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I used to enjoy the "clicky" keyboard I had with my old computer with the old tower, the stand alone moniter, and now I have a laptop that is relatively quiet.
Its not as enjoyable to write on this for me. Don't know why. Really, if it didn't take so long, I would use a pad of paper and a pen, but that is so old school and would take too long. Maybe the Dragon voice speaking software would be ok, but not sure I would like that either.
So, I am asking, what do you all use to write with? If a laptop, where do you take it? Bedroom, office, library, etc.? Oh and this laptop can't spell either.
I always keep a small notebook and nice, scratchy pen with me. You never know. I tend to write snippets in it all the time, although not in some obnoxious way that way you see would-be writers do at Starbucks.
I get comfy with my laptop if I'm writing something of length. But when a poem bites me, it usually winds up on paper with whatever pen I've got handy.
Laptop. I won't use anything else to write. In the event that my laptop breaks (which it has), I use my iPhone for brief notes and use a desktop computer at school for long essays.
I can type pretty fast, but I prefer to do all my first work using a fountain pen and paper.
I buy wide-ruled college 100 page theme books to do my first drafts- they're cheap (about $1 dollar), and the ruling allows me enough room to revise with a pencil after I initially write in ink.
Writing by hand is slower, and allows me the time to think things out as I go. I discovered 20 years ago that a good fountain pen is much less fatiguing to use than any other writing device, because they need no pressure on the paper to write. Learning how to avoid bearing down on the pen does take practice, but once it's learned, there's simply nothing better. I have a bunch of pens now, and switching from one to another allows me to write for many hours at a stretch.
'Good' doesn't necessarily mean expensive when it comes to fountain pens. I have some favorites that cost $200 or more, and some that cost $20. While even $20 can seem to be a lot to pay for a pen, when a Bic can cost a buck, the best thing is using bottled ink. A bottle of ink lasts for months (or years), and in the end, the total cost is minuscule compared to using any other type of pen. And the ink comes in a wide variety of colors, so it's possible to find one that is a real favorite.
Shelby Foote, the Civil War historian, always used dark green ink to write. Since I carry my Theme books around a lot, I like waterproof black, and I like to use waterproof brown ink as a change from the black.
Once I got serious about writing, I discovered my handwriting got better and my speed improved a lot. It really doesn't matter if your writing looks bad or good, though, as long as you can read what you wrote if you go to a keyboard in the end.
I use a mechanical pencil for revising, because if I don't get things right with the pen, I'll often have to erase revisions several times to get what I really want to say later on. I use soft black leads in my pencils, and always have a Pentel eraser stick handy- the Pentel pencils are the best, too.
After I finish the first draft, I don't read through it carefully. I go to the computer and type it out, and then read the type and edit before I print it out. Then I edit again and print again. Sometimes over and over. For me, learning to get it down is the most important thing; I resist editing as I go, because I always end up wandering in the weeds if I do.
I get off track when writing longhand, too, but it's much easier for me to just cross out entire paragraphs or pages in the theme book. I never obliterate any of my longhand cross-outs- I just put a line through them, because they often have some stuff worth using in a revision.
Last edited by banjomike; 04-11-2012 at 10:57 AM..
Since most of my lyrics and poems come to me while at work, I type them on my work computer, into my email.
And other small snippets or turns of phrase I'll type into my phone, in the little notepad app. But most times I'll leave a voice recording.
I have to say that I think that my writing doesn't feel as profound when I type. When I used to carry a notepad when I was younger, and had more free time to actually write it, my writing felt deeper.
Now when I write something down my hand hurts after a sentence or two.
For creative writing, I like doing my first draft on paper before typing it out. It seems to help me concentrate better, and I'm not as tempted to go back and continually edit as I go. Instead, I get it all down with minimal edits, and focus on that aspect later when I'm typing it up.
I tend to write outdoors on my patio or in a low-traffic park.
I outline by hand, add scribbles, cross out, rewrite, scribble some more, then type it using the laptop. I print the outline so that I can scribble on it as needed. When it's time to start writing the story, column, whatever, I use the laptop. By then I know what I'm going to write and want the speed of the laptop.
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