It was a pleasure to chat, Jordan. Two minds really are better than one - I've got a lot to learn from you about the proper uses of new tech. I don't know where to start with A.I., but you really made it work for you with this edit. Looking forward to the challenge!
It’s always fun to hear from other authors who write whole book drafts longhand! I switched over to writing longhand in 2020, when I started getting into fountain pens. In 2023 my husband gave me a Kindle Scribe for Christmas, and nowadays I use a combo of physical notebooks and the scribe. (And because I too am terrified of losing a draft, I always copy everything into a PDF on my computer every few days.)
A few of my writer friends think I’m nuts, but this just makes sense for me…not only does it unlock blocks I have in my brain for whatever reason, it’s also far more portable than a laptop, and because I’m a homeschool mom on the go a lot, that makes a big difference as well.
Same here - I like hearing from authors who write longhand because it reassures me I'm not completely crazy working this way. It did at first seem nonsensical to add the extra layer of labour, but in the end the advantages far outweigh the drawbacks!
Great point! I forget that as inconvenient as a physical notebook is to lug around, it's definitely less cumbersome than a whole laptop. I've also had the experience of unlocking blocks with longhand. Changing the medium changes the perspective, and suddenly things become clearer.
When I came back to writing fiction after a long break, I switched to longhand. In addition to my weekly serial, I write a monthly one and that I type because it has a reasonably fixed deadline and I don’t have time to transcribe, not if I want to keep the momentum going on my other work. I edit by hand (I tried marking up a pdf that then got corrupted before I was finished with it, so all those edits were lost) but I have been known to type extra scenes etc, especially if it’s nothing major.
I just finished a first edit pass on a video of my writing setups but I think I’ve already written on my stack about going back to longhand. It was a year ago, so the memory is a bit hazy. I can circle back with a link if you like?
For me, typing directly into the computer reminds me of my trad published days writing to a deadline and … I don’t want to go back to that mindset.
I’m already a convert, so I’ll give the challenge a pass and alas I’ll be sound asleep when the live happens but I’ll catch the replay!
It sounds like you've done the full experiment, Leanne. That's the important thing, I think: that we give different methods a try to see what happens. I've been surprised to find how much the way of working can effect the finished product (and the enjoyment of the process). Please do reshare your article about longhand if you can dig it out - the more evidence we can muster the better! And I'll look forward to that video, sounds like a great idea...
"When writing decided to become a part of my life again, the only way I could accept it into my days was to make it all about play. If I was going to type it into a computer, it would feel too much like work. Thus, I chose writing the way I wrote as a child."
Yes, this is at the core of it - scribbling feels more like play than typing does, and that is bound to have a major impact on what we produce. Thanks for sharing, Leanne!
I want to try this again. Thanks for the inspiration. It’s been a while since I made more than notes or outlines by hand. A good silky pen on a page is a real pleasure.
BTW, I just illustrated what digital writing can do to a writer which pen and paper can't. With one errant click I just erased a long and heartfelt comment. Ha.
Deciding it was too long anyway, I'm just re-stacking and chiming in my own "Amen!"
Thanks, Joanna. You are more than welcome in the conversation! I too just made a very human error - I sent out a crosspost with a misspelling of our host's name - having triple checked it, I spelt it 'Perterson' instead of 'Petersen.' Sorry, Jordan. Amid all this messy fallible stuff we sometimes find real inspiration!
.. interesting stuff .. .. the ‘process fascinates .. the ‘massage - marshall mcluhan .. my stuff is ‘bits n splashes.. hypermedia glancing one hand ragin free .. come outta the chute & see the rodeo clowns arrayed far below .. chestnut mare ‘all over again .. runnin back to Saskatoon 🦎🏴☠️🍁
Much ‘depends on the ‘nature & ‘purpose of one’s writing.. non ?
Writin on a ‘sticky or erasable board might be to ‘transplant a ‘seed idea
Grabbin a screencap another way to ‘hang onto an idea or entire Scenario
Am content to let some stuff ‘lie fallow.. or ‘blurt it out via Bear or ios Notes and go rummaging for it later.. or years later..
Now ‘envisioning cinematically & typing ‘the idea out ‘in situ’ -> via ‘substack Post or Notes is a trip ! & same re ‘commenting on another’s Post or Response - that’s ’communicating .. ‘riffing - complementing, jousting..
Writing as in ‘Photo Essay’ is a remarkable talent .. as is ‘Memoir .. & some meld the two elegantly or passionately.. & such stuff I’ll restack to ‘SpotLight em eh ! 🦎
Sadly.. in my opinion - a fair number ‘here in the vast substack flea market - are not ‘writers at all & are more about ‘crusading, opinionating .. fabricating, aligning, crafting out re some sort of cause, alarm or ‘wisdom - such stuff is ‘smartest person in the room - level.. reminds of ‘political posturing echo chambering more than anything
Some of my Most Fave ‘writing is ‘cinematic or documentary.. mebbe just ‘a turn of phrase - a lyric or ‘snatch of rhyme.. & those I Take Note Of ! See Mickey Smith in my Spotlight of his award winning Short Docu - ‘The Dark Side Of The Lens’ ..
PS - ‘Diamond Walker started on some bar napkins - On the patio of The English Bay Cafe.. It wasn’t about ‘what I wrote’ really.. & instead more ‘that I marked the feeling of the moment.. indelibly ! 50 years later ‘the spirit remains just as spontaneous - when I choose to revisit revise tidyup extend .. mischievously ! 🏴☠️🦎🧨
In my quest to better utilize my time during the week, I've set aside two "fiction only" writing blocks early in the week. I'd love to start each of them with a session of free-hand writing.
Two questions came up for me (silly ones) as I was reading this conversation:
1) why pencil and not pen? ... if you're trying not to edit yourself along the way
2) how the heck to you know when you've hit 1500 words free-hand without a word counter at the bottom of the page? 😂
And I appreciate your views on tech tools and how they can be valuable for certain stages of the creative process. I've always resisted them completely - mostly out of fear of robot apocalypse or just being tech illiterate and spending more time learning the curve than I'd spend doing a task myself - but frankly, I'm getting very tired - and could use a hand with some of the more tedious aspects of writing/summarizing/etc. Perhaps I'll dip my toe into those "assistant" waters in 2025.
Great - we'll look forward to hearing how the freehand writing goes! To answer your not at all silly questions: I prefer the scratch of pencil across paper to the glide of ink, I'm not sure why; perhaps it makes the act even more tangible. Getting the stationery right is important; I have a retractable pencil and a favoured brand of notebook that are almost like sacred objects! As to the word count, I've learned over the years that filling six pages of my notebook with my scrawl equates to roughly 1500 words once transcribed. I don't worry if it's not exact. I hope that helps. Good luck with the challenge!
Really interesting perspective and insight on the creative process! I have so many pens lying around, yet I hardly use them anymore. I'm feeling called to change that in 2025 :)
I like it - the Year of the Pen! The only trouble is, stationery can quickly become a fetish...I now have my favourite notebooks and pencil and nothing else will do!
lol I’d never thought of stationary like that, but you’re absolutely right. I got hexagonal pens for Christmas and they made me raise my eyebrows at the clunky design. Guess it’s not quite my fetish yet 😆
It was a pleasure to chat, Jordan. Two minds really are better than one - I've got a lot to learn from you about the proper uses of new tech. I don't know where to start with A.I., but you really made it work for you with this edit. Looking forward to the challenge!
Honestly, I wouldn't do it if it wasn't fun :)
It’s always fun to hear from other authors who write whole book drafts longhand! I switched over to writing longhand in 2020, when I started getting into fountain pens. In 2023 my husband gave me a Kindle Scribe for Christmas, and nowadays I use a combo of physical notebooks and the scribe. (And because I too am terrified of losing a draft, I always copy everything into a PDF on my computer every few days.)
A few of my writer friends think I’m nuts, but this just makes sense for me…not only does it unlock blocks I have in my brain for whatever reason, it’s also far more portable than a laptop, and because I’m a homeschool mom on the go a lot, that makes a big difference as well.
Same here - I like hearing from authors who write longhand because it reassures me I'm not completely crazy working this way. It did at first seem nonsensical to add the extra layer of labour, but in the end the advantages far outweigh the drawbacks!
Great point! I forget that as inconvenient as a physical notebook is to lug around, it's definitely less cumbersome than a whole laptop. I've also had the experience of unlocking blocks with longhand. Changing the medium changes the perspective, and suddenly things become clearer.
Fascinating!
When I came back to writing fiction after a long break, I switched to longhand. In addition to my weekly serial, I write a monthly one and that I type because it has a reasonably fixed deadline and I don’t have time to transcribe, not if I want to keep the momentum going on my other work. I edit by hand (I tried marking up a pdf that then got corrupted before I was finished with it, so all those edits were lost) but I have been known to type extra scenes etc, especially if it’s nothing major.
I just finished a first edit pass on a video of my writing setups but I think I’ve already written on my stack about going back to longhand. It was a year ago, so the memory is a bit hazy. I can circle back with a link if you like?
For me, typing directly into the computer reminds me of my trad published days writing to a deadline and … I don’t want to go back to that mindset.
I’m already a convert, so I’ll give the challenge a pass and alas I’ll be sound asleep when the live happens but I’ll catch the replay!
It sounds like you've done the full experiment, Leanne. That's the important thing, I think: that we give different methods a try to see what happens. I've been surprised to find how much the way of working can effect the finished product (and the enjoyment of the process). Please do reshare your article about longhand if you can dig it out - the more evidence we can muster the better! And I'll look forward to that video, sounds like a great idea...
Found it! https://open.substack.com/pub/projectstarfish/p/who-on-earth-handwrites-a-novel-these?r=1mk6at&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
"When writing decided to become a part of my life again, the only way I could accept it into my days was to make it all about play. If I was going to type it into a computer, it would feel too much like work. Thus, I chose writing the way I wrote as a child."
Yes, this is at the core of it - scribbling feels more like play than typing does, and that is bound to have a major impact on what we produce. Thanks for sharing, Leanne!
You’re welcome! I’m loving how we’re not the only writers who write by hand!
I want to try this again. Thanks for the inspiration. It’s been a while since I made more than notes or outlines by hand. A good silky pen on a page is a real pleasure.
Oh yes. I sometimes find myself looking for an excuse to write something down with my favorite pen on good paper.
It is indeed - as is the scratch of a pencil across paper. Real tangible stuff in a world that is increasingly digital and artificial
Keep me in this conversation!
BTW, I just illustrated what digital writing can do to a writer which pen and paper can't. With one errant click I just erased a long and heartfelt comment. Ha.
Deciding it was too long anyway, I'm just re-stacking and chiming in my own "Amen!"
Thanks, Joanna. You are more than welcome in the conversation! I too just made a very human error - I sent out a crosspost with a misspelling of our host's name - having triple checked it, I spelt it 'Perterson' instead of 'Petersen.' Sorry, Jordan. Amid all this messy fallible stuff we sometimes find real inspiration!
.. interesting stuff .. .. the ‘process fascinates .. the ‘massage - marshall mcluhan .. my stuff is ‘bits n splashes.. hypermedia glancing one hand ragin free .. come outta the chute & see the rodeo clowns arrayed far below .. chestnut mare ‘all over again .. runnin back to Saskatoon 🦎🏴☠️🍁
Love to see beat poetry show up in the comments!
Much ‘depends on the ‘nature & ‘purpose of one’s writing.. non ?
Writin on a ‘sticky or erasable board might be to ‘transplant a ‘seed idea
Grabbin a screencap another way to ‘hang onto an idea or entire Scenario
Am content to let some stuff ‘lie fallow.. or ‘blurt it out via Bear or ios Notes and go rummaging for it later.. or years later..
Now ‘envisioning cinematically & typing ‘the idea out ‘in situ’ -> via ‘substack Post or Notes is a trip ! & same re ‘commenting on another’s Post or Response - that’s ’communicating .. ‘riffing - complementing, jousting..
Writing as in ‘Photo Essay’ is a remarkable talent .. as is ‘Memoir .. & some meld the two elegantly or passionately.. & such stuff I’ll restack to ‘SpotLight em eh ! 🦎
Sadly.. in my opinion - a fair number ‘here in the vast substack flea market - are not ‘writers at all & are more about ‘crusading, opinionating .. fabricating, aligning, crafting out re some sort of cause, alarm or ‘wisdom - such stuff is ‘smartest person in the room - level.. reminds of ‘political posturing echo chambering more than anything
Some of my Most Fave ‘writing is ‘cinematic or documentary.. mebbe just ‘a turn of phrase - a lyric or ‘snatch of rhyme.. & those I Take Note Of ! See Mickey Smith in my Spotlight of his award winning Short Docu - ‘The Dark Side Of The Lens’ ..
PS - ‘Diamond Walker started on some bar napkins - On the patio of The English Bay Cafe.. It wasn’t about ‘what I wrote’ really.. & instead more ‘that I marked the feeling of the moment.. indelibly ! 50 years later ‘the spirit remains just as spontaneous - when I choose to revisit revise tidyup extend .. mischievously ! 🏴☠️🦎🧨
https://shorturl.at/AWukA
Splendid!
I accept your challenge!
In my quest to better utilize my time during the week, I've set aside two "fiction only" writing blocks early in the week. I'd love to start each of them with a session of free-hand writing.
Two questions came up for me (silly ones) as I was reading this conversation:
1) why pencil and not pen? ... if you're trying not to edit yourself along the way
2) how the heck to you know when you've hit 1500 words free-hand without a word counter at the bottom of the page? 😂
And I appreciate your views on tech tools and how they can be valuable for certain stages of the creative process. I've always resisted them completely - mostly out of fear of robot apocalypse or just being tech illiterate and spending more time learning the curve than I'd spend doing a task myself - but frankly, I'm getting very tired - and could use a hand with some of the more tedious aspects of writing/summarizing/etc. Perhaps I'll dip my toe into those "assistant" waters in 2025.
Great - we'll look forward to hearing how the freehand writing goes! To answer your not at all silly questions: I prefer the scratch of pencil across paper to the glide of ink, I'm not sure why; perhaps it makes the act even more tangible. Getting the stationery right is important; I have a retractable pencil and a favoured brand of notebook that are almost like sacred objects! As to the word count, I've learned over the years that filling six pages of my notebook with my scrawl equates to roughly 1500 words once transcribed. I don't worry if it's not exact. I hope that helps. Good luck with the challenge!
Really interesting perspective and insight on the creative process! I have so many pens lying around, yet I hardly use them anymore. I'm feeling called to change that in 2025 :)
I like it - the Year of the Pen! The only trouble is, stationery can quickly become a fetish...I now have my favourite notebooks and pencil and nothing else will do!
lol I’d never thought of stationary like that, but you’re absolutely right. I got hexagonal pens for Christmas and they made me raise my eyebrows at the clunky design. Guess it’s not quite my fetish yet 😆