What it Really Means

Not too long ago, I blogged about going OLD SCHOOL, and how much it meant to try to write a novel long hand again. Today, I'm going to update you on my progress.

5700 words. That's about when my brain started going faster than my hands, and I couldn't keep up. Transcribing those last 5 or so pages into the computer, for instance, was a fight to read my own chicken scratch. Not that I've ever had stellar handwriting, but let's just say it gets much worse when I'm in a hurry.

One of my friends, when I told her what I was doing, quipped, "learn shorthand." That might work, but I struggle with the old dog/new tricks reality I realized I didn't want to take time away from my writing to learn another way of writing.

Here's the thing: I may start all my novels long hand from now on. I may write the first chapter without using a computer because it DOES do amazing things to the human brain--or at least my (mostly) human brain. I found the experience to be much richer, and I got to know my characters quickly and I tended to do more description.

Or not. I may just end up doing extensive drafting by hand, so it helps me develop my characters before I actually write the story ON MY COMPUTER.

Because that's what all this boils down to. I can ALMOST match my thought speed with a keyboard. Haven't got a prayer of doing that with a pen and paper.

So, for now, it's keyboard all the way.