Young Writers Society

I do like writing by hand, I don't know why but it has a sort of appeal for me. (Anyway, if you get to be a super famous writer, how much will a hand written first draft of your bestselling novel be worth????????)

That said, the story I am working on now, I have only ever typed. But my next story I want to do at least the first draft by hand. I don't know why, maybe because my first stories were only ever handwritten at first, but when I think of hand writing a new story, my enthusiasm to get started skyrockets than if I think of typing one.

So I totally like handwriting the first draft, then editing it as you type it up.

Everything by hand. I'm a messy person, what more can I say? Besides I can distract myself by drawing and writing other little tidbits around, add notes, blah blah blah. And it has to be pencil, never pen... Again, I like to be messy...

Typing! Even I can't read my writing at times.

However, if it's 3:00am and people don't want to be bugged by my computer, or I'm somewhere lacking a computer, I'll write by hand.

Well, for things like NaNoWriMo you pretty much have to type...

Usually, when I'm just beginning to write or plan a story, I like to write longhand. I can be more visual with my plans (draw pictures, arrows, etc.), plus it feels a lot less formal and official, like I still have the opportunity to change around characters, plot, etc.

But I type a whole lot faster than when I write longhand, obviously. It's easier for my fingers on the keyboard to keep up with my brain that way, plus the backspace key is readily available, rather than crossing things out. And my handwriting stinks.

Until recently, I wrote only by hand. I can't type, you see. I use two fingers and hunt down the keys. I've written hundreds of pages by hand. Literally hundreds.

But I enjoy typing more than scribbling with a pencil. My thoughts seem clearer on the screen. They seem more direct, to the point, realistic. Maybe I like "computer writing" because it's as if you're already published. As if your words are in print.

Good feeling, that.

-Kylan

I used to prefer writing by hand since I can't lug my desktop everywhere with me. A laptop was right-out since they're so expensive and little bundles of distraction.

Enter the Alphasmart.

The model I own is a portable word processor without anything else. It can save up to 8 files though I'm unsure of the actual memory space. I've already filled files 2 and 3. Deleted file 1 because it was a beginning I didn't like, and I'm on that one. File 4 has the end of Ch1 in it.

The Alphasmart Dana model has wireless internet and everything on it, so I don't think I'll get that one. Too many distractions available. The Alphasmart Pro, which is the one I have (a model from 1997) has a small screen where you can only view the last 4 lines of text, so it minimizes the urge to edit.

While writing it by hand feels wonderful, I can type faster than I write and I don't have to basically write the entire story twice before I actually start to cut, trim, and edit it.

Its impossible for my to write on paper. I'm on the computer all the time. My entire stoy is on one file... Which probably isn't a good idea... Okay, now I have to go make another file. Bye!

~Pol

I write by hand for as long as I can. It's better for when I'm still not completely sure what I'm doing/talking about, and typing is better for me when I know what direction I'm going in and just need to pound out the chapters.

I write everything out by hand first, then do my first edit while transferring it to the computer.

I just can't get creative at the computer. I like to be able to move my hand across the page and feel the rhythm of my hand moving slowly down the page, then back to the top of a brand new fresh page, then back down, and so on.

Lets see. I'll usually write my poems on the computer compleatly from start to finish, but stories are different. I like to write my stories by hand before posting them up on the computer.

~Mr. Pie.

amending my first post: I take extensive notes by hand. If it's a poem, I write out the whole thing by hand; if it's a long chunk of narration, I skip over to the computer.

I really don't like writing by pen. In fact, I hate it. I always, always type my stories on the computer. Except when I get a really awesome idea when I can't use the PC, a.k.a. at 2 in the morning. That's when I scribble it down on a piece of paper. And of course, there is the rare occasion when I type a brainwave and save it as a note on my cellphone.

If I write on paper, I write in pen. I can't write with pencil, for some reason. I guess it just bugs me. With pen, if I decide to change something, I can just scratch through it - and then just write above or below that, make notes, et cetera. Then I always have my "first draft" even if I make drastic changes like cutting out an entire paragraph. If I'm working on a computer, it's quicker, but I don't really have that option - control-z only works so many times.

I think it's easier to stop yourself from constantly editing if you write in pen. Like my art teacher had an exercise where we'd sketch in sharpies instead of pencil so that we weren't erasing every five seconds.

I like to take notes by hand and write the story on the computer. I'm a fast typist, but I'm horribly slow when it comes to writing by hand.