March 16, 2010
You know that bump on the upper inside corner of your middle finger, the one you got as a kid from all the cursive handwriting in school? Do you still have it? Did you ever? Experts now say that the ‘writer’s bump’ or callus is almost completely disappearing, what with the rise of computers and the fact that students no longer seriously learn the Palmer method of cursive handwriting in school. Which got me to thinking–has the rise in using computers to type affected the quality and/or output of creative writing? In what way has it changed what we write and are there benefits to switching back to longhand?It seems that the switch to keyboard writing has actually changed the way we think. The act of typing accesses both sides of our brain–the creative right side and the analytic left– equally, allowing our words to come more quickly and efficiently. While this might be great for writing an essay or transferring notes, something is lost in translation when typing creative work directly onto a computer or typewriter. Now, I’m no luddite–well maybe I aspire to be one one day, but not yet–I appreciate the computer as much as anyone–obviously. I like the ease in which I can edit, the quickness with which I can copy down the thoughts flowing from my head, but I do think adopting longhand again can be a powerful tool in your writing repertoire.
Writing longhand is slower and accesses primarily the creative right side of the brain. When organically writing, thoughts come slower and we are more deeply connected with what we are writing. The words tend to come from a deeper, more emotional place in our psyche.
While writing my last novel, I naturally devised a method of switching typing with longhand writing that allowed me to write ten hours a day. I would begin the day with a cup of coffee (and a cigarette–I was still a smoker then) outside on the porch with a spiral notebook. I would take thirty minutes or so (sometimes it turned out to be two hours) and just jot down notes about my characters, descriptions of scenes, back dialogue, dreams—ideas that I wasn’t necessarily going to include in my manuscript, but that were useful for building atmosphere. Then I would go back inside, sit down at the computer and write. Whenever I got stuck and didn’t know where to go next with my writing, I would take that notebook and go back outside. Miraculously, the words seemed to flow when I was writing organically–sometimes a whole scene would suddenly spark to life on the page. After the words petered out, I would go back inside and type them out and continue on. I would sometimes alternate between the writing styles up to ten times.
So many of us never write longhand anymore (or never really did for the younger set) that it is an act of novelty that can shake you out of writer’s block. I highly recommend, as I’ve said before, taking a small notebook with you everywhere since you never know when creative inspiration is going to hit. Practice using that notebook and suddenly your subconscious becomes primed for the creative stimuli all around you. Ideas will begin to emerge from the most random places, I guarantee.
Finally, I think there is something sacred about the permanency of the written word. It’s an organic process. Seeing the words we write with our own hand connects us more deeply with the ideas and images that we are trying to convey. Many professors of mine warned against taking lecture notes on a computer. Sure it’s easier and faster and you get every word, but what you lose is the cognition that comes with longhand. The slightly slower brain process of writing by hand allows the material to be processes as you write and input into long term memory. It’s been shown that people who take notes by hand retain more information for a longer period of time.
The same, I believe, is true for creative writing by hand. A novel or even short story is a complex structure of symbols that evolves as you go. Being able to process what you are writing and remember it easily is extremely important in piecing your story together. It allows more flexibility and a deeper understanding of your work.
So go retro. Get a notebook. Buy a journal and just write. Your grandmother would be proud of you.
