Pen, Paper & Creativity
Every writer in their lifetime has tried writing their stories on paper. Some entrepreneurs and thinkers of modern times also advocate writing on paper. Writing on paper is time-consuming while writing on a computer is peak productivity. You can create so much content while writing on a computer as opposed to writing on paper. The hassle is not worth it to some.
I agree with it. The hassle is too much. But why is writing longhand still in use?
When you write on paper you are forced to slow down the pace. You cannot write at the same pace as you would typing on a computer. Your writing speed is naturally slower. To keep up with your writing you are forced to slow down your thoughts too. This is where the magic happens.
When you slow down your thoughts you are forced to live with one thought for a few moments. You are expressing that thought on a paper. There is no backspace here so you try to make it as clear as possible. The clarity of thought hits you like a gush of wind. You realize that some thoughts aren’t worth writing and some thoughts command to be written with depth. There will be some paragraphs where you will dive deeper than originally intended.
This is good for your brain too.
When you are focused on one piece of thought because you are writing your brain does not get distracted. It’s tough for you to be distracted in any form of creative writing but it’s impossible, especially in longhand.
When you are forced to write with such clarity of thought you understand it better. You grow more confident. The hyper-focus on one piece of writing, one piece of thought brings you the same joy as you’d feel after meditating for a few minutes. This is equivalent to meditation and if you are someone who loves writing as much as I do you will feel pure bliss.
But we haven’t addressed the major problem of longhand writing. Time. Why waste it on longhand writing when a computer can do so much for us? I agree with the argument that computers are better. I don’t have any clear advice for you in this department because the writing process is personal to each. But I’ll share how I have found ways to combine the best of both worlds.
I write all my ideas with the good old pen and paper. When I am working on a story, I write down the plot, the characters, and a basic outline on an old-fashioned notepad. I then do meticulous planning of key events of the story, character outlining, and even chapter outlining.
I do not start working on my laptop until I have a clear map of my story including chapter outlines. Then I work on my laptop to write the actual story. So, for clarity of thought I use longhand writing but for elongating the outlines into a full novel I prefer a laptop because it’s faster and easier to edit later.
I have written several short stories on notepad too and I loved the experience. So, in the end, it’s up to you what you are seeking from writing. Jeffrey Archer writes all of his novels longhand. James Patterson does all of his book outlines and revisions using pencil and pad. It’s up to you how you pursue it.
If you are someone who struggles to focus on writing a detailed scene or an article, then you should go longhand. Try writing a few essays longhand and see how you feel.
If you are comfortable writing on a laptop but struggle with planning the future content then you should try my approach. Plan using pen & paper and execute the plan on a laptop.
In the end, how you write is not as important as the fact that you write.