted to sketch out an organizational plan for a longer piece prior to writing, I usually started with a pen in my hand rather than with a blank Word document. I felt I’d reached a point where no matter how much of an essay or story I wrote by hand, though, I’d only be able to truly finish writing it on my computer.
The easy quickness of the clacking keys, the way my typing speed matches the pace of thoughts as they come, the “delete” key keeping me from getting mired in unwanted sentences, the cut-and-paste tool helping me easily rearrange and reorganize– I just couldn’t imagine giving up these conveniences.
Not only was typing easier than writing by hand, it had become, for me, necessary to my actual writing process. I couldn’t imagine the patience that, say, Charles Dickens must have had, writing Great Expectations line by line, without even white-out. I realized, logically, that people wrote that way once because they had no other way to write. But what intrigued me was the idea that I honestly didn’t know anymore if I could. Had I evolved—or devolved—into someone who needed the computer for expression, like some kind of extra limb?
I doubted I had the discipline of Wendell Berry, a writer and poet I admired who insisted he would never buy a computer to write. “I disbelieve, and therefore strongly resent, the assertion that I or anybody else could write better or more easily with a computer than with a pencil,” Berry stated, going on to say that he might give computers more respect as soon as anybody writes “work that is demonstrably better than Dante’s” on one.
I admired his point, but despite having written by hand for a couple of decades before growing accustomed to effortless typing, I felt that perhaps my brain had changed, grown dependent on the keyboard and screen. Without my computer, would I even be a writer anymore?
Faced with the question at the workshop, I finally answered that I used the computer to actually write and edit, but that if I needed to think first, I went for the pen and paper. I knew my tendencies wouldn’t apply for everyone, but I still wondered if there was anything to learn from them.
Can handwriting be helpful?
After leaving the workshop and doing a little research (on my computer, of course!) about the effects of handwriting, I learned about some connections between handwriting and cognition.
Citing a study on handwriting and children’s cognitive development, The Huffington Post called writing a “more complicated” task than typing on a keyboard, noting that since it integrates three brain processes—visual, motor, and cognitive—it actually builds brain power.
The Wall Street Journal discussed several studies indicating the importance of handwriting, including one that “highlights the hand’s unique relationship with the brain when it comes to composing thoughts and ideas.” The physical act of handwriting, the study suggested, “activated massive regions involved in thinking, language and working memory—the system for temporarily storing and managing information.”
So perhaps there’s something to my inclination towards brainstorming and organizing by hand. And it follows that poetry, which for me personally requires condensed focus on shaping the right words first rather than free-writing and cutting back or editing later, would also benefit from handwriting.
I’ll never give up writing on my computer, but I did learn fairly recently that I didn’t need to entirely depend on one either. Hospitalized and on bed rest during my second pregnancy, I felt urged to write but didn’t have a computer nearby and moreover, felt strangely tired at the thought of trying to maneuver one into the bed. I was comforted, however, by a small notebook and pen I’d brought, and spent the long hours doing what I used to do before computers came on the scene—writing, scratching out, stopping and thinking, and writing again. It was slower going, but it felt just fine.
The essay I wrote by hand in the hospital will be published in a literary magazine this summer, so I suppose I haven’t completely lost my ability to express my thoughts on actual paper—even if I did edit them later on a computer!
Do you write by hand anymore? If so, when? Does it help or hinder your writing process? Do you believe handwriting is a valuable exercise, or a near-obsolete nostalgic venture?
Interesting post, Sarah. Just recently, I noticed I have a harder time thinking through a writing “puzzle” when I’m not sitting at the keyboard. That disturbed me. Due to years of typing and a hand injury, I can barely write legibly by hand, but I’ve wondered if I ought to try harder to recover that ability. Now you’ve convinced me I should. Thank you.
Linda, I also feel disturbed when I ponder the fact that my brain might somehow changed to the point where I can’t really “think” beyond the computer. I’m so grateful for the speed and ease of keyboards, obviously, but I do wonder what’s been lost. Good luck– don’t push that injury though!
I took on this writing project for 2013: write a complete story (fiction or non) every day. By hand. I bought a special fountain pen for the task and some decent Moleskine notepads to get started. I’m five months in, and I can say I do seem to approach the writing differently, my results are different than when I’d done similar, smaller scale projects without the handwriting element. It’s been fun and educational, seeing where this takes me.
What a great project idea, John! I love Moleskines too– there’s something quite appealing about their heft and design. I’d be curious to hear more about how your writing is different when it’s done by hand.
I write my first drafts by longhand. I like the connection between my hand and brain and paper. Then I’ll type it into the computer, print it out, and edit by hand.
Makes sense to me, Penny! I’m ashamed at how tired I get writing by hand. Perhaps it’s something I need to approach as I would exercise– no way to stay in shape if you don’t do it.
All my first drafts are by longhand. It provides a tighter connection to the essence of the story – the core elements of character and setting. Typing, for me, is fast and a little distant, whereas handwriting allows me ruminate as I work, to slip into the curl of each word – I can feel the shape of what I’m creating through the pressure of pen on paper. It’s more satisfying, and enhances the bond between me and what I’m creating.
I love that phrase– “to slip into the curl of each word.” I don’t doubt that the physical contact between hand, pen, and paper deepens the intellectual connection to the work. Typing is definitely fast…but that’s not always good.
When I have writer’s block or I’ve lost my focus with my stories, or if I’m feeling overwhelmed or discouraged by the challenges of a writers life or career, writing by hand serves as a reminder to return to or shore up the basics.
I learned as a child to write by hand so the comfort in the familiarity of writing by hand really helps in regaining the proper perspective.
Great thoughts, Jorge. I hadn’t pondered the nostalgic connection of writing by hand, but I definitely sense that too– curling up with a notebook and pen feels like some ancient but deeply familiar act. Certainly it could restore perspective.
Really interesting–so glad you researched this. I am ADD, and typing is SO much easier. I can’t get my hand(writing) to keep up with my thoughts. I still handwrite all thank you notes, condolences, etc. But for essays? It’s the keyboard.
I ditch the keyboard when I am stuck. It is too distracting to wander off and check emails, or twitter or whatever. Pick up a notebook and pen with no connectivity and just write… and the issues usually resolves itself.
I write longhand on my notebook first, and then transfer the final version on the computer, although I usually end up tweaking the piece here and there before hitting publish on my blog. My thoughts seem to be more coherent on my notebook somehow. Distraction is also my nemesis when writing on the laptop.
Same here, Van. I still have a zillion notebooks in my home, in my bag, on my bookshelf! My blog is called ‘The NoteBook Blogairy’ for goodness sakes! 🙂
Important (right-brained) pieces need to come thru me at least in part via longhand. Then, once the idea has jelled, then I can get on my laptop and pound away (I type over 85 wpm). I find that when I’m ‘stuck’ I need to go out into nature with my notebook and just let it all flow and it generally does.
Great post. I personally find writing by hand much more productive. My writing is of a better quality by far. I think that this is down to the fact that when I’m writing by hand, that is all that I’m concentrating on, whereas typing on the computer always opens up the opportunity to other online distractions. I can also see what I’ve crossed out when I’m writing by hand. Thanks for sharing.
I do write by hand now and then but i really enjoy the freedom to edit and delete that the computer allows me. I am also (for now) a bit on the lazy side and I can have lots of ramblings written down on paper ..’to be looked at later’.I think that the next stage in my development as a functioning writer would be to follow up my bursts of inspiration (at predictably regular intervals) by installing them onto a word document so they don’t get thrown out with the junk mail. Or worse still, get lost in some cupboard only to be discovered later- much later – and then I am left wondering who wrote that bit of ‘genius stuff’ or even confusing a shopping list for a poem ! Overall,I think the pen is mightier than the keyboard as a writing tool and not to be underestimated as a device for loosening up the imagination. And it hasn’t an offshoot designed to eat into creative production time – the internet.
Poetry is almost always with a pen for me. Screenplays start with notes, thoughts, ideas and interesting character traits filling the pages of notebooks. I always use a black ink pen (strange?) I don’t like any other color to write with – never blue or dread the thought, red. But writing the screenplay itself or blogging, these are reserved for the computer.
I write my first drafts longhand. The physicality is important to me as I can think when my hand is moving, but not always when I’m staring at a blank screen. Writing longhand helps keep me away from internet distractions too, However, I use Scrivener to outline/add notes/research/character sketch and transfer my drafts over by scene. The combination of both works well for me.
I always compose first drafts in long hand, on college ruled notebook paper. Then, as I type it up on my computer, I edit and make corrections. I’ve never been able to compose (from scratch) anything longer than an email at a typewriter/word processor/computer keyboard. Term papers, ebooks, any complicated project which will have more than one “chapter” – I have to write it out in long hand first.
I write it by longhand, in a notebook first and then type it onto the computer while editing it.
Interesting article. I’m experienced enough, however, to assume that the opposite psychological test results linking intelligence to fast typing will eventually make news. Whatever works is the best method.
Interesting article. I think whatever works is best. The opposite result, that computer typing builds brain power, will eventually be touted as news. You can count on it.
I usually write my first draft – when I try to type it I am much slower (despite a high typing speed) and have more trouble figuring out the story. I also often print out drafts for revising by hand.
Amazing to see all these people who compose longhand. I still write poems longhand, but everything else seems to be a collaboration between my brain and my keyboard. I’d be lost without it. Probably because my handwriting is so bad I can’t decipher it.
I write executive summaries for business proposals. These have to be clear and compelling overviews of my company’s approach to a potential contract. The content I work with is usually technical and complicated and always well beyond my understanding. So I get stuck a lot. Going longhand gets me unstuck every time. When I’m typing a first draft, I edit as I go. This slows me down and, unless I’m I’m in a rare grip of inspiration, keeps me from really getting my head into the ideas. My thoughts just flow more naturally, and I can always edit what I write as I type it up. A secondary advantage is ink. I write with a decent fountain pen and great ink. It’s nerdy, but I just love seeing ink appear on paper. It makes me want to keep writing, which makes the ideas come through even more smoothly. I recommend longhand to all of my colleagues.
This was an intriguing question. It depends, for me.
I like writing by computer and longhand both, but editing would be near impossible without the computer. I like to edit and save several drafts sometimes, and without computer space, I would smother under all the paper needed for this.
Happy smothering, but smothering nonetheless. 🙂
It’s kind of comforting to see how many others still write longhand. 🙂 Like many here, I write almost all of my first drafts longhand, and then typing them up helps me ease into the editing process.
For me, it probably goes back to all those composition books I filled as a kid — somehow using pen and paper just feels more evocative of creative writing and thoughtfulness and emotional safety/privacy than typing on a keyboard, which tends to make me feel like I’m writing a blog post or email or something else public.
I love writing by hand and have spent many years making my handwriting look “pretty” lol I like the flourishes and things like that of pre-1900 handwriting and I try to emulate that as much as I can. Generally I don’t write stories or blog posts by hand, unless I have a good idea for one and I’m not near a computer, but throughout the day, I still use the little green notebook in my pocket over some note taking app on my Kindle or phone.
I will usually write by hand first and then type my blog post. I’m constantly writing myself notes. If I couldn’t write by hand I would be a very unhappy person.
I write observational humor, so I have little notebooks stashed everywhere to jot things down as they happen. But when I’m in front of a computer, I type.
However, when I’m stuck on a section I’ll print it out and bring it to work. During lunch I’ll attack it with a pen and can almost always fix the problem. So I would tend to agree with that connection between hand and brain!
How I write (keyboard vs. paper/pencil vs. phone) depends on where my muse meets me…seemingly dependent on location. There’s a pad and pen by my bed…my phone’s in my pocket…my keyboard on the table corner.
Environment probably has the most influence on the mode.
I do agree that there are certain multiple processes involved in handwriting that are not IDENTICAL to the other modes, but that doesn’t mean there are not other mental/physical processes that occur in keyboarding, or thumbing on the phone. Another study might well indicate that possibility as well.
Typing this post (on keyboard) there have been so many pauses, backspaces, glances away from the screen to my thoughts…I just backspaced to include that ellipsis. Why? Well…it didn’t take handwriting to have the thought that an ellipsis might be more ‘honest’ and ‘relevant.’ So maybe keyboarding isn’t less productive or creative-crippling in laying down our thoughts–just different.
I love this post and really resonate with it. Until very recently I always needed to do “creative writing” –poetry and fiction — by hand until I get to the editing/revision phase. This was also often true for certain types of nonfiction — memoir, humor, or other “creative” work. For more straightforward narrative, articles, blog posts, etc., I find the computer works better.
Ah, but there are wrinkles. Due to a new RSI, sometimes typing is a problem and a pen is better. Other times, I can’t handle a pen, either. I have speech software now (Dragon), and while I am learning to use it in place of typing, I find that dictating is a different animal entirely. When dictating, the craft I rely on for writing that comes (relatively) easy — careful construction of sentence structure, word choice, etc. — falls away and is replaced by a clumsy, groping, rambling style that I detest.
Such challenges are not entirely new to me. In 2008, I lost the ability to speak much of the time. I was already haltingly conversant in American Sign Language (ASL) and turned to signing when I was around people who understood it. As I became more fluent, I discovered that if I was trying to access my emotions — have a heart-to-heart talk with a friend or speak to my therapist — typing my communication was much harder than signing it. Even though English is my mother tongue, something about using the body to convey thought — and signing is a process more like speaking than typing is — lent itself to immediacy and emotional thought much more easily and completely than typing in English.
I wonder if something similar occurs with writing by hand versus typing — that the physicality of moving the pen across paper accesses another part of our brain than does typing.
I would have thought, being a writer and someone who has always felt much more comfortable expressing myself on paper than orally, that writing would tap more directly into my “expressive mode” than signing (using a foreign language). But there seems to be a real difference (neurologically, I guess) between writing for the sake/art of writing (writing to an invisible/absent/imagined audience) and responding in a conversation (immediate give-and-take). When communicating via keyboard in a real-time conversation, I can certainly express myself cogently, but the emotional/human “connective tissue” of interpersonal interaction is lost. For example, if I want to convey my gratitude or concern to a friend, if I try to do it by typing to them (in real time — when they are standing next to me, reading the screen), it comes off rather robotic and distant, whereas if I sign it, the truer expression comes through.
Yet, if I was writing a note to this person and they were not present — if it was more like the act of writing a letter or a bit of memoir — I would feel much more easily and deeply connected to them and the emotions and meaning I’m trying to express.
Love this subject, Sarah! I used handwriting infrequently, but I can’t say for certain the cause. Just to shake things up a bit, I think. I also like a tablet and a pen for writing while traveling. So much handier than those devices with on/off switches. 🙂
I tend to do my first draft entirely by hand because I can think better onto paper then I can onto a screen. Then I type it up, fiddle around with it and such, then print it off for the hard core editing.
I’m acutely aware of the difference between my handwriting and composing on the computer. My handwriting has always been poor, and I spent years being embarrassed and frustrated by my inability communicate this way. I truly thought there was something wrong with me. I had no exposure to computers until I was in my early thirties and even then it was only for trolling the web and reading. I struggled to compose even the simplest letter by hand. It wasn’t until I decided to go to college and forced myself to learn how to use the computer to write that I discovered I most likely have a writing disability called Disgraphia. I still jot down ideas by hand, I can make lists and I love to plot timelines on graph paper but it is impossible for me to keep a train of thought long enough to hand write it. I need the computer to bridge the disconnect between my hand and head. I enjoyed reading all the Interesting perspective in the comments.
I have found writing by hand more enjoyable and I have been doing it for a long time now, but I am not computer savy yet.I enjoy poem writing and short stories written by hand too. I can go slow enough to write what I am thinking by hand better than I can by using the computer keyboard to write. Through the years I learn that I think faster than I write and when I write a story on computer it would be a totally mess. From this point I do a whole lot better writing with paper and pencil first. I am honor to use my hands for writing and I will be one that will continue to write by hand. At this time I have a story idea,but I will write it on paper first,before taking it to the computer.
I very rarely write by hand anymore. If I’m out and about, I have my ipad to type notes one. I even use it for shopping lists! I find my hand gets too cramped, and I can’t ready my writing later if I write by hand!