The Analog Method

Frankly, I'm a little jealous at many of you writers. Oh, not necessarily for what you write, or your successes, things like that. I'm jealous because you write your books on a computer.

I hand write everything. I always have, and I probably always will. Why?

I'm not sure. I'm certainly capable of writing on a computer. I've done it for years, except where my novels are concerned. How nice it would be to write a little, pop over to a new window, check my stats and email, get right back to writing.  But it doesn't work like that with composition books. The computer becomes a distraction instead of a tool or ally.

And yet...

I type way too fast. Handwriting is so time-consuming, I am usually composing the next sentence before I've finished writing the last one. I think it makes for more contemplative writing, at times. Plus the margins are great places to make notes, drawings for your muse, things like that.

It's also a nod to the past. I often work with dead authors (erm...), who look over my shoulder, if nothing else. Many of them prefer the way they used to do things. And they are quite helpful, at times.

So typing up the novel is an extra editing step that you don't get when you start out on the computer in the first place. I do enjoy that part, if not the actual typing.

I can't argue with the results. But the fact is, I would write a lot more without this computer and network. I'd rather write well.



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