Inside Scoop

[3] Computer vs. Pen & Paper

What do you like better: writing on the computer or using pen and paper?

Vicky_nfs: It depends

They both have their pros and cons. But when it comes to it, I usually write on my laptop even though I prefer writing on paper.

When I use pen and paper, it seems easier to write. It’s motivating to see how much pages you’ve written already, though, when you type it on the computer afterwards, it’s rather depressing to find out that you didn’t write nearly as much as you previously thought. But, when you’re writing ‘'the old-fashioned way'’, you don’t have as much distractions and you can write anywhere without having to worry that your battery might die.

However, when you write on a computer, you have immediate spell check and you don’t have to type it again later on, so it isn’t as time-consuming.  Then again, staring at a blank screen isn’t really motivating, and you get distracted oh-so easily; Facebook, Youtube, Wattpad and all the other sites are only one click away – which is awful for a person like me, someone who gets distracted by the simplest of things.

I’m rather indecisive when it comes to answering this question, I can’t really choose one or the other. Basically, I write on my laptop when I intend to write bigger parts, whereas I use pen and paper when it’s only parts of a scene, or simply a couple of lines or ideas I don’t want to forget.

Leigh19: Both

BOTH! When I have all the knots tied in my head and all the events are unraveling as I write, everything just flows freely so typing on my computer is usually quicker and better. Some days if I’m not as inspired and I’m out and don’t have my computer with me and I get a burst of inspiration. I grab a notepad and write away. I find the best ideas I get are completely random and come up at the most unusual times to having that pen and paper ready are just as good. Also if I find I’m getting distracted chatting with people I’ll go somewhere that’s distraction free and write.

Emmiie: Inspiration.

Honestly, whatever inspires me at the time, I vary from both depending on my mood—so my answer is: it’s all about inspiration. I went through a stage (before I had a Wattpad account) where my laptop was broken, but I really wanted to write…so I just wrote everything out in longhand. It took ages, and I wrote until my hands cramped up and were red raw, but at least I got the ideas out of my head. Now I just need to get them from the paper to my laptop, which is another issue altogether.

Writing on a computer is definitely easier, in my opinion. But using a pen and paper can be more beneficial, because I remember writing one of my stories (that aren’t on Wattpad yet) out on paper, and when I was typing it up I had a chance to analyze everything, and it ended up so much better the second time round. But it also takes up a lot of time. Writing your story down on paper, then typing it up is definitely more time consuming.

Also, (now this is getting a bit off topic), but a similar technique can be used for editing. Most people find that it’s easier to just edit whilst writing, or to read over it afterwards, but (when I have the time, because this is also very time consuming) I like to print out my story and go over it with a highlighter. Sure, it’s a waste of ink and paper, but it really has a different feel than editing on a computer. Often, when I do this, I see the story through fresh eyes—and have a totally different perspective.

Of course this is all coming from the girl that wrote the first few chapters of The Not So Secret Life of Helena Callahan on her iPhone. Haha. So my suggestion is to do whatever inspires you.