Writing by Hand

One of the great things about being a writer is that there is no one way to write the story. Whether you mean how you physically write it or how the story itself is developed by the writer. When I am under the crunch of a deadline I tend to type my stories because I need to get it written quickly. (I also find I work better under pressure)Screenshot_2015-05-25-21-47-49-1

However I also find that I enjoy writing my stories by hand. When I’m working on a story I’ll get so excited that I type as quickly as possible. I then find that i have skipped details and left things out because I’m really writing them in my mind. (Can’t the reader psychically know this?)

So I’ve started forcing myself to write some of my stories by hand. (The ones that aren’t under the pressure of a deadline). I have discovered that when I write by hand I am forcing myself to go slower. To take my time and focus on the details of the story. It also gives me more time to think about what’s about the happen next in the story.

To add to this I write almost entirely in cursive. (This is becoming a lost skill which makes me sad) Many people, I think, will agree that cursive is a pretty flowing script. This became reflected in the language of my writing. I was using a slightly different language and voice. This  took me by surprise until I recalled a teacher suggesting we try writing in different way. I now know why she said this.

What I have learned from this I would like to pass along to anyone who may be interested. Change your writing. Speed up, slow down. Type it, hand write. Change your handwriting. You’ll find the writing itself may change in some way. Imagine what kind of handwriting your character has. Can you write like this? This could make the character’s voice even stronger. You won’t know until you try. Try something new!

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