Every writer, whether amateur or professional, has a favorite way to write. Maya Angelou liked to write longhand on yellow legal pads. Stephen King used an old word processor for many years. There’s another famous author whose name escapes me who would dictate his stories into a tape recorder and have his assistant transcribe them. Everyone has their quirks, I guess.
I started out writing on legal pads. My father had a stash of them in his cluttered home office, so they were easy to access. I went through dozens of them over the course of a year, filling them up with bad poetry and immature stories.
In my teen years, I discovered an old manual typewriter in the attic. It was a Smith Corona. I think it must have weighed fifty pounds and I believe it was made from battleship steel. The thing was a beast, but it came in handy for writing school reports and it made me feel grown up to use it. The downside was dealing with typos. No eraser like my trusty pencil. Plus, the ‘e’ key would always stick. The most commonly used key and nothing I did would make it behave.
Now I write on my trusty MacBook, but I use a program called FocusWriter to create most of my fiction. I like it because 1) it’s free, 2) it has some nice customization options, and 3) it has very few distractions. I can pound out a lot of words with this and it keeps me on track.
Of course, I still write longhand. I keep a daily journal that I fill with thoughts and feelings, and I also have an idea journal where I note down story ideas and dream fragments for future reference. There’s something about using pen and paper that has a certain intimacy about it. It makes me feel more connected to the words, makes the process feel more organic. And maybe it’s the fact I started out writing by hand that I still fall back on it all these years later.
What’s your favorite way to write?
RB
Hi Richard,
First drafts of novels and stories, always longhand. All subsequent drafts in Word. Blog posts and book reviews directly into WordPress and/or Goodreads, except for ones I want to be extra careful with, which I work out in Word and then paste into my WP blog or Goodreads, depending.
I also scribble notes and To Do lists on scraps of paper which I then lose and run around looking for.
Good topic!
Oh, I love that you draft in longhand. I think that’s becoming a lost art.
I also have scraps of paper with notes and to do lists scattered about the house. I sometimes wonder if it’s just me, so thank you for letting me know I’m not alone in this! 🙂
I type most of my work on the mac, but keep a five by seven journal with me where ever I am or go, even by the computer. I also use green ink and a fountain pen when I write by hand. I like the way the ink flows. At school, I supply my Writers Circle with notebooks an fountain pens so they can get into the groove of writing as well. I try to make it special for them.
I love that…green ink and a fountain pen! I know what you mean about the ink flow. I’m partial to particular pens when I write (can’t stand ballpoints!), or a well-made pencil.
That’s wonderful that you try to make writing an experience for your Writers Circle. Writing can be a magical experience.
I defer to the black matte Black Wing.
It depends on where I am.
Often, if I’m not sitting in front of my computer, I jot down notes on a sheet of paper but more often I write them directly on the PC
Word processors have spoiled us, Luisa! Still, it’s nice to know you still use pen and paper on occasion. 🙂
I have pieces of paper to take notes on all over the house, also next to my bed and even in the bathroom.😉
I have a Journal on my iPhone that I’ve used for a couple of years to jot things down when I’m away from the desktop. The Journal is on my iPad as well, but I don’t use the iPad much anymore. I like my desktop. I use the WordPress Program to outline ideas of something I want to write about in the future and just save the draft. Of course, I’m new at this, and one day there will be so many drafts that it causes chaos. The Focas Writer doesn’t have a download for Windows 11. Are you using it on 10 or 11? Good subject! I did the manual typewriter in high school, one of the first versions of a word processor (manuals were light compared to those monsters) in Business School, and Paralegal Certification. Terminals hooked to monster computers in the cold-as-ice computer room at work. Then finally! a personal computer, Hewlett-Packard, at home. Back when the Microsoft Word processing program was free. Have I done it all? Not sure. Sounds like it. A Personal Computer works best for me. As long as I have an iPhone, too. I might write short stories if I had a program to organize them and format them for me. lol
Ah, I didn’t look at which OS runs FocusWriter. I’m using it on a MacBook, but you should be able to use the Windows 10 version if you’re on Win11.
I was actually the only male student in a typing class in high school. I took the class to hone my typing skills and speed, but ended up enjoying the fact I was outnumbered. 🙂
But I sort of miss the old manual typewriters. I felt like I was more connected to the task.
MacBook! I knew there was something I’ve never used before!
I use notes on my iPad and iPhone to jot down ideas, drafts etc then transfer them directly to WordPress. Of course, it depends on what I’m writing about but it often involves a spot of research and fact checking, followed by lots of editing.
I haven’t done much writing on my iPad, but I think it’s more about the keyboard. Still, working with even the simplest word processor makes it so much easier to get our ideas written down. Thanks for stopping by, Sheree.
Always a pleasure Richard. Enjoy holiday weekend.
Depends upon where I am. I have a bound blank page book I use at the one day writers retreats for the retreat inspired poems, my cellphone email for on the spot poems, and my computer for blog posts. When I was in graduate school, I favored steno pads for research paper intros. After I got started, I’d switch to the computer because it was easier for foot notes and cutting and pasting.
While I do enjoy writing by hand, I have gotten spoiled with the ease of using a word processor.
It sounds like you keep your options open, Pat. Like a writer’s utility belt…a writing option for every situation!
I don’t usually stress about my writing which is both a good and a bad thing–I do it because I enjoy it, and I am often too easily satisfied with the result.
Hah. That’s a great question.
I am not really a writer, but if I could somehow convert the ideas in my head to a good story on paper, that’d be great. Because I do think I have reasonable good plot twist and character development ideas for the darker side psychology. I’m just never quite motivated to write it.
As for the mechanical type writer machine, when I was eleven, I did a type writing course on a mechanical type writer. That must have been 2001. If you ever want to train your finger muscles, that is the right machine to use 🤭 it’s no joke compared to a regular computer keyboard
LOL! I took a typing class, as well, but that was a few years before you did. And you’re right, it was quite the workout for the fingers!
You should give writing a story a try sometime. If nothing else, write down your plot and character ideas. That way, they’ll be waiting for you if you decide to take the plunge into the writing pool!