[zck]

I've been taking a writing class through Second City, and I've found it incredibly useful to write out my first drafts on paper, by hand. I don't think I'm losing any time by having to type my second draft into the computer afresh - you're going to be looking at it anyway, and it's useful to be forced to reread every word. It's easy to skip over parts if you don't need to touch them.

There's the bonus that my notebook had no flashing lights, no notifications, no way for me to switch to my email.

Also I enjoy the tactility of a fountain pen on paper.

[eykd]

Yeah, this is a great tactic for those inclined. I'm afraid I'm too impatient. I can type much faster than I can write long-hand, and there's a better chance of my being able to decipher it later. :)

[zck]

It depends what you're writing. I find the writing time to not be a big impediment - for creative writing, I have to think about what's coming next anyway. If I were writing other things, it night make more of a difference.

[andrewflnr]

For me in creative writing, "what happens next", tends to appear in large batches of inspiration, and I really want the high bandwidth of a keyboard to make sure I can record all/most of it before it decoheres. It's a personal thing. I always respect those with the patience to draft longhand. :)

[zck]

Fair enough! I'm writing mostly things of a short nature -- this class focused on satirical writing, so under 1000 words. I've also done some sketch comedy, so perhaps five pages. It might be very different if I were writing anything longer, that didn't require tiny pieces to fit together.

[tomjen3]

You sound like me.

While nobody makes actual physical typewritters anymore (to my knowledge), they can be had used for very little, so you could have the best of both worlds by writing your drafts on a typewritter.

[SamBam]

Once when stuck on how to structure my second chapter of my thesis, and had been procrastinating over it for a week, I was sitting in the library with my computer, and I instead pulled out a pad of paper and wrote out the whole damn chapter in pen in about an hour.

It was all in my head, it just needed to come out. Somehow the words just flowed with a pen.

[bluGill]

I find a mechanical keyboard has the same effect on me. My kids hate hearing my model M when they have work to do in the same room.

[false_kermit]

I definitely think that the worst part about typing on a computer is how easy it makes it to not draft. I write about music on the side, and if I spend 15 minutes planning what I'm going to write prior to actually writing it (for a 500 word piece) then everything turns out much more cohesive at the end. I can pretty much type as fast as I can think, but my thoughts are pretty garbage unless I get a chance to organize them first.

[eykd]

Yes, I'm realizing there are four distinct mental processes to writing:

1. Planning 2. Production 3. Editing 4. Revision

Each one engages your brain in a different way. You can collapse them, but you get degraded performance when you do.

[crooked-v]

My hand cramps up horribly after writing about a page's worth (and has ever since I was kid), so this never worked much for me.

[ComputerGuru]

I’ve been told it’s because I was never taught correct form for holding pens. shrug