Does anyone else write like this or am I just weird?

You're weird!

Actually, I'm the opposite. If I have to write with pen and paper, it's like the creative side of my brain shuts off. I don't attempt anything more creative than a shopping list with pen and paper!

I don't, but that's not especially odd. I'd venture it's the fact that you're forced to write slower that makes it better - more time to think before you write.

That does seem like it could be problematic. Maybe you should invest in a Tablet or maybe even an Ipad. Seems like that could do the trick.

A big problem comes when I can't read half of what I write down.....You think a doctor has horrible handwriting!

My chicken scratchings are just terrible.

My ideas also flow better with pen and paper. I've always attributed this to the fact that I was a freshman in college when I used a computer with a word processing program for the first time, and my writing habits were already formed. I do outline a lot, scribble in margins, and use arrows and things like that.

There was a thread a few weeks ago that mentioned a software program for writers. It got some really great reviews. I'll see if I can find it.

My writing habits were also formed on pen and paper...There were no computers when I was in grade school. They were just starting to make an appearance in the latter days of high school....(yes I am telling my age)

Maybe that is my problem...I did my first college papers on a brother word processor before we had a computer. I got so used to the brother processor that I hated to give it up for the computer.

Now you can't pry the laptop out of my hands!!

I made a blog post about this same exact topic. I think you would like it.
Write To Get On The Right Path Rellie Lorenzo

write? who writes content anymore? I use Dragon Naturally Speaking and just say what I want. Then go back and edit the grammar later.

That's kinda weird. Most people are more comfortable expressing thoughts using a keyboard today.

Yeah, put me at the opposite end of the spectrum from you, too. In fact, I had to write something out the other day at the bank and I must have looked semi-illiterate to the bank manager. I can hardly write anymore. My signature was even all screwy. I was embarrassed, seriously. LOL

John

LOL John... thats ok. Forgot how to sign my name .... luckily there is online banking..

I think part of the problem may lie in the fact that I hand write all of my entries into my nursing notes at work....the hospital in which I work is still in the dark ages and hasn't upgraded to computer entry yet....I spend 12 hours a day handwriting everything.

I tried using the free speech to text program that came with microsoft....that was even worse. I'm starting to think my brain just runs slower.

Totally normal. I write all my stuff on notepads. Then, my poor wife has to decypher my scratch and type it up for me. How she does it I don't know.

I too find that paper and pencil lets the ideas flow. A keyboard is just too slow.

Nursewriter

Don't worry, you're perfectly normal - you might be different from a whole bunch of other folk who write straight onto the PC, but that doesn't make you weird - only to them!

Maybe you could simply celebrate the fact that you've found a really effective way to be creative, writing with a pencil and paper clearly works for you - embrace it.

Invest in a really good quality, mechanical pencil, a good quality eraser and a stack of yellow legal pads.

It isn't a coincidence that many folk find writing on yellow paper stimulates the creative juices, there are plenty of studies that show that yellow paper is great for encouraging creative thought and aiding comprehension and memory!

As far as your 'chicken scratchings' are concerned - are they really that bad? If you feel so inclined, it IS possible to improve your handwriting's legibility by practising some calligraphy. But I'm guessing that maybe this isn't such a big issue anyhow. (?)

I'd suggest your only problem is that you're perceiving it to be a problem. In this day and age of 'everything digital' that's no real surprise.

It'll be a sad day when they no longer teach good penmanship in schools... (what's that? they don't already??)


Peter

I'm with you, Lucinda.

I'm a pencil and paper kind of guy. I don't call it problematic at all, I thank God that something gets me away from all this electric plastic that my fingers have to dance over all day.

Who cares if it takes a little longer. What is the freaking rush? Seriously, I think plastic itself deadens creativity.

May not be so for everyone. maybe just for us True Creative Geniuses

Or maybe it's just a sign of age...... sigh.

And you know what I miss when I don't use a pen? Doodling. How can you doodle with a keyboard. Doodling used to get me through many a boring class at school....:rolleyes:

Writing is a habit. Habits are formed not only through the frequency of a particular behavior but also the little factors that accompany it. In this instance, the pencil that you use keeps your ideas flowing while your laptop keeps you focused. It is not unusual but habit will of course vary from person to person.

I always have to get my main ideas on paper first. What starts out as a blank page eventually turns into a bunch of words and arrows everywhere...then I have to somehow transfer that stuff onto the computer.

I've got bits of paper every where on my desk with random ideas I get. Definitely typing on the laptop is a heck of a lot faster than writing, but to get the actual idea out and brainstormed, I always use a pen and paper...don't often use a pencil though.

I feel the need to write too, especially when I have to write on something that is close to my heart. I'm from the old school too.

I think writing on paper is somehow more involving when compared to typing. Can't figure out why though.

Here's something to think about: are you left handed? This urge to write could mean that your creative side, the right brain is more functional right now. And that is a good thing for writers!

Not odd, my buddy is an English Professor. I have him write things for me sometimes and he always tells me that he needs to sit somewhere with a pen/pad and write, then he will go type it up.

I'm not sure if it's a pen or pencil, so I can't say on that one.

So I guess that is how the "pro's" do it.

Well, if you're weird, so am I.

I do type faster than I write, but I do like pencil and paper. It just means I have to scribble to keep up with my train of thought, but it's still usually legible.

If I am starting a new project such as an ebook or the like, I treat myself to a brand new mechanical pencil and a brand new notepad.

I just love the office supply section. I guess I'm pretty low maintenance...buy me a pack of pencils and some notepads and I'm happy.

If you really want to make my day throw in a box of highlighters and colored paperclips!!


I could sit and stare at a blank computer screen for a long time but give me a pad of paper and a pencil and I will start writing immediately.

At least I know I'm not the only one like this.....Makes me feel not so weird.



l

It makes sense for me it's not at all weird. I can write more truthfully with pen and paper and I fancy one can tell if something is written by hand. John Steinbeck preferred writing with a pencil is the idea I get from his writings. Something to do with the feel of the lead on the paper

It's how your brain has been wired.

What's a computer for? Email. Browsing the web. Playing a game. Watching movies. Editing graphics. Doing your taxes. Oh... and writing.

What's a pad and pencil for? Writing.

I often grab a pad and pencil when I'm against a deadline. It removes all distractions.

Paper and pen sometimes, laptop sometimes, they're both just tools to get the ideas down. Years ago when I first started writing songs I had a specific pen that I liked to use. I'd managed to convince myself that it was that pen that allowed me to write some good songs, and was even a little nervous about misplacing it. Then a friend of mine played a Shel Silverstein album for me with a song Shel wrote called "The Lucky Songwriter's Pen." Up until that point I thought I was weird, too, until I realized the existence of the song proved that it was a common, if not universal, thing that many writers experience.

So no, you're not weird!

Will

Writing on paper makes you slow down and think more.

I prefer writing on paper for ideas but we don't have any paper here!!

I'm the same. Although it doesn't have to be a pencil.

As long as it's a pen/pencil and paper, I write much better.

It slows me down, too, as I prefer to just type, but my articles come out crap as a result.

I thought I was the only weird one around...

When I'm writing new content, I like to use pencil and paper but if I rewrite content, I use the keyboard. Now, is that weird or what?

Lol you're not weird at all!

I do the same thing. Tnere's just something that happens when putting pen (pencil in your case) to paper. It could be that connection between the brain and hand.

I think it's the way we are programmed - we've been using pen and paper forever, but only have been using computers for a short while. It would be interesting to see if this changes much in the next few years with the younger generations. They were maybe not born to use a computer, but they started at the toddler age.

Some people do better with handwriting, I'm not one of them though. I type everything I write on a keyboard. I've been doing this for so long, I can hardly write my name on paper anymore, my handwriting skills have gotten so rusty

I prefer to dictate and then pay someone else to transcribe it.

Haha, that's me to a T!

I always write down my 2-DO notes and random stuff on paper. It's really high quality stuff but it's soooo slow.

I prefer to do it on a PC but I never really seem to get the same quality together (and even remember it) as when I use a pen + paper. Very strange indeed, funny that you noticed that as well.

I usually outline my thoughts on paper (usually pen as I don't keep pencils except golf card pencils). I think things over in my mind and after I am happy with this outline, I sit down and start typing whatever comes into my head. I then go back and correct/redo until I am happy with it. This part I can only do on my computer. It is quicker to edit and formalize my thinking on the computer.

You are not weird. Use what ever works best for you.

Funny how everyone has a different approach on writing. Here is my two cents: When I worked in media and had to report on current events, of course there was a lot of PEN and PAPER involved, even when I returned to the office, I could not put the story together unless I had an actual outline on paper.

HOWEVER, since I have been doing freelance writing, and SEO articles, I find it much easier to just open a document page and write. I then go back and edit. If I do run into a dead end street and can not figure out where or how to start, then I resort back to the outline, but not on paper, a word document has done just fine.

I did actually read somewhere that writing by hand actually uses a different part of the brain than typing does. Handwriting uses the more visual/creative part of the brain. I've often found I prefer writing by hand when I'm doing creative writing, but I prefer typing when it's something more technical or straightforward.

I'm always carry a notepad and a pencil on my back pocket, but latetly since my kids gave me a voice recorder, I record the ideas as they came (some times with a "get out of the f* road!" when I'm driving or "my soup is cold!" when I'm in a restorant lunching, included), after that, paper and pencil with an edition process (including all the scratching and the little drawings) this, for me is the most fun part since I love to write on paper, I have hundreds of notepads full of thoughts pilled up on a cabinet... sadly that's the equivalent of about 1MB of hard drive space. After that is all about typing, typing editing and typing.

This triple check allows me to make better content. Sometimes the content recorder, the one on paper and the final product typed are completly different. Takes longer but is how it works for me.

I'm not a pro copywriter so I guess I can afford to take my time in the writing process.

I write best with pad and paper. My copy is way more compelling.

I have heard a lot of people have good results writing on paper versus computer but me personally I like to maybe sometimes jot down ideas on paper but write away on my computer. Plus I feel it gives you a better perspective of how it will look to someone reading it versus wondering and testing for a little while.

If it's a ritual that works for you and you get your best work from it, then why not? Ask yourself which is more important, quality or quantity? You don't have to write as much or be as prolific if your content is great because it speaks for itself.

It's incredible how computer dependent I am now, my handwriting's turned to custard it's almost illegible. I'm even appalled at how bad it is, even making grocery lists I program into my cellphone. I better do some handwriting today.

Not weird!
I love writting on a paper with a pencil, it is more inspiring for me, when i'm on my computer all my ideas are down...

I do not consider it as a problem as long as it increase the quality so far .

Me too, When I plan to what I am writing first it makes me 10 times faster.

and a lot of so many weird strange stuff Which I really do not care about so much .

I just do care of (Quality & Monetization )


Nursewriter Do your work & You already do a good job.

i think its normal as long as you can still write something

It is weird but if that's what you need to be able to gather your thoughts, then why not? I think better when I click my pen.

I do not think it is weird at all. For us to write well, we need to get into the zone. If using pencil and paper is what gets you into the zone, then more power to you. I do not use paper and pencil myself as writing in longhand makes my hand ache more than typing on a keyboard, but before I even get to type a single word i go through a series of steps and actions that do not really have anything to do with writing. And I do not consider that strange at all. It's human nature

I write my outlines on paper all the time- especially if i can do it at a nice cafe, at the pool or somewhere else pleasant. I can tap out the article pretty speedily if i do that- and I feel it's fresher.
You need a typing minon

well, my creativity fires on when i write on a white board. not a real paper and pencil
I need something that can be easily erased.

I prefer to write any ideas that come to my mind using my Laptop, it's better for me and all the inspiration is easier to come.