Pros and Cons: Handwriting First Drafts

There are many different ways to write a book—I think that was clear in my Pantsing vs. Plotting post. That’s more on the process side, but there’s also what kind of devices you use to write with: computers, various programs within computers, handwriting in notebooks, an Alphasmart (thanks, Ally Carter), etc. I’ve started a few stories on my computer, but I’ve only ever finished novels (the first draft) by handwriting them. For me, it’s easier to keep track of certain things, write notes in margins, and quite frankly, it’s pretty therapeutic. I’m not opposed to writing on a computer, of course, but it’s not the long-game for me the first time around.

So here’s my sort-of-comprehensive list of pros and cons for handwriting your first draft.

Pro: Like I said, it’s therapy! I’ve always written things instead of doodling: song lyrics, lines of poetry, quotes. All both made up or pre-existing. It just feels so much better writing everything down and crossing things out.

Con: I’m pretty sure I have arthritis at the ripe age of twenty-four because I also have a really heavy hand. 

Pro: It’s ten times easier to keep track of things (for me) because I’ll remember where on the page I wrote things. Need that name again? Odd page, halfway down. What country did I say that character was from? Top of an even page. The pages blur together when I type.

Con: Sometimes it’s not ten times easier to find things and I really wish I could Command+F a word here and there.

Pro: When you find a pen that you like…man, there is nothing like making it fly across the page.

Con: My nervous tick of tapping my nails on my a hard surface while thinking of the next scene is significantly less satisfying on paper than on a keyboard.

Pro: A blank physical page is somehow way less daunting than a blank Word document.

Con: I’m far less careful with my coffee, and I spill it a lot. All over the pages. It gets messy.

Pro: I’m not nearly as tempted to check Twitter when I’m writing in a notebook than when I’m revising on my computer.

Con: I think that I can multitask by being on Twitter on my phone with one hand and write with the other, and I definitely cannot.

And pro: People look very impressed when I tell them I handwrite everything first, and it’s a pretty cool feeling. And I have pretty nice handwriting, so that’s a bonus compliment.

Obviously, I’m biased and very much prefer the handwriting method, but there are plenty of pros to typing first drafts. It’s all about finding what works for you. The bottom line is that writing a book (or anything, really) is hard, and you’re not going to do it if you don’t find a process that you like. Something comfortable to get your creative juices flowing.

Writing process is one of my all-time favorite bookish topics, so I’ll be babbling on about mine until the end of time. Sorry, not sorry.