5 Reasons to Handwrite Your Story

6/1/2015

I know computers are convenient and wonderful, but if you ever find yourself in a creative slump, here are five reasons to shut the laptop and write your story by hand.

1. No internet

According to this study, American social media users spend over three hours per day on social networking sites. Think about that...over three hours. That's around 3,000 words per day you could write during the time you spend social networking—we're not even talking about Netflix, Youtube, and the plethora of other time-wasters available online.

Sometimes even having the internet available—even if you have the wifi on your laptop turned off—can be enough to deter the creative process.

2. Your Handwriting Style

Your creative writing is like no one else's. So is your handwriting. It reflects your style and your personality, and seeing your unique words written in your unique hand adds to the feeling you get after creating something unique and personal. After all, that feeling is why most of us write to begin with.

3. Narrative Pace

Pacing in a story can be a difficult thing to control. If you find your prose droning on, writing your first draft by hand can help. Slowing down the rate of writing will help you to naturally quicken the pace of the narrative.

4. A New Perspective

How many times have you heard of taking a long walk as a cure for writers block? Part of that cure is relaxing your mind and giving yourself a break. Part of it is just about change—a change of scenery, a change of thinking. Switching from digital to old school can give you that same kind of change and let you see your story in a new way.

5. Feeling of Pen and Paper

There's just something about pen and paper that feels good. Anyone who handwrites stories will tell you that the specific pen and paper matter. For me, it's Sharpie pens and a nice leather-bound journal. For some people, it's ball-point pens and a legal pad. It's whatever works for you, whatever makes you want to write.

Next time the words feel like they're stuck somewhere inside of you, shut off the laptop, grab your writing utensil of choice, and do it the old-fashioned way. Write in swirly cursive or cramped chicken scratch. Write quickly and passionately or slowly, tasting each word. Remember the way the words look scrawled out in ink, and give them a chance to remind you what it felt like to pen your first story on lined notebook paper.

What do you think? Do you like going old school when the words stop flowing?

Victoria Griffin is an author and editor based in East Tennessee. She provides developmental and line editing for traditionally and independently publishing authors. Her short fiction has appeared in more than 40 publications, and she is represented by Sandy Lu of L. Perkins Agency.

She is the author of the workbooks Edit Like a Pro and Craft Your Query. She is also the owner of Blue Pen Publishing Services, which provides book design and branding services for independent authors. Email Victoria.

14 Comments

Avery link

8/25/2016 07:28:11 pm

Your third point is a great one. I hadn't thought about that!

Victoria Griffin link

10/6/2016 02:16:38 pm

I do find it becomes a problem with longer works, when I write parts by hand. The pace changes with the handwritten parts, and I have to address it in editing.

Joanna Oznowicz link

10/1/2016 05:17:10 am

Sooo agreed. Longhand writing not only gives you the chance to SEE the story in your mind and transcribe it to a document, it is also distraction-free. No internet or social media. I think that's also a reason TYPEWRITERS are seeing a surge in popularity.

Sure, it's EASIER to EDIT via computer, but unless you can unplug yourself from Youtube, Instagram, and Twitter, you won't spend much time writing, so the EDITING process is just about useless anyway.

10/6/2016 02:18:46 pm

Yes! Technology makes things easier, for sure, but the distraction aspect is a big problem. I don't know if you've seen my recent post about going technology-free for one hour per day, but it has been a big help!

http://victoriagriffin.net/blog/writaholics-and-technology

April Munday link

10/1/2016 09:31:11 am

I always write my novels out by hand. It takes longer, but I edit when I type it up. It also means that I write without the distractions of the internet.

10/6/2016 02:19:16 pm

I edit as I type handwritten stuff, too. Double the editing power!

Bill Cunningham link

10/1/2016 09:58:53 am

I try and write old school at least once a week. It's more intimate to me.

10/6/2016 02:20:09 pm

I should start making a note on my calendar—today is handwritten-only day.

Kat

11/12/2016 10:16:34 pm

6. Because I don't want to be able to read what I wrote.

The last time I wrote something longhand was in a workshop where the leader insisted we not use computers for an exercise. When it came time to share, I want able to because when I say I can't read my own handwriting, I'm not kidding.

Don't blame computers. I've had bad handwriting since I learned how to do cursive in the late 1970s. I learned how to work a manual typewriter in the early 80s and never looked back.

Also, please keep in mind that pen and paper are "technology" too. Why aren't you revising poetry in your head the way the ancient Greeks did, if you want to be a purist about it?

If longhand works for you, great, but please don't claim it has general benefits. Some of us suffered enough in school with longhand and really don't want to continue the torture.

Carol Hedges

2/4/2017 04:31:36 am

I actually handwrote my first 4 novels. There is a magic about engaging with a piece of paper and a pen. Howver, nor having arthritis in my hands, I can no longer do it..and am grateful for a laptop or ales I wouldn't be able to write at all!

Walt link

6/6/2017 09:59:35 am

I always write in longhand and edit when I type it up.

Stef

6/19/2017 06:26:56 am

I think it's fine if it appeals but it's not an accessible process for everyone. This kind of advice is exclusive for many abled people.
Some disabled people cannot hold a pen for long periods, pain, hand eye coordination, are all prohibitive.
As a disabled person, I see this kind of advice a lot and though fine for ableds, it's not available for all and those who choose not or are unable to write longhand are not lesser for it. That is an attitude I see repeatedly among the writing community.

Hannah link

6/19/2017 02:06:52 pm

Love this post! I write by hand almost exclusively for my first draft. And it really does make a difference with both the pace of the action in the story and my ability to just keep writing (rather than typing so quickly my fingers catch up with the words in my brain). I love how as I write longhand, my imagination has the ability to scurry ahead so I am never stuck staring at a blank page!

Elizabeth Ducie link

6/26/2017 03:53:21 am

This post comes at an opportune moment as I'm coming to the end (hopefully) of the final edit of my latest novel. I've identified a couple of extra scenes that I need to add. I'm going to take my notebook outside into the sunshine and see what I can produce.

5 Reasons to Handwrite Your Story

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