How do you, as a writer, actually 'write'?

Question

Do you use paper (e.g. hardback A4 journals)and pen, or just a PC word processor? Do you find using a PC impairs or affect the creative process of writing in any way?

Answer 1

Hi. Interesting question. I always write on my computer. I find the little helps (like spell check) are great. I can store and move my stuff and change it easily. I never write by hand unless it is poetry, which amazingly enough, I only write by hand. I would never use the word processor to create a poem, only prose.

Answer 2

I use the Pc word processor, but i do have a journal, for when have a sudden idea, or a profound statement, i find that my best ideas are when i am walking with my Ipod, or stuck in traffic, also in that space before i sleep, i get a train of thought that stops me from sleeping so i quickly put it down before i loose it in sleep! Its the same as when you have a terrifying dream and re woken in the night, by the morning you only remember the terror and are not sure of what you were thinking, so i have it next to my bed to trigger my memory.
I find that when i copy it onto the Pc my spelling is always awful and punctuation erratic, cos i try to put it down quickly as i see it, and thoughts r erratic when you get a good one!
If i try t right creatively onto the PC it definitely impairs me, i dunno there is something intimate, about sitting with a book and pencil, like the old great writers would have done, and although i have a laptop, i get nowhere near as much inspiration wherever i sit as i would just sitting with my journal. Journals become personal, you can't 'wipe it clean' and sell it on, you have to keep it. And watch it as there are no passwords to protect it.
Although it is nice sometimes to sit at an old typewriter, bizarre that i am romantic about writing but what i write lacks Romanticism, and is pessimistic most of the time!!!

Answer 3

Years ago, I developed my touch typing to the point where it is a transparent link between what is in my mind and what goes on the paper. So the physical act of typing isn't a distraction at all. It is a real advantage to use a computer, as writing by hand is so slow in comparison and when I try it, my thoughts get all tangled up waiting for my hand to catch up. And my handwriting is so vile I can hardly read it myself at time.
It is also much easier to revise on a computer and I am a compulsive reviser.
The PC does not in any way affect the creative process of writing, except in a positive manner to provide a legible result.

Answer 4

This question is entirely down to the writer. I write using pc, paper and a dictaphone. Some things I write on paper when i am away from my pc or at home(no pc there) some things i write on pc...at the moment its mainly paper as i don't have a pc at home but i am writing a story with my best friend in canada over the internet. I find both work fine-the more inspired i am the less my spelling makes sense in both formats...although my favorite format is definately verbal!

Answer 5

I like to use my PC if I'm writing prose (fiction or nonfiction), but I prefer a pen and paper if I'm writing poetry. I like to use colorful pens that write smoothly, although really whatever I have nearby works.

Occasionally, I will write poetry on my sliding glass door with a dry erase marker. I did this for the first time while writing rengas with a group from a poetry class, and it was so much fun (and wipes right off the glass)! Mirrors are a good place for this kind of writing, too.

Answer 6

I write first ideas in longhand. Has to be with a Parker Jotter retractable ballpoint, with black ink. That way I can jot stuff down whenever, wherever, on any scrap of paper that happens to be nearby.

The moment when I transfer it onto the laptop is always a solemn one; it means that, from here on in, it's bloody-minded donkey work. I actually turn off the grammar and spell checkers on my word processing software. No stupid computer is going to tell me that I can't muck about with the English language. I am a chronically accurate speller anyway, and everything's going to get rewritten at least twice before it goes out there, so why let a computer decide what I should write?

Answer 7

I have to write on paper with of course the perfect pen. I love to jot notes to myself in the margins as ideas pop into my head for plot or character directions and sometimes a terrific sentence will appear out of nowhere but may not be appropriate for what is going on just then. I wouldn't be able to do this on my PC. Also I am not a fast typist so it slows me down and intimidates me to the point that the creative process grinds to a halt.

Answer 8

I am always jotting down details and ideas in a notebook...pen and paper. I write a stream of consciousness journal...about 1000 words a day to teach myself to get past the censor so that I can get down to writing anytime. I also love writing on the computer... so easy to redraft and edit. The creative process is a combination of all sorts of bits and pieces, don't be afraid of using any technique that helps you.

Answer 9

I use a PC mainly but if an idea passes through my mind at those odd moments I have to put it to paper and I constantly walk around with postiks and scraps of paper Tobe added to the computer.

I also find it is too easy to edit and alter concepts on computer and therefore pages rend to change to a point of never being complete. The word count and other gizmo's on Word are a terrific help.

Answer 10

I start the creative process with pen and paper, several rough drafts later I use a PC. I do think, for me, that having pen in hand feels more creative.