We have one more question for Lorie before she goes!
When you first sit down with an idea, what do you reach for first: pen and paper or computer? Do you use both? Any idea why you prefer to write the way you do?
Lorie: New story ideas can be all-consuming, so I will make notes in my phone, open a fresh Word doc to create bullet points, and hand-write ideas in a notebook. I can’t say I prefer one or the other, just whatever is handy in that moment!
Jill: I’m a paper girl. I write things out, draw things, print things out, start a binder to keep track of it all. I can’t help it. I like having things I can spread out on the floor and look at. I think it’s because I’m such a visual person.
Stephanie: I’m a pen-and-paper girl when it comes to brainstorming. Sometimes a new idea also has me reaching for my phone and the Google Hangouts app so I can brainstorm with a friend.
Shan: Both. Depends. I prefer the computer in my office to most anything else, but I do carry a notebook and pen with me when I’m brainstorming. I also use the drafts folder in my email inbox to save story ideas while I’m out and about. It’s a fast way to document something without having to scrounge for a pen while I’m at a store, etc. My hands are a bit of a problem for me and pen and paper take more physical effort than typing. I’m much faster and efficient on the keyboard.
What about you, writers? What works best for you?
Paper;) All my initial thoughts go in a note book, my bullet journal or a scrap of paper. After I pretty much know where I'm going with the story, out comes the laptop.
ReplyDeleteLove that you use your bullet journal because you and put whatever paper you wrote your thoughts on, into your journal!
DeleteSo true! It's very handy!
DeleteExcept for my flash fiction. That goes straight on the laptop.
ReplyDeletePen and paper all the way for me— well, unless it's certain types of short stories, in which case I'll start on my laptop. But I think better, both for brainstorming and actual writing, when I'm handwriting.
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah!
DeletePaper is so great for brainstorming, but I couldn't hand-write a manuscript fast enough to keep up with my brain. ;D
I would looooove to be able to write with pen/paper, but I have wrist issues that make writing for more than a few minutes rather painful. Typing isn't as bad.
ReplyDeleteSo there's a place on my phone where I enter short ideas into notes. When I start fleshing the ideas out to make a synopsis, I'll type it up on my laptop.
Hi Julian.
DeleteI know someone who writes entire books on her phone!
I like what's practical and accessible and less time consuming (practical again). I LOVE pen and paper, and use them for journaling and poetry and sometimes basic thoughts. But... I don't like retyping words after I wrote them, so now I use my laptop to write just about everything. I write flash fiction on my phone, mostly, as I usually write that when I'm away from my laptop and my phone is easier to access. I also like to fb message myself notes or ideas or thoughts I have throughout my work days so I don't have to forget them by the time I finish cleaning houses ;D
ReplyDeleteketurahskorner.blogspot.com
Hi Keturah!
DeleteI love the idea of fb messaging ideas to yourself! I'll have to try that.
I like the pen-and-paper method (because it’s really hard to scribble all over a Word document), but usually I’ll use a computer or an iPad. Most of the time, it’s much more convenient.
ReplyDeleteHi Rachael.
DeleteYep, and I really need the spellcheck function on my computer! ;D
Definitely pen and paper. I use my Bullet Journal for random ideas on the go. When I come home, I transfer them to the right notebook. I have a brainstorm notebook for the story I am currently working on. I also have a seperate Bullet Journal for other story ideas. Every time I get an idea for a new story, or some additial ideas for those stories, I collect it in this Bullet Journal.
ReplyDeleteIt is slower than typing, but I can think better with pen and paper, so in the end it benefits my writing. Pen and paper works also much better with a small child around.
Hi Marja,
DeleteWow...sounds like you're very organized! Sometimes I misplace where I put notes, so I love your methods.
If I have a paper first draft and I'm typing up my second draft, it forces me to do a complete rewrite, instead of just tweaking a few small things and calling it good. I can get the same effect if I print out my first draft, though. So I'm still feeling out which one I prefer. I definitely use paper to keep all my notes in order, though!
ReplyDeleteHi Christine!
DeleteI am in awe of anyone who can write a whole book by hand...Wow!
I publish my stories online, which means they can be a little shorter. The word count for one story I've done that way was only 14,000.
DeleteI will use both because if one is not available you can have the other.
ReplyDeletePen and Paper is much easier to use.
ReplyDeleteHi Danny,
DeleteI can type way faster than I can write, so I find computers easier. But I'm impressed by authors who write with pen and paper!
For initial attacks of my projects, it's pen and paper. It's too easy for me to destroy it when it's on the computer.
ReplyDeleteHi Kendra!
DeleteDo you mean destroy on purpose? I try to keep everything I write, even if I delete it from my manuscript. So many times I go back and use bits and pieces of those deleted chapters! :)
When I freewrite on the computer, it's way too easy and tempting for me to just close out the document without saving it if I lose interest. The one exception is my RambleK doc, but that thing's huge and unweildy, and some of makes me cringe, so I don't use it much anymore. It takes a bit effort to delete a notebook, and it's easier for me to reference them.
DeleteBecause, yes, I have deleted a LOT of my writing. A lot of it I've regretted.
Initial ideas go into my current notebook and I prefer to have character and story notes in a physical binder so it's easy to reference while I'm writing, but the actual story is always written on paper so that I can keep up better with my brain. I don't write on paper quickly enough. There are times, though, that my notebook is more convenient and I'll just start writing in there, and generally more emotional things get written on paper if I have paper handy.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for hanging out with us, Lorie! I loved reading all your thoughts. Such great insight!
ReplyDeleteI find that pencil and paper are good for brainstorming and the occasional step away from the temptations of having Internet on my laptop. I type way faster than I handwrite, though, and it's also easier to keep neat and easier to share and edit. I like critiquing on hard copies, but that takes a lot of paper.
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