If you follow along, you know I’ve been hosting daily writing groups at A Very Important Meeting. If you’ve attended any of my recent meetings, you’ve probably heard some discussion of writing longhand.
On the downside, anything written in longhand is difficult to share. Before handwritten work can go out into the world, it must be translated into text. This means you either type it up yourself (ug), pay someone else to do it (because, you know, as writers we have all this extra cash we don’t know what to do with) or try to use some form of dictation software (which I think might actually be a viable option at some point, but I haven’t found a version that works for me yet).
In November of 2019 I took on the NaNoWriMo challenge of writing 50,000 words in a month and, just for kicks, decided to do it longhand. It was a new project idea and I thought that working away from my computer would free me to be more creative and keep me from editing myself. I just wrote. And it worked. I hit the goal and ended up with about half (two-thirds?) of a novel in a beautiful stack of scribbles.
I knew I would have to type it all up later, but I figured when I did, I would edit along the way and end up with a pretty good “first” draft on my computer. Well… it didn’t really work like that. I did type it all up (that was how I kept busy when the pandemic hit and I couldn’t really concentrate), but I edited very little. So now I have a crappy first draft that I’ve written twice. It’s hard to feel like that’s not wasted time.
I’ve heard rumors that Lauren Groff writes whole drafts longhand, throws them away, and then types them up from what’s in her head. This version of writing a first draft longhand actually makes a lot of sense to me.
Because what I’ve learned about writing things by hand is that it’s great for generating ideas. Scenes take shape more completely in my mind with light and gestures and all the things that build a world. I remember things better when I write them out. I feel more creative with a pen in my hand. When I get to a point in my work that I’m stuck, I find the best way to get unstuck is to pull out my journal and start writing about my writing. Works every time.
But whenever I’ve tried to pull something from my journal, to type it up for public consumption, it falls flat. I don’t know why or how that’s the case, but it’s happened enough times now that I should probably stop trying.
But when I think about writing a WHOLE BOOK longhand and then throwing it away to rewrite it from memory, I just can’t get over the loss of all that work. I mean, yes, most of that first draft is crap. Like, 99% probably. But what about that 1%? Those couple of lines that landed right the first time?
Then again, there wasn’t a single line in the first draft of my first novel that remained untouched in the final draft. Not one.
Maybe when I do finally go back to that project I started for NaNoWriMo (the project that may or may not be my third novel) I’ll read through it and then throw it away and retype it from memory, just see what happens.
But for right now, I’m focused on finishing novel two. My goal for 2021 is to get it done. Done, done. Like, hand it off to the agent and let him run with it, done.
Do you write longhand? I’m curious to hear how other people shift between paper and keyboard? Or maybe you don’t. If you do, do you have a system for it, or do you just go with your gut? Do share.
I hope you enjoyed this piece and learned a little something. If you found the content valuable, tips are hugely appreciated.
I just recently went down the fountain pen rabbit hole. In November of 2020, I did an internet search for something that I don’t even remember what was, but in so doing, I stumbled across some articles about authors and screenwriters who write/wrote their first drafts by hand. And that led to articles about fountain pens. So in January of 2021, past my half-century mark, I bought my first ever fountain pens, along with a few accoutrements.
Mid-November I had begun writing my newest book by hand, with a ballpoint. 50+ pages in, I switched to my new fountain pen. I had written and self-published eleven books previously, all on my laptop. This newest one is one of my favorites simply because I wrote it all by hand. And then I inked another FP with Diamine’s Wild Strawberry red to do my edits (and now I’m doing my second read-through with Wild Strawberry in hand). I felt so much more connected to this book than all the others. Also there’s the fact that a fountain pen is so much easier on my hands. I can write for hours with no cramping. Not so with ballpoints or rollerballs. Anyway, I will be writing as many of my future books by hand as I possibly can.
A good pen makes all the difference. I’ve gotten more and more picky, even though I only do a small percentage of my writing by hand. I’m not familiar with the Wild Strawberry. I’ll have to look that up. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and good luck with the new book. Cheers!
This strikes a responsive chord. I employ a retro-techno combo of writing tools. I use hand writing to crack the blank page, digging at my imagination for rough ore. But I don’t use paper; I use an iPad, an apple pencil 2, and note-taking apps like Notability and OneNote. And I don’t use cursive, because it’s too fast. I print. That retro slo-mo combo results in a rough proto-first draft that I retype and rewrite with Scrivener to produce a real first draft. Explanation in more detail in a blog post at https://shrtm.nu/POkN
Hi, Victor,
Sounds like you have a system that really works for you. I get too impatient for printing, but totally agree that handwriting is a great way to crack the blank page.
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers!
I try to attend April’s “A Very Important Meeting” group as often as I can. I found that bit of focused meditation helps me to tap into my creative forces and gets my writing juices flowing. I write these sessions longhand with pencil. I am seriously considering a fountain pen.
Yes, sometimes what I write is crap…but crap is good fertilizer.
After attending her very first meeting, I found the energy to finish a book that I have been working on for 30 years. I have scheduled a date with an editor for next month!
It’s great to see you at the meetings, and I’m so glad it’s working for you creatively. See you tomorrow!
Hi April,
I’m one of the bloggers who loved 142 Ostriches, and enjoy your posts. Writing longhand resonates. I do write thoughts down in longhand but not more than a few pages worth. There is something intimate about the physical-visual process, which seems to translate in reading a physical book vs ebooks. In school, I found that if I wrote it down, it stuck. Maybe the difference between a visual vs auditory learner?
I’m the same way. Even if I lose the piece of paper I wrote something on, I remember it well if I wrote it down.
(and thank you, btw, for your kind words about my book – it’s been a very strange time to launch a debut)
Cheers,
April