[…] These are what I used for research …read more […]

I shift between the two. I'm more digital with my screenwriting than with novel-writing, but in both cases I really enjoy the tactile aspect of pen on paper. And I read somewhere that they've done research and discovered that it actually does activate the brain, better. So, there's that.

Scott, an outstanding post. The pics really hit the vibe of the words.

Scott, Excellent post. I do most of my script-writing on a computer, but sometimes when I get stuck, I pull out the pen and paper. It's a different process and helps break through those pesky logjams. C.

My fave topic!!! I'm old school. Well, "older" too, but definitely old school -- I love me my paper, baby!! I think more freely and thus, more creatively with pen in hand versus "typing" and seeing the words in script form too early, which shifts me from WRITING to EDITING almost immediately. Which is NOT how I want to push through drafts. My paper tools of choice?? Many! I brainstorm and break story and get to know my characters in Composition books. College-ruled or narrow. Never wide! It's such a "thing", my friends/cheerleaders even know. Just this week, one gal gave me a stack of 6 brand new college-ruled comp books as a gift for pet-sitting. Saweeet! On any given project, once I fill a comp book or two, I bust out index cards to note scenes and play with order. I use a bulletin board --- yes, "chairman of the board" routine works, what can I say? Since I can't leave the board sitting out because my cats will invariably bite, pull and carry away the thumbtacks, once I have the board the way I like it, I'll stack my cards in order, 3-4 stacks, for I, II (A/B) III. I may either work a draft directly from those, OR I might type an outline. I've even been known to take a piece of poster board, draw a giant circle on it, and scribble a visual outline so I can SEE act breaks, midpoint, etc. While pretty, it's not as portable as stacks of index cards. When I get to actual scene writing, I switch to legal pads. Never loose leaf, no matter how hard I try (to save $$). Again -- pen in hand is just very freeing and who cares if it's shit? I peek thru comp books for info and bits of dialogue and refer to index cards for order and WHY's of scenes. I've found if I'm physically writing, pen in hand, on paper, I don't stop. I don't stare at a screen, I don't divert over to Facebook or to check movie schedules or reviews. I work. I write. AND somehow I feel less pretentious at my local Starbucks .. even in Midwest, USA. Once I start in Movie Magic Screenwriter, I'm not creating/thinking as much as just typing and transferring .. and editing, of course. Doesn't mean I won't have a bunch of drafts in Screenwriter. And doesn't mean those early drafts are solid. But I've just found it to be the process that works for me. Plus it's just fun to take photos of comp book pages and legal pads and put 'em on my blog to confirm just how horrendous my handwriting really is and how monumental a feat to transcribe it. Oh, and if I'm ever "stuck" -- I don't believe in writer's block, just sometimes maybe wedged in a corner feeling stuck, but always free to maneuver out -- I pull out the big gun: newsprint paper!! I grab Sharpies, lay on my stomach, write something in the middle of a page -- a question, a character's name, a shred of dialogue -- and then I just scribble away. Random and mostly garbage, but usually I bust something loose and chip off a gem so I can get back to work. Gee, aren't ya glad you knocked on this door?

Awesome, joni. One of things I enjoy most is learning about peoples' writing habits. You really seem to have it down and quite a tactile experience it is! My motto about writing is quite simple: Whatever works! Thanks for your comments!

I can't read my own handwriting....in fact, the laptop has taken my ability to write with a pen... It's actually easier to think with a computer. I know Quentin Tarantino recommends writing long hand, but I think that's just what he's comfortable with. Other people that grew up with a laptop in their hands and think with them....can write hundreds of words in just a few minutes.... Also, visually seeing the type font helps trigger things because you see that on scripts and books.

I feel more connected with my creative side when I use pen and paper but for the ease I started using my computer. So now, I use both. Whenever I'm stuck, I go over to pen and paper. And I always start my project with pen and paper. There's something magical to it.

I could never ever ever write a story on paper. I like the feel of typing. I like how it matches the speed of my thoughts. If I write freehand I'm afraid all my good thoughts will run off before I can get them on paper. Plus, I'm too much of a perfectionist. I don't like the way my handwriting looks so I'd get lost in the appeal of my letters rather than the essence of the story. That said... I do like the feel of writing. I wish people still wrote letters and postcards because there's something intimate about your hands touching paper, conveying a heartfelt message that someone else will soon touch and digest. I also agree about note cards. That's something I don't think I can ever give up.

I've heard it suggested by more than one source to have two separate desks, one "analog" and one "digital". The analog desk would see only pens, markers, paper, index cards, etc., allowing for both the tactile feel of creativity and a state of play. The digital desk would be there primarily for editing and execution. When stuck (while in the digital domain), as suggested by previous posters, one would return to the analog playground.

If you write in handwriting, you have to duplicate the effort to type it out. Plus, you can't move around words and edit as easily....it's just not efficient.

I've gone a different route: I've reverted to my typewriter. I can't write by hand as quickly as I can type, so that's out except for randomly scribbled notes. But I found I missed the days of having to retype every word, every character. It's too easy to skim over things when editing on a computer screen, so I've taken to typing and re-typing drafts. Not very eco-friendly, which bothers me, but so much more focused. I find ways to make the dialogue more economical, better phrasings, and a keener awareness of what's superfluous. Once I have a draft I'm satisfied with, it goes in the computer.

True, Eric. But there is this: Mendelsohn hand transcribing Bach sheet music, note for note. F. Scott Fitzgerald hand transcribing Dickens novels word for word. Why? To get the feel and rhythms of the Masters, to try to soak up their creative expressions as fully as possible. Granted, that's not the same as researching and writing an original project, but I do think for some writers that tactile experience, even if it's just index cards, can be an important part of the process.

bcole, I'm sure you've heard of writers like Cormac McCarthy, J.R.R. Martin and even screenwriters like Joe Eszterhas who have taken to buying up dozens of their favorite typewriters to make sure they have them around once they are discontinued. I have a certain fondness for typewriters. One of the smartest decisions I ever made was on my mother's advice - take a 1-year typewriting class in high school. I helped to pay my way through college typing papers for other students. To this day, I am super fast on the keyboard which is the ONLY way I could do everything I do. But there is NO WAY I could write a script on a typewriter nowadays. My mind goes to fast for my fingers anyhow, so every time I made a mistake and would have to stop to fix it, that would drive me CRAZY. However, whatever works. If it works for you, excellent! As I say, there is no right way to write. Every writer is different. Every story is different. If it's a typewriter for your creative process, then so be it and go with God!

Have you heard of the Qwerkywriter? It's a mechanical switch keyboard that connects to your iPad or computer, giving you the sensation of using an old school typewriter while still using a computer. I think it's still raising fund son Kickstarter, but I imagine there's enough people out there who want one to ensure it gets funded. Whether or not it'll be easy to use long-term remains to be seen. I learned to type with a typewriter as well, I had one for about two years before my family got our first computer (I had used computers at school, but I didn't have the time to open up like I did at home). By the time we got our first Mac, I was lightning fast at touch-typing. I remember being in a computer class, typing out an essay and realized that everyone else in the room was watching me. A couple people thought I was faking because I was going so fast, I couldn't possibly be typing actual words. I can't write as fast as I type either... I like to write by hand when I'm taking notes, taking things in so my mind can ponder on them (plus I like to doodle on the side). But when I'm exercising what's in my head by plotting or writing, I need to type it out. I think that's a pretty decent balance.

Physical note cards can't be beat. If it's 70 scenes for a movie, you can put them all on one board and see your whole movie at once. You can't do that on a computer, you have to scroll up and down, or shrink the image to a size where you can't read it.

Go with Selectric! I had not heard of those writers using typewriters, Scott. Thanks for that information. Perhaps I'll get fewer sideways glances if I invoke their names next time I admit to preferring the typewriter. I was recovering from an elbow injury the year I was assigned to a typing class (I had Tommy John surgery before Tommy John -- and yet is it called bcole surgery? No!), but I swiped the textbook and taught myself years later when I was finally healed. Best thing I ever did (not that I'm [openly] condoning textbook theft). When I was writing articles and scripts on my trusty Selectric III, I could type backwards to correct as quickly as I could type forward. So mistakes weren't all that much of an issue for me. Though my copy shop expenses were brutal.

I'll definitely look into it, blueneumann. Thanks for that tip. I've got their homepage open -- logically enough, it's http://www.qwerkywriter.com/ The thing is, that still gets stored on your hard drive. I like the absolute, no-cheating need to retype every. single. word. For me, nothing else equals that focus. For a while, on my first computer (a 256, I think), I had a program that gave you the sound of a typewriter with every keystrike, which helped me make the transition. I seem to write by sound -- I can actually hear when I type something wrong. I know, I know: makes no sense at all. And yet I always seem to check the screen when that happens, and every time, I'm right.

Good point. I've spent 99% of my time typing on a laptop or some mobile device that I've lost the ability to write long hand. Also, I get so crazy when I realize that I have to duplicate effort.

I hate to admit it, but I have a stationery fetish. Fortunately, this doesn't seem to be unusual among writers/creatives (Stanley Kubrick was a stationery expert). I write differently between A4 pads with a top quality pen (which I prefer), and Final Draft on the computer. Not sure exactly how it's different but it sure is. I find the step between writing up from A4 pad to computer to be very beneficial - a lot of spur-of-the-moment (and usually helpful) editing goes on here. There must be a good physiological reason why converting handwriting into typing makes the brain reassess what it's processing. Very taken with the idea mentioned above about having an "analog" desk and a "digital" desk : I think there's something potentially very useful there. For any other stationery fetishists - having tried many brands from different parts of the world - I would recommend Rhodia or Ciak stationery. Also, sites like this : http://blackcover.net/ And now I must go and sniff the real leather cover of that notebook I bought recently. Somebody help me.....

I had a Selectric at one point, not sure what model. Started with a Royal manual which I used all the way through college. Man, that could get frustrating as the keys would LITERALLY get stuck if I went too fast. Plus you had to use rubbing alcohol and Q-tips to clean the heads of each key because they would get clogged up with ink. When I think back on that, all I can do is shake my head and laugh. How did we SURVIVE before computers? Ha!

hobbs, thanks for that link. Hey, if the smell of notebook leather inspires you to read, go for it! My favorite writing-related smell: When I print out the final copy of a script for my files. I hold it up to my face, feeling the warmth in my hands, and give it a nice slow inhale. Sooooo satisfying!

Wow, that Qwerkywriter looks cool. I'll bet at least some of the buyers will be hipsters... along with their vinyl records! Thanks, Chris, for the tip. I'll probably post something about it at some point.

I remember well. I still have my old Remington manual. Just in case the survivalists are right, and the grid goes down. (Not that I'm holding my breath...)