Novel Hand-writing a novel

I have..and i have no preference either way.

Do what feels good to you at the time which may mean bouncing back and forth between pc and notebook.

 

I have done a bit of both, before my macbook, I found it too difficult tog et a flow going on PC so would do a lot by hand so it would flow.

My macbook though has a beautiful keyboard and find I can type quickly and neatly - so I use it to avoid the dreaded retype that comes with hand writing (although it is a good opportunity for some editing!)

 

What I usually do is I write a bunch of it in my notebook, but about two-thirds of the way through, I'll take what I have, go to the computer, and type that up, making any edits I might have seen on the way through, and then I'll finish the last half totally improvised on the computer, than I'll print it up and push it on victims- er, I mean, present it to my friends.

I wish I had a Mac keyboard. I hate the computers, but they just have the best keyboards in existence.

 

i started my first novel that way and wrote a significant portion of it, transcribing my handwritten pages to typewritten ones, before i got my first word processor... from there, it was a natural progression to a mac... i still write some stuff on my favorite pastel lined pads when traveling or just when the mood strikes me, but mostly work directly on the computer [a dell laptop] these days...

 

I've done it once or twice before, it takes a long while. The Dragon of Alteir (my first book was written by hand) it took me about 3 years and 7 months to finish it. I have the date when I started it and finished it in the first spiral.

 

I usually do a combination. I will write large sections of my book by hand, in a series of legal pads, and then put them on the PC, and continue from there.

A lot of it comes from my chaotic form of notes, and brainstorming, in which a notebook intended to be strictly that, notes, ends up a long array of pages for the book.

Still, in the end, it's a combination of the two.

 

I can't write as I can type, so writing by hand I find that by the time I write down the sentence I'm working on, I've forgotten the idea for what came next.

The last time I wrote something longer by hand, I also found that I made so many spelling and grammatical mistakes that I was distracted by them when trying to continue typing. I kept having to correct them before continuing.

 

I write by hand. I lose focus on the computer.

 

i tend to write by hand and then type it up, making the adjustments as i go alongg. i find that by typing up your written work, it is a good opertunity to re-read your work and i think you are more likely to notice mistakes that would be otherwise overlooked.
heather

 

I've always thought that typing on a computer was easier and better for spellchecking, editing, etc. but maybe I'm wrong. Some people can write better and more accurately when doing it with a pencil/pen and paper, but personally I type because generally, it's faster for me, and I can spellcheck/edit/reread/and so on much easier. (I've also basically grown up on the computer and am constantly talking to people, which may or may not serve as a distraction, so going off to write something would make me feel a bit awkward.)

As people have said before, do whatever works...

 

personally, i can't really write by hand. it seems like i can organize myself better when i'm typing. sooooo i'll hand-write really, really, really rough drafts &then elaborate &stuff when i type it up.

 

The first time I wrote a novel, I wrote it completely by hand in a dozen notebooks that are now sitting in a box in the basement at my house.

Then I had to type it up...it took me all summer. I hated it.

The only benefit I think that I got from it was that when you're typing out something that you've already written, it's an easy way to do an edit along the way.

The fact that it was 300k and completely crap and unpublishable is completely beside the point

 

Old thread, I know.

But I had to add my £0.01p worth.

Normally I write exclusively with the PC as the logic behind it is that you can easily correct mistakes with just a push of a button as opposed to making lots of awful looking scribbles on paper.

But today I sat out in the front garden not too long ago while the sun had just set behind the houses in my street while still quite light, a nice cool breeze in the air and birds singing as a nice introspective mood came over me. Luckily I had my writing pad on me and inspiration just came to me on a first chapter problem I've been having for quite some time.

So I'm totally loving the handwriting process as well. Oh I really can't wait for the summer to arrive here! Many days I will spend outside from now on totally chilled out in the evening summer air as calm as calm can be. Hell, I'm even thinking of putting up a hamoc and sleep outside...maybe!

I'm loving it!

 

I spend my time drafting on lined paper from asda £0.89p for 80 sheets in pencil. I rub out my mistakes. I then take the pages i've written could be one or more and type them up on my laptop. That way i'm proof reading back to myself what i've written as i type it to word. then i run spell check bare in mind spell check still corrects words that do n ot need the correction.

 

I often get started writing by hand and pick up such speed that I have to switch to the computer so as not to forget what I wanted to say.

If I'm having a hard time getting the words out on the computer because I keep wanting to edit what I've typed, I'll just close my eyes and type. This is great because I can't worry about editing - I can't see it - and I end up getting a lot more written in a shorter time.

 

I prefer to write everything down on paper to be honest and then add it to the pc later on. I have always found that when I write something in a notebook I can go back to it a lot easier later on while watching tele or outside with the kids. It is easier than taking my laptop outside and leaving it in the sun for an hour or so while I play with my kids anyways.
But I have always found that writing it by hand better off and I use it for my rough draft and can go back over it and change parts easier than i can on the cxomputer. I don't like to just erase mistakes or changes, I like to keep them documented all the time. Just in case it doesn't end up working that way later on when I finally add it to the computer I usually find a lot of areas that need editing.

But really you have to do what is best for you. What is good for one person isn't always good for another. Well anyways I am babbling here cause I need sleep so yeah.

 

I have, and I completely advise against it.

PC is much easier simply because it allows for re-reading and easy editing, not to mention that it clears up gramatical and spelling errors. You can always back up your story on a floppy disk or C.D as well for safe keeping... (I use three floppies for safe keeping. =] )

 

If I dont have any other medium, and my idea is really good, Ill write it up. But because my hand cramps if I write too vigorously or for too long, and my hand writing is barely legible, I prefer to type up most things these days. Also, yes, its easier to edit, and takes up less space. But if my hard drive fries, im royaly screwed. Also, inspiration almost never comes from sitting in front of my monitor.

The middle ground is writing a first draft by hand, and rewriting on the compy, introducing new lines and editing along the way, either compressing or expanding.

 

Yes, and I had over three-hundred pages front and back. I would advise against it. Why? Well, I'd still have that novel, but I left all of it in a hotel in a city I can't even remember the name of. All I'm saying it that if you lose it, you're screwed.

 

lol; very good point.