Typing Vs. Longhand - CrimeSpace2024-03-28T22:21:56Zhttp://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/537324:Topic:27988?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A29223&feed=yes&xn_auth=noLike Stuart, I do all my writ…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-28:537324:Comment:292232007-04-28T17:32:41.247ZI. J. Parkerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
Like Stuart, I do all my writing on the computer. Cannot imagine going back. My handwriting is atrocious. I also revise on the computer (multiple times), though sometimes (when it really matters) I print it out and correct it by hand.<br />
I do not touch-type and get a lot of typos because my eyes are on the keyboard. Spellcheck is worthless because I use a lot of foreign words -- and because it's just worthless.
Like Stuart, I do all my writing on the computer. Cannot imagine going back. My handwriting is atrocious. I also revise on the computer (multiple times), though sometimes (when it really matters) I print it out and correct it by hand.<br />
I do not touch-type and get a lot of typos because my eyes are on the keyboard. Spellcheck is worthless because I use a lot of foreign words -- and because it's just worthless. And now of course I've had an…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-26:537324:Comment:285012007-04-26T03:00:37.514ZSusanne Alleynhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/romanciere
And now of course I've had an inquiry about Alphasmarts! You can check out the details at <a href="http://www.alphasmart.com">www.alphasmart.com</a> . Mine is the Alphasmart 2000. It has a tiny little 6-line screen and it won't do cut/paste editing, but you can move your cursor and insert or erase text; sufficient for first drafts or for taking notes.<br />
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There are some newer models which, I think, have more functions, but you can get a used 2000 on eBay for under $100 (just be sure it is in…
And now of course I've had an inquiry about Alphasmarts! You can check out the details at <a href="http://www.alphasmart.com">www.alphasmart.com</a> . Mine is the Alphasmart 2000. It has a tiny little 6-line screen and it won't do cut/paste editing, but you can move your cursor and insert or erase text; sufficient for first drafts or for taking notes.<br />
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There are some newer models which, I think, have more functions, but you can get a used 2000 on eBay for under $100 (just be sure it is in working condition AND includes the cable for uploading your text to your computer -- you need different cables for PC or Mac, so get the right one. You can also buy the cable from the manufacturer).<br />
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The whole thing runs on 3 standard AA batteries and goes for hundreds of hours, or you can get a special rechargeable battery pack and/or an AC adapter from the company. These gadgets were designed for schoolchildren, to teach keyboard skills, so they're tough! I've carried mine around in a backpack with just some bubble wrap around it. Once again, this is the best solution I've found for a really portable, and affordable, memory keyboard for those of us who just can't stand longhand. I have to type now. I'm too i…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-25:537324:Comment:283132007-04-25T16:20:16.957ZMorgan Mandelhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/morganmandel
I have to type now. I'm too impatient when I write in longhand and my handwriting looks awful. It has reallly suffered over the years.<br />
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When I'm not sure of something I've typed, I still like to print it out and look at it on paper because it looks different that way and I can catch more of the mistakes.<br />
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Morgan Mandel
I have to type now. I'm too impatient when I write in longhand and my handwriting looks awful. It has reallly suffered over the years.<br />
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When I'm not sure of something I've typed, I still like to print it out and look at it on paper because it looks different that way and I can catch more of the mistakes.<br />
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Morgan Mandel I hated the physical act of w…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-25:537324:Comment:282942007-04-25T15:15:50.058ZSusanne Alleynhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/romanciere
I hated the physical act of writing longhand as a child--I guess writer's cramp affects us at various levels of nastiness--and still do. If I hadn't learned to type at 12, I probably would never have been a writer, despite having a published author in the family. I was addicted to my manual typewriter, even in junior high. Then came the Smith-Corona Personal Word Processor--typing with editing! Heaven. Then finally the PC with word processor and all the bells and whistles. If I'd been born in…
I hated the physical act of writing longhand as a child--I guess writer's cramp affects us at various levels of nastiness--and still do. If I hadn't learned to type at 12, I probably would never have been a writer, despite having a published author in the family. I was addicted to my manual typewriter, even in junior high. Then came the Smith-Corona Personal Word Processor--typing with editing! Heaven. Then finally the PC with word processor and all the bells and whistles. If I'd been born in the age of the quill, I'd never have gotten past a first chapter. It makes me hold the authors of all those massive 19th-century novels in even greater respect.<br />
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To get out of the house, however, I often take along my Alphasmart--a trusty little "keyboard with a memory" that is just fine for pounding out first drafts. They are light (2 lbs), inexpensive, and nearly indestructible. Few editing functions but they serve the place of a paper scribble pad which I'd never use.<br />
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Summary: keyboards 4ever. Coincidentally, there's a deb…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-25:537324:Comment:282762007-04-25T13:44:24.076ZBill Mehlmanhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Finagler
Coincidentally, there's a debate perking away on a freelancer's discussion group to which I belong about editing onscreen vs. on hardcopy. I do both, depending on what format I receive the work in, and I'm equally comfortable. That said, I find that for both editing and writing I'm much faster and more efficient onscreen.<br />
But the main point is that by this point in my life my handwriting is frequently illegible to ME, let alone anyone else. No carpal tunnel, and my martial arts interest doesn't…
Coincidentally, there's a debate perking away on a freelancer's discussion group to which I belong about editing onscreen vs. on hardcopy. I do both, depending on what format I receive the work in, and I'm equally comfortable. That said, I find that for both editing and writing I'm much faster and more efficient onscreen.<br />
But the main point is that by this point in my life my handwriting is frequently illegible to ME, let alone anyone else. No carpal tunnel, and my martial arts interest doesn't damage the hands (on the contrary) but twenty-something years as a chef did leave their mark. So while I do carry a little notebook in my back pocket (because my memory ain't much better than my handwriting) to jot things down while I'm on the bus, I never write longhand. And I'm totally in agreement with the posters who say they'd never be writers if not for computers. My first efforts were on an old portable Remington, very <u>Front Page</u> and all that, and it put me off trying to write for years. Of course, I'm not a Writer in the sense that most of you are, but whatever I do is largely the result of the enabling MS Word. Writing for me is always done…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-25:537324:Comment:282542007-04-25T11:42:52.719ZStuart MacBridehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Macbride
<b>Writing for me is always done on the computer.</b> Of course, that may have something to do with the fact that I can't read my own bloody handwriting. The words don't go down fast enough and I get frustrated, so everything gets more and more obscure until everything resembles a slightly squiggly line that could mean anything.<br />
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But editing has to be done with pen and paper. Doesn't work otherwise. I think it's a structure thing: when it comes to the edit I like to see everything in a…
<b>Writing for me is always done on the computer.</b> Of course, that may have something to do with the fact that I can't read my own bloody handwriting. The words don't go down fast enough and I get frustrated, so everything gets more and more obscure until everything resembles a slightly squiggly line that could mean anything.<br />
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But editing has to be done with pen and paper. Doesn't work otherwise. I think it's a structure thing: when it comes to the edit I like to see everything in a page-sized block I can scribble all over. Makes me feel like I'm achieving something. All good points - "screw the…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-25:537324:Comment:282262007-04-25T09:03:59.401ZSimon Spurrierhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/sispurrier
All good points - "screw the wordcount", that "I'll-sort-it-out-in-rewrites" cavalier attitude, and the intimacy of the process.<br />
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Oddly enough, I'm left handed too. I wonder if that correlates in some way with the longhand/keyboard preference...
All good points - "screw the wordcount", that "I'll-sort-it-out-in-rewrites" cavalier attitude, and the intimacy of the process.<br />
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Oddly enough, I'm left handed too. I wonder if that correlates in some way with the longhand/keyboard preference... I found some very interesting…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-25:537324:Comment:282202007-04-25T08:00:25.874Za g bennetthttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/geelongcats
I found some very interesting observations in all of this discussion.<br />
My method is to buy large post it notes in bulk which I scribble on incessantly when I am in the mood, and yes, the odd glass of red has occasionally found its way over them late on a Saturday night.<br />
Mostly, I write short stories at this time (of widely varying lengths) and the scribbling is usually in no common timeframe for the story concerned. I then sort the bundle of notes out into some semblance of order (like a jigsaw…
I found some very interesting observations in all of this discussion.<br />
My method is to buy large post it notes in bulk which I scribble on incessantly when I am in the mood, and yes, the odd glass of red has occasionally found its way over them late on a Saturday night.<br />
Mostly, I write short stories at this time (of widely varying lengths) and the scribbling is usually in no common timeframe for the story concerned. I then sort the bundle of notes out into some semblance of order (like a jigsaw puzzle), type them up on the computer and add and delete sections where I feel appropriate. Eight hours of editing and it's ready to go… What was the question? I read…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-25:537324:Comment:281882007-04-25T03:18:43.613ZDennis Leppanenhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/TheWarbler
What was the question? I read all the interesting answers and forgot where I was---just like high school. I do not miss a room filled with the odor of pencils, I'm allergic to that resonant mix of cedar and graphite, I can't afford to fill my inkwell. I jot---with a pen, consistently, but I use the word processor--oops, the computer to write.<br />
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Other than that, I try to spend my free time forni---watching the golf channel.
What was the question? I read all the interesting answers and forgot where I was---just like high school. I do not miss a room filled with the odor of pencils, I'm allergic to that resonant mix of cedar and graphite, I can't afford to fill my inkwell. I jot---with a pen, consistently, but I use the word processor--oops, the computer to write.<br />
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Other than that, I try to spend my free time forni---watching the golf channel. I'm with Jim: if it wasn't fo…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-25:537324:Comment:281862007-04-25T03:14:02.637ZJ.D. Rhoadeshttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JDRhoades
I'm with Jim: if it wasn't for the computer, I might not be writing. Typing on a typewriter's too frustrating. That last sentence, for example. If it wasn't for the ability to backspace over an error and retype it without having to hunt for the Wite Out, It would have taken me long enough to correct all the typos that I'd go find something else to do.<br />
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All that said, for this past Christmas, I got one of those cool Moleskine notebooks, the kind Hemingway used and Neil Gaiman and Bruce Chatwin…
I'm with Jim: if it wasn't for the computer, I might not be writing. Typing on a typewriter's too frustrating. That last sentence, for example. If it wasn't for the ability to backspace over an error and retype it without having to hunt for the Wite Out, It would have taken me long enough to correct all the typos that I'd go find something else to do.<br />
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All that said, for this past Christmas, I got one of those cool Moleskine notebooks, the kind Hemingway used and Neil Gaiman and Bruce Chatwin still do. I've mostly been using it for jotting down notes, fragments, ideas and dreams.<br />
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A couple of weekends ago, however, an idea for a short story popped into my head, and I started writing in the notebook. And I kept going in longhand until the story was done. I found it a very interesting experience.<br />
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Usually, I obsess over every word, going back and revising as I go. it's an excruciatingly slow process, and it takes me forever to do a first draft. The upside is, when I'm done there's not a whole lot of editing left to do. The downside is, before I get through, I really really hate the book.<br />
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In longhand, however, I can't go back and retype and retype and retype again. After a couple of strikeouts, I just have to say "screw it, I'll deal with it in rewrites," which I have never been able to say before, because I didn't have to. In addition, there's just something about pen on paper that seems more intimate. I'm left handed, so I actually end up with the ink on my hands, which perversely makes me feel closer to the page. That, and this is really important, I don't obsess over wordcount, because I can't just reach up and click the button to see how much I've written. It's done when it's done, not when I've hit a certain number of words.<br />
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So, I'm thinking of doing a bit more in longhand, just to see what happens.