| It depends entirely on personal preferences. You might find it baffling because some authors were early adopters of word processors and PCs in general, but others were not and some prefer to not use computers to this day. I don't argue that there is no use for word processors in writing, what I'm (obviously very poorly) trying to communicate is that productivity (measured by what exactly in this context?) doesn't depend on using these tools. Quentin Tarantino once told Reuters that he prefers to use pens and a notebook (the paper kind). Similarly with Joyce Carol Oates: > I always sketch out material “by hand.” Why is this so unusual? Every writer has written “by hand” until relatively recent times. Writing is a consequence of thinking, planning, dreaming — this is the process that results in “writing,” rather than the way in which the writing is recorded. [1] Creativity doesn't seem to suffer when not using a PC. Neil Gaiman shares this sentiment [2], so even quality sci-fi doesn't require much tech. Danielle Steel managed to write 179 books without using a computer [3] - quantity isn't it either. George Clooney apparently has his writing partner do the typing as he himself prefers to write everything out by hand as well: > I'm probably the least computer literate writer there is... Literally when I cut and paste, I cut pages and tape them together. [4] So the superiority of word processing software simply doesn't materialise for everyone who's in the business of writing. Writing is, after all, first and foremost a creative process and everyone has a different approach to get the most out of their creativity. The tools used are the least important part in determining whether that productive (e.g. successful) or not. For some (including me, most of the time) technology is a welcome helper and improvement, while others do just fine without. [1] https://www.salon.com/2012/09/13/joyce_carol_oates_romneys_g... [2] https://www.verbaltovisual.com/neil-gaiman-on-writing/ [3] https://www.glamour.com/story/danielle-steel-books-interview [4] http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1wdzwq/hello_reddit_ge... |
It’s true enough that some fairly productive authors use longhand. I believe Neal Stephenson and Joe Haldeman both use fountain pens and good paper. I think Stephenson pointed out that the best paper money can buy will never be a ruinously expensive luxury for an author. People just cannot write that fast.
I think if I were to try this it would be to test myself, to see if I could avoid the habit of constant, on the fly revision... but I’ve never loved my own handwriting.