Computer or Pen – which is best?

We often ask our Wrtiers’ Voices guests whether they prefer writing long-hand or on a computer.  Most have a strong perference for one or the other and as you might expect, the computer is winning out. But Maya Angelou, who granted us a brief interview when she was campaining for Hillary Clinton for president, is a hold out.  In the December issue of Esquire magazine she proclaims that she has written 30 books, all in longhand.

And Natalie Goldberg, in Old Friends from Far Away, talks about the link from mind to pen and how creativity flows through the hand. 

This got me thinking about my own relationships with pen and paper versus computer keyboard. Is it possible to love them both?

Being over a certain age, the specifics of which I will leave to your imagination, I began writing longhand.  It’s not that computers did not exist, but they weren’t to be found in homes or schools.  So even though I was an early adapter – my first computer in 1982 was an Osborne portable, the size of a large suitcase, with a 5 inch built-in monitor, 64 kilobyes of RAM and two 98 kilbotye floppy drives – don’t laugh! – I still did a lot of writing by hand.  Even after I bought that computer, complete with WordStar word processing software, I liked writing the first draft longhand.  Think of the advantages:  you can write anywhere, anytime, with nothing more than a pen and a piece of paper.  In a pinch you can borrow the pen and write on a napkin.

There is something to the idea that thoughts flow in a special way from the mind to the pen.  Even though I can type without having to think about where the keys are, handwriting feels more natural; more integrated.  But when I’m finished, the page is so messy, filled with scratchouts, circles around sections of writing and arrows pointing to where that part needs to go.  Phrases are interjected above and below the line and afterthoughts snake their way up and down the margins.

Messy yes, but maybe it’s better that way.  Maybe there is less of a pull to make each sentence perfect before I move on. After all, I’ll be able to fix it once I type the whole thing into the computer.

That’s where the computer really shines – when we reach the editing stage.  Many writing teachers suggest that first drafts should be written quickly, without letting the brain engage the editing function; that editing should be a separate endeavor.  Not all writers work best this way of course, but even those who do run into several obstacles.  For some, it is hard to resist editing as you go.  For others, writing the first draft quickly is the easy part – but they resist going back and doing the hard work of editing.

Writing your first draft longhand helps avoid those obstacles.  Since making a lot of changes is tedious, it becomes easier to keep the writing flow going.  Then, typing the draft into the computer provides a perfect opportunity for a complete first revision – so by the time you have something that you can show to someone else, you’ve already been through it at least twice. 

For me, writing longhand and then putting my first draft into the computer is the best of both worlds.