So I was wondering, when you are roughing out a story do you sit in front of a computer or write by hand? I have issues with this myself. Handwriting warrants less distractions, but I type faster and get more out before I need a break. Then I break for too long because I get stuck looking at crap on the internet. What is everyone's take on this? I know this has been brought up in the past but the topic was like a year old and wanted a fresh perspective.
Disconnect your router and give it to someone who will be good to their word when you tell them "Don't give this back to me for at least twelve hours, no matter what I may say".
Or hit up your wireless modem and restrict access to your connection between certain hours of the day when you should be writing. Or just HTFU and write anyway ;-)
Also, a strong commitment to no hands-in-the-pants is a must. The ultimate boy-distraction is with you 24/7-365. You must resist.
Just unplug your router, or if you use a laptop, disable your Wi-Fi. Perhaps write in fullscreen mode, or seek out a minimalist word processor. I don't think writing with pen and paper will really help you abstain from gratuitous browsing, since it's trivial to push it aside and sit back at your computer desk for a "quick" break.
For myself, I found that I enjoy handwriting my first drafts. The novel that I'm working on started as a handwritten first draft. Right now, I'm editing and revising the second draft on the computer. I'd say experiment which method works for you. Try handwriting a first draft if you haven't already. Essentially, find out what process works for you.
I write by hand, then type it in. You can get free distraction-free writing software that takes up your whole screen and that you have to close to open any other windows. That can help prevent Internet surfing while you are writing.
I've got an old laptop that is out of date and doesn't connect to the internet, so sometimes I write on that and just shift what I've written over to my main computer when I'm ready via a flash drive. However, I HATE typing on a flat laptop keyboard, so I don't do that very often.
I too tend to get distracted for longer than I like snooping around the net. Also have a single subject note book of random odds and ends from research and other things pertaining to what I am writing (would look like a mess of words and random little subtopics to the uninitiated). Though I usually write with youtube in the background cause I like to listen to music in the background.
I had a three-hour exam earlier in the year and I thought my hand was going to fall off an hour in. I'm so used to typing now that I can't do more than scribble a few notes by hand before it starts to ache.
I'll sketch out a few bullet points by hand, but when it comes to starting in earnest it's PC all the way. No way am I be prepared to write a first draft by hand, then copy it all down into a WP - that would drive me to suicide.
I try to write by hand the first time, then type it up. As I type it up I say it again in my head and will realise if there are any wobbly bits. I feel it a lot more natural to write straight from the hand than typing, I guess.
Not a decision for me. My handwriting is so bad even I can't read it, so I do everything on the laptop.
I see no dilemma in 2015. Typing all the way. Just my opinion of course but then, my handwriting is near illegible.
Wow good points and advice for the most part. I think I just need to enjoy handwriting again and work on first drafts that way, we use technology so much for everything don't we? sometimes feeling the words form on paper is just the feeling your looking for!
I get better results when I use a pencil and paper, but I still mostly outline on a cloud document since I can access it regardless of the device I'm on. I tried carrying around a notebook, but kept misplacing it (and it was "more stuff", which I'm trying to cut down on). Something I've been thinking about are those tablets with pressure-sensitive styluses (I always have a tablet around me), but I'm partial to iPads, and none of the accessories I tried were convincing.
