Paper or PC

Welcome back to our fundamental series here on Paper Beats World. We’re slowly, over time, diving back into the basics of writing. We’re talking about the barebones standards of writing in a mundane way that is magical in practice. Today, I want to talk about something that has many answers, and none of them are wrong.

Do you write longhand, or do you type your writing?

No, let’s narrow that down a bit. Because there are just some parts of the writing process that are not going to work in one medium or the other. A second draft cannot be handwritten in my opinion. And while there can be a healthy debate about that, I don’t think anyone’s going to argue that by a third draft you should really be clacking keys. Though if you’ve got an argument for that please let me know in the comments because you are clearly a fascinating individual. Or you’re a time traveler from the past.

So let’s narrow this down to just the first few steps of your book. The brainstorming and rough draft steps. Now, I’ve written rough drafts on paper, and I’ve written them right into Word. Both have pros and cons, so let’s talk about them.

On paper

This is how I started, and how I think most writers my age or older stared. Writing a rough draft on anything else but paper. I think Stephen King wrote his rough drafts on an old typewriter. But he also says he wasn’t super prone to typos in his book, On Writing.

I am super prone to typos. And I didn’t have a typewriter. So I write in college ruled notebooks.

I still prefer to write my rough drafts in notebooks. There are several reasons for this.

One, of course, is the issue with typos. I know it doesn’t matter in a rough draft, but I can’t stop myself from going back and fixing them. Writing on paper allows me to ignore the mistakes and just keep on flowing.

Another is that I can take a notebook anywhere. And when I’m in the rough draft zone, I might well take the damn thing anywhere. Yes, I can do this with a laptop, but I don’t drive. And when you’re walking or riding the bus, a laptop can get heavy.

Or get broken.

Writing on paper has a lot of aesthetic benefits for me. There’s a reason I called my blog Paper Beats World. I love paper. I love watching pages stack up with story on them. I love filling a blank page with ink.

More than anything though, I write on paper because my brain works best when I do.

Likely from years of habit, my creativity comes out most on paper with pen. I can scribble, work out problems and figure out what’s going on in my mind when I have a pen in my hand. So, because this is what my muse works best with, it’s what I lean towards.

On PC

All that being said, I have written rough drafts on my computer. Well, on Dabble to be specific.

There are many good reasons to do this. For one, it costs no money. Well, for me it costs my Dabble subscription. But I’m going to keep paying that anyway. So it cost me no additional money. And you can always write on Google Docs or Libre Open Office.

There’s also the fact that my rough drafts written on pc are legible. Like, the whole way through. I have terrible handwriting, and it gets worse when I get excited and start writing fast. I have definitely gone through some handwritten rough drafts and just written big question marks on pages. I just had no idea what I’d written in a fit of creative passion.

Another thing that’s nice about writing your first draft on pc is that you’re not going to have to rewrite as much of it. Well, you might not have to rewrite as much of it. When I type my second draft, I have to literally type every word. When I write a rough draft on pc, I can just copy and paste anything worth keeping. If there’s anything worth keeping.

There is also the matter of speed. I can write pretty fast, but I can type almost as fast as words come to me. Even if you aren’t a fast typist, you probably still type faster than you write.

When you don’t have a ton of time, getting words down fast can be a necessity.

Built in spell checks don’t hurt either.

Finally, there is something incredibly satisfying in watching a word-count rise. Especially right now during Nanowrimo. I have been loving the little ticker at the right hand side of my screen. It makes my little Type A heart happy.

What’s worked best for me, after years of trying and testing, is a combination of the two. I write brainstorming and notes, then the rough draft, on paper. The second draft goes onto my pc, as do all other drafts that come after. And I, and my muse, are happy with this.

But now I want to hear what you think. Do you write your rough drafts on paper, do you start at your pc, or do you do something totally different? Let us know in the comments.

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