Wednesday, September 14, 2011

The Case for Longhand

"What's that you say?"

"You're kidding. Right?"

Eye rolls. Head shakes.

These are reactions I get when I say I write my first drafts in longhand. What can I say? I'm addicted to pen and ink. I love watching words appear on the lines. Thanks to years in penmanship class doing ovals and push-pulls my handwriting is somewhat legible. Ah yes. Penmanship. They obviously don't teach that one anymore. I mean, we even got a grade in it.

One can often find me skulking along the aisles of Office Depot. I hang out there a lot. Journals of all kind cause my heart to beat faster. Bound ones. Spiral ones. Sewn ones. I have quite a collection. Those black and white marbled composition books, college-ruled, of course, are special favorites for me. An assortment of legal pads - letter and long. I also go down to Books a Million to see what they have on sale in the journal section.

What do I use to put my immortal words on paper? The pen of choice is the Pilot Precise V5 Rolling Ball, Extra Fine, in assorted colors - black, blue, green, purple, and red. All of these I purchase by the box.

The advantages of longhand are many. A tablet and a pen weigh hardly anything. I can take it anywhere. No worrying about plug-ins for the laptop. No worrying about dying batteries. I can write anywhere - even in the bathtub. Try that with a computer and you could wind up dead. If I get tired of writing I can start doodling. All over the tablet if I so desire. Can't do that on the screen. Last, but by no means least, I can't quit in the middle of a gut-wrenching scene for a quickie game of Solitaire. Email will just have to wait.

The only disadvantage for me: I have a tendency to daydream while writing. But what's wrong with that? The world needs more dreamers.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Did I write this in longhand? Do I want Wild Justice to make the New York Times best seller list? What do you think?

2 comments:

  1. I wish I could write in longhand. I'm so NOT used to doing it that I get cramps in my fingers. 'Bout the only thing I can hand-write is a CHECK!

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  2. I love my computer but I have to say there is something exciting about a blank piece of paper just begging to be filled and the perfect pen for the most profound words. For me it's letting the story tell me what media it wants to be written or typed in.

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