What Do You HANDwrite In?

[Callum_M]

I saw a few people share that they handwrite quite a bit. For some, it's the first draft of their story. For others, it’s notes for story ideas.

So I’m curious: what do you handwrite in? A journal? A legal pad? A notebook? Post-It notes that have taken up more wall-space than the art you’ve been collecting you swear you’ll put up once you frame it? (It’s been years!)

Not for erotica, but I’ve been journaling the last year. I like journaling, but often fall out of it until I realized I needed a steady topic to journal about. I passed the one year mark yesterday and am nearly halfway in the book. That then prompted me to go out and get a second because I know I’ll need it soon enough.

So yeah, what’s yours? Share it if you like!

 

[TropicalTwist]

I picked up a Moleskine journal because I couldn't find a book to buy before getting on a flight somewhat recently. So, instead of reading on a plane, like I usually would, I wrote. I suppose I am a little hesitant as I don't particularly wish to share my handwriting just yet. I will however describe some contents.
FISH RECALLED INCOMPLETELY is written on the spine.
There are the first steps of a story entitled CLAM IN HAND II: GIVE THEM SHELL
In the beginning of it there is a page for 'In case of loss return to' which I filled in with "your mother. If she's dead, give this to some other mother."
On the crazy side no doubt, but so be it.
Part of it is some weird satire, other bits journal, other bits drafts of stories, other bits are just whatever.

I also have a spiral notebook which I record my dreams in. Better to handwrite as it's simpler to store, and easier to do, and get the details out with it fresh in memory, without the hassle of turning something on or dealing with the brightness of a screen taking me out of the fuzzy post dream state.

 

[Jada59]

I don’t hand write much now. But I do keep 3 spiral notebooks in different places.

 

[MK_Whimsy]

Some notepads, notebooks, and sticky notes I've collected from various random places. Problem is that when I handwrite something, I'm never quite able to actually read it.

 

[MrPixel]

This is so cool. Part of me wishes I could play.

My handwriting, even my physical ability to write, has deteriorated badly in the past decade. I gave up on longhand in my 20s, tried to compensate with practicing calligraphy (total fail), and have been limping along with block lettering ever since. Tried journaling on my computer for a while, but too much was turning into expressions of my dark psyche and I really didn't need to reinforce that.

So, if nobody minds, I'll sit here on the sidelines and appreciate your discussions of the art.

 

[TheRedChamber]

I will occassionally mindmap on A4 paper when brsinstorming in a particular genre or kink. Anything I write goes straight in the bin after transcribing onto the computer, because I don't want hard copies of my smutty ideas lying around.

 

[Rob_Royale]

Just a couple of spiral notebooks.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

Spiral notebooks, old pirated photocopied textbooks, scraps of paper, folded-out zines, old agendas, and notepads. I always carry one notepad in my pocket and I'm always holding a pen.

I've been journaling for 11 years so far too, so there's some filled notebooks in my shelf.

Most of my poetry I handwrite because it's easy for me to handwrite poems than type them out.

 

[AlwaysDancing]

Lamy Safari fountain pen (excellent starter pen and my favorite). And whatever notebook I have laying around.

 

[Areala-chan]

Just a couple of spiral notebooks.

This is the way.

 

[Writer61]

For years, I've used either Moleskines (large, soft cover, lined) for notes I want to keep or hotel notepads/sticky notes for temporary ones. The pen is a Stilform* FLOW, the cap is magnetic, removing it extends the nib, and you store it in the tail.

*Stilform (stilform.com) makes beautiful pens & pencils with nice features like anti-roll chamfers.

 

[Erozetta]

Whatever I have nearby. Usually printer paper.
I have nice notebooks... But they are too pretty to write in.

 

[gloomyMoron]

Whatever I have on hand.

Once, in high school in my Senior year, on a trip to a Choir Competition, I wrote an entire poem on a napkin. I posted it some places but those places no longer exist and only a bastardized version of that poem still exists, which saddens me. It was probably one of my better poems and it is just gone. C'est la vie.

 

[deathlynx]

I used to hand write in spiral-bound notebooks but got frustrated with transcribing them to the computer. It felt like having to write it twice (even if I looked at it as part of the editing process) so I just switched straight to computers. I still use a small pocket-sized book for notes, when they strike when I have no chance to add to a file for a while).

 

[ColtonWrites]

I burned through spiral bound notebooks for a bit.
Last Christmas my wife got me a Rocketbook - that thing is awesome.

It's a wipe-off notebook, but the ink is more stable than dry erase. So I write, photograph for OCR, and then clean the pages. It means I'm never at risk of filling up my notebook.
I have to use a specific brand of erasable pen with it, but they're good pens so I don't mind.

 

[Callum_M]

Love the responses! I hesitated to post at all so thanks for those who've contributed already!

I picked up a Moleskine journal because I couldn't find a book to buy before getting on a flight somewhat recently. So, instead of reading on a plane, like I usually would, I wrote.

Writing throughout a flight sounds like a great exercise! I have to believe that at least one person saw that and thought you were making better use of your time than they were.

Some notepads, notebooks, and sticky notes I've collected from various random places. Problem is that when I handwrite something, I'm never quite able to actually read it.

I feel this. I had to retrain myself to slow down to make my writing legible even to me. It still gets messy sometimes, but when I take my time, I think I have pretty nice handwriting.

I will occassionally mindmap on A4 paper when brsinstorming in a particular genre or kink. Anything I write goes straight in the bin after transcribing onto the computer, because I don't want hard copies of my smutty ideas lying around.

Oh I have not thought about mind mapping in years! Clever way to get your ideas out.

Spiral notebooks, old pirated photocopied textbooks, scraps of paper, folded-out zines, old agendas, and notepads. I always carry one notepad in my pocket and I'm always holding a pen.

I've been journaling for 11 years so far too, so there's some filled notebooks in my shelf.

Most of my poetry I handwrite because it's easy for me to handwrite poems than type them out.

Sounds like the physical act of writing is important to you. Genuinely, that's cool. In many ways I prefer it. Not only does it help reinforce my memory, but it's the tangibleness I enjoy. And having 11 years worth of journals is quite the accomplishment!

Lamy Safari fountain pen (excellent starter pen and my favorite). And whatever notebook I have laying around.

Did I just find my new favorite pen?

View attachment 2701560


Whatever I have nearby. Usually printer paper.
I have nice notebooks... But they are too pretty to write in.

Is this a stock photo or did you have an "all work and no play" moment?
[Slowly steps back to the door]

I used to hand write in spiral-bound notebooks but got frustrated with transcribing them to the computer. It felt like having to write it twice (even if I looked at it as part of the editing process) so I just switched straight to computers. I still use a small pocket-sized book for notes, when they strike when I have no chance to add to a file for a while).

I transitioned from handwriting drafts to typing everything out back in grad school. Use to write all my outlines by hand so I could do that anywhere, but like you, it felt as though I was doubling my efforts unnecessarily.

I burned through spiral bound notebooks for a bit.
Last Christmas my wife got me a Rocketbook - that thing is awesome.

It's a wipe-off notebook, but the ink is more stable than dry erase. So I write, photograph for OCR, and then clean the pages. It means I'm never at risk of filling up my notebook.
I have to use a specific brand of erasable pen with it, but they're good pens so I don't mind.

Oh I've seen those! Never used one, but it seems like the merging of two worlds. What's the page limit with that? And can you export what you write?

 

[Britva415]

I use standard size lined paper spiral notebooks which are spiral-bound at the top, not on a side.

This started because I'm left-handed and didn't like the wire coil digging into my wrist as I wrote. But, I write on both sides of the paper, so, it would bug me even if I were right-handed. And the spiral binding makes it easier to use both sides of the paper than "pad" type binding does, where the page doesn't move, you just fold it over the top and back.

 

[Erozetta]

Is this a stock photo or did you have an "all work and no play" moment?
[Slowly steps back to the door]

Not a stock photo. That is me sitting on my hip on my couch surrounded by my attempt to make a title someone else wrote work because I couldn't get a clean edit of the image of their handwritten title. I wrote it over a hundred times. Then tried one more time to edit the original and got a clean edit of it. I was both relieved and mad.

My hand hurt so god damned bad after, lol. But I really like the person it was for, so I put my all into it.

But I went through a ream of printer paper and about six sharpies the last few weeks while hand writing the titles for stories.

 

[Callum_M]

Not a stock photo. That is me sitting on my hip on my couch surrounded by my attempt to make a title someone else wrote work because I couldn't get a clean edit of the image of their handwritten title. I wrote it over a hundred times. Then tried one more time to edit the original and got a clean edit of it. I was both relieved and mad.

My hand hurt so god damned bad after, lol. But I really like the person it was for, so I put my all into it.

But I went through a ream of printer paper and about six sharpies the last few weeks while hand writing the titles for stories.

Holy shit! Bravo! That’s next level dedication and I applaud you.

 

[PennyThompson]

I love the aesthetic and tactile experience of notebooks and journals and nice paper and good pens and pencils... But I have never been able to get myself to write longhand for any stretch of time.

My handwriting is atrocious and my writing speed is terribly slow, whereas I can type at 120wpm when I'm in a good flow state.

I did some drawing and sketching in college, and I wasn't bad at it, but other creative hobbies have given me more joy so I've kind of let it drop.

I adore seeing other people's journals and accoutrements though

 

[Writer61]

For years, I've used either Moleskines (large, soft cover, lined) for notes I want to keep or hotel notepads/sticky notes for temporary ones. The pen is a Stilform* FLOW, the cap is magnetic, removing it extends the nib, and you store it in the tail.
View attachment 2701558
*Stilform (stilform.com) makes beautiful pens & pencils with nice features like anti-roll chamfers.

I should add 'Why?' I use the large (roughly A5), soft-cover Moleskine.

• I often have to write in relatively small spaces (aircraft, trains) where A4 is too big
• They fit in a pocket on the side of my laptop sleeve where I can access them easily
• The soft cover allows me to tuck in things like business cards, receipts, sticky notes, etc.

 

[BeechLeaf]

At times people have given me fancy, hard-covered notebooks with creamy paper, because they know I write a lot. Thank you, it's a nice present. But it's also frankly useless to me (I didn't say that bit). Notebooks are for notes. My gems aren't going to be on display under a glass case in the British Library a hundred years from now. They're going to be crossed out, and when everything on both recto and verso is crossed out because I've transferred it elsewhere, the page can be torn out and thrown away.

Aesthetically, I can't stand spiral-bound. Now that the days are cooler I wear my jacket outside, so I've always got a notebook and a pen on me. It's a simple, cheap notebook that fits easily into a pocket, and my note-taking handwriting is unreadable, so sometimes I might have missed good ideas.

At home, I use simple ruled A4 pads, and a black biro. This is clear, simple, cheap, and allows me to rewrite and throw away the old pages if I've replaced them with clearer thinking. That's mainly for language study, not fiction. I don't want anyone finding my fiction (erotic or not).

 

[ElectricBlue]

My handwriting is atrocious and my writing speed is terribly slow, whereas I can type at 120wpm when I'm in a good flow state.

Much the same, except typing these days, not nearly that fast. Typing on a table slows me right down, but that's where I do my writing.

Writing on paper these days, only scribbled technical notes when I'm making something - a scribbled circuit diagram or loosely dimensioned sketches is about it.

I did some drawing and sketching in college, and I wasn't bad at it, but other creative hobbies have given me more joy so I've kind of let it drop.

That's something I want to get back to, but writing seems more immediate.

It's a different type of contemplative space, drawing, but it's more the frustration of not being good enough to realise what's in my head. Bah!

I also should learn guitar, since I have a good one, given me by a now dead friend as a swap for an amp that I made for him. Then there's the little verandah I want to build, outside my studio door...

 

[crookedletter]

I like the weird and nerdy notebooks at Cognitive Surplus. They have some cool ones, and they're good quality. I find I like the dot grid better than the standard lines, too, for some reason. I'm currently working through a six pack of them, which was kinda fun because you get a random six, and it was much cheaper that way.

 

[Callum_M]

I did some drawing and sketching in college, and I wasn't bad at it, but other creative hobbies have given me more joy so I've kind of let it drop.

I am the walking cliche of having an art degree I do not at all use. Though lately I’ve felt the pull to start drawing again.