Manually or Digitally?

[tickledkitty]

Most of the time I just type directly into laptop. I should probably learn to put a sticker or something over the backspace key as premature editing of first drafts is a very bad habit of mine. Nothing like rewiting the same sentence five different ways to completely lose the flow.

Ain't that the truth? I tend to edit as I write, as well, and that's why it takes me forever to write a story. I try to tell myself to just get it out. It never works for long though.

The other thing I do is start reading from the beginning and editing every time I open the document.

Bad kitty. Bad.

 

[jomar]

I think it's because we don't write much manually anymore. It even feels weird to me sometimes to write a note or even sign Christmas cards.

I've always had messy handwriting. And it's mix of cursive and block letters. It is more legible when I slow down though.

Nice to see your eyes again, though I did love those Christmas lips.

 

[tickledkitty]

I've always had messy handwriting. And it's mix of cursive and block letters. It is more legible when I slow down though.

Nice to see your eyes again, though I did love those Christmas lips.

Aww, thanks.

(Pssst...those weren't really my lips. )

 

[jomar]

Aww, thanks.

(Pssst...those weren't really my lips. )

I figured...but still liked your choice!

 

[Katyusha]

Do you write your stories by hand first or by tapping on a keyboard?

Further yet, how do you manage your novels if you write them by hand? How are they contained, organised and protected from damage?

On the keyboard...I can't write them by hand because they wind up being such a mess. On the computer if I'm writing a paragraph and I decide it's not working I can just select it and delete it and start over with it...in a notebook I can't.

HOWEVER. My novel has been printed out and I currently have it in a five-inch binder so I can edit by hand. I've found that I lose track of where I am too easily if I try and edit the novel on the computer (and as such, the first three chapters and a quarter chapters have been edited five hundred thousand times and the rest of the novel has been edited in decreasing amounts as you go further through it).

My short stories though...all work is done on the computer.

 

[Xelebes]

I use yellow legal pads, front side of the sheet only. The back is for notes and things that I want to go back and add or change. I put an asterisk in the spot that needs attention, and on the same point on the back of the page, list possible remedies for problems. It's a little slow going, but I like it. Also, I use a mechanical pencil, not a pen. I like the feel of the scratch on the paper, and they stay perfectly sharpened. Nothing says possibility like a perfectly sharpened pencil.

I absolutely hate pencil, however mechanical pencil isn't so bad. I like pens because they flow so smoothly.

Anyways, I thought I would post my own hand. Just because.

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd286/Xelebes/xelebeshandwriting.jpg

 

[john-the-author]

My father is severely dyslexic and has about a 5th grade education. He now has a program called "Dragon Naturally Speaking" that allows him to dictate and the machine types. It's pretty damned cool.

I tried "writing" that way, but the process is TOTALLY different. Couldn't do it.

Hear, hear! After publishing a couple dozen books, my handwriting (never good to begin with) is so bad that I frequently can't read my own shopping lists. OTOH, I type at 130wpm.

There's something about the typing that makes me really feel like my hands are a spooled device. The typing's all auto-pilot; I can think about what I'm about to say and it comes out there.

 

[Frank Noir]

I've been writing nearly everything on keyboards for years now (before the pc there was the typewriter).
In fact, my handwriting has slowly deteriorated. When I do write something by hand, I have to act fast, because I won't be able to read it a few days later.
I can still write music passably, though. Just.

 

[Frank Noir]

Anyways, I thought I would post my own hand. Just because.

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd286/Xelebes/xelebeshandwriting.jpg

Mmm. That is nice...

 

[Belegon]

I use the computer, but if I ever get stuck, a sure way to "unstick" the words is to sit down and write it out by hand until I get past the scene I was having problems with.

that sounds like it might be worth trying...

 

[Xelebes]

I can still write music passably, though. Just.

Oddly enough, I have to use a computer to write my music. Mind you, I strongly prefer the synthetic sound of a computer over a hamhanded playing so it works out. And now I don't actually write the music on a computer, just rather program the music. Essentially the same thing as written music is only a command to be preformed.