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Which do you prefer: writing longhand with a pen (or pencil) on paper or typing on a keyboard/electronic device? This is the question I posed to our TeachingAuthors for the series of posts I'm kicking off today. As I considered my own answer, I found some interesting information on how our writing tools may affect our creativity.
I was about twelve or thirteen when I first started writing for myself (as opposed to for school assignments). Back then, the only alternative I had to writing longhand was a manual typewriter on which I could eek out maybe 10-15 words per minute. So longhand it was. I wrote poetry, journaled, and did all my school assignments in longhand. When necessary, I then transcribed my written words to the printed page via my beautiful blue Smith Corona.
By the time I started working as a freelance writer (MANY years later), personal computers had arrived on the scene. And I'd learned to type MUCH faster. So, for the sake of efficiency, I adapted my writing process to compose directly at the keyboard (as I'm doing with this blog post), but only for the nonfiction pieces I wrote for newspapers and magazines. For my "creative" writing--journals, poetry, short stories and my first novel--I stuck with longhand.
Then came graduate school, with its requirement of forty typed pages of writing per month. Once again, I adapted. I sat pounding out fiction--first short stories, then novel chapters--directly at the keyboard. For the most part, that worked fine. But every so often, I'd get stuck. I couldn't find the right words, or the words didn't have the right rhythm, or I couldn't get the feelings to come across on the page. I'd sit staring at the blinking cursor, my fingers frozen on the keys.
That's when I'd go make another cup of tea. Or stretch. Or take a walk. Sometimes that helped. But not always.
One day, while working on
Rosa, Sola, I got the idea to take up a pen and write out a question for Rosa, my main character. I asked her what she was feeling in the particular scene I was working on. Then I closed my eyes and tried to imagine I was in Rosa's shoes at that moment. I opened my eyes and wrote the answer to the question, longhand, from Rosa's point of view. I was amazed at the words that flowed from my pen. They not only gave me insight into Rosa and her feelings, but also ideas for what would happen next in the story.
From then on, whenever I got stuck, no matter what I was writing, I turned to paper and pen. And almost every time, the writing was better than what I'd struggled to generate via the keyboard.
I decided to research why for this blog post. Chris Gayomali's Mentalfloss article
"4 Benefits of Writing by Hand," like most of the other articles I found, says writing longhand makes you a better writer mainly because it slows you down. I think there's more to it than that. Otherwise, I could get the same benefits if I just typed slowly. But that doesn't help me at all.
I suspected that the difference really has something to do with how the physical act of putting pen to paper affects the creative side of our brain, our "right brain." Typing, on the other hand, seems to involve more of our logical left-brain.
Researching further, I found a
Paris Review interview with poet and author Ted Hughes in which he said:
In handwriting the brain is mediated by the drawing hand, in typewriting by the fingers hitting the keyboard, in dictation by the idea of a vocal style, in word processing by touching the keyboard and by the screen’s feedback. The fact seems to be that each of these methods produces a different syntactic result from the same brain. Maybe the crucial element in handwriting is that the hand is simultaneously drawing. I know I’m very conscious of hidden imagery in handwriting—a subtext of a rudimentary picture language. Perhaps that tends to enforce more cooperation from the other side of the brain. And perhaps that extra load of right brain suggestions prompts a different succession of words and ideas.
This explanation rings truer for me than the "slower is better" theory. What do you think? I'd love if you'd let us know in the comments.
But first, you may want to also read Kelly Barson's fascinating article
"Writing from Both Sides of the Brain" in the
Hunger Mountain journal. Just make sure to come back here when you're done!
Okay, so if you read Barson's article, you know it includes several references to Julia Cameron, author of
The Artist's Way (Tarcher).
Cameron also recommends writing longhand, at least for "Morning Pages." As it happens, I'm currently preparing to teach a new 12-week workshop on
The Artist's Way at the College of DuPage that will begin at the end of the month. This Wednesday, August 13, I'll be presenting a free
Lunch Break Lecture giving potential students a "taste of" the workshop. If you're in the area, I hope you'll join us.
Check my website for details.
And if you haven't already done so, don't forget to
enter our current giveaway for a chance to win the historical middle-grade novel
Odin's Promise (Crispin Press) by Sandy Brehl.
See JoAnn's post for all the details.
Happy writing!
Carmela
(I know it’s the first of April, but this isn’t a Fools Day post. )
S
ilence. It’s a horrid thing to have happen. The words in the head gone, or never hanging around long enough to be useful. The shameful feeling of no longer being able to be the writer I've thought I was,.
The silence crept up on me, bit by bit, started by several petty reasons. A sudden family incident that it doesn't help to go on about. A smattering of nagging anxieties, boring and best suppressed. A while with scaffolding rattling outside my workroom window, and similar. A longish Arts Project ,and a worthy commitment that both ate up too much administration time. (Oh, why didn’t I weigh up the time involved at the start?) As well as all the good stuff of life that still needs planning and attention and enjoyment. Way too much on your mind? Best keep your mouth shut, and just get on with it all.
The silence grew, added to by the shadow of a “big book” not doing as it should, and one single minor review that hurt badly. Beware too thin a skin. Then there was that guard-down, coming-out-of-the-loo moment slap into the face of a slightly sneery librarian’s harsh remark. (Just who did I think I was, pretending to be a writer, I thought.) Then that one twisted school visit – out of many good ones, I know, I know - that didn’t go quite right. (Curse you, Powerpoint facilities!) Gradually the book that should be being written, is half-written, has paused for far too long a time.
Don't worry. I don't need a large red-spotted hanky or sympathy to wallow in.
This is just my explanation of why, slowly, the words had stopped, and that some kind of action was urgently required.
What action? I decided to try the “Artist’s Way” again, again. So the rest of this post is about is the famous Three Pages - or my version of how I did, and how I DO do them.
A quick aside, if you haven't yet heard that expression yet. The Three Pages writing exercise comes from the American writer and creative renewal guru, Julia Cameron. Her first book (1994) had the title “THE ARTIST'S WAY: A COURSE IN DISCOVERING YOUR CREATIVE SELF", and took the model of the AA 12-step programme. Julia continued with more books on this theme and a strong on-line presence. Her books do offer good and wise suggestions and I respect her enormously, especially for fighting her personal demons.
HOWEVER
Julia writes very American, and I am not. When she lyrically describes breakfasting on her sunlit porch, or riding her horse through the desert, or spending money on sparkly pencils in stores, or walking the streets of Manhattan, or meeting up with this or that creative film or theatre person in her cafe, or suddenly having a dream about putting on a musical and that happens . . .
Oh dear. Apologies. Julia. The crabby bit of me makes me shrug my shoulders and go “meh”. I'm sure it is all true, but that life is not my life. Never has been my life. These events may be a movie or life elsewhere, but not here. (Peers out at the grey drizzle outside)
FURTHERMORE
Julia’s main demand, echoing Dorothea Brande’s original and earlier book Becoming A Writer, is this. Every morning, as you wake up, you write three pages. I tried this often, as my family grew from babbling to teen-sulking around me. Sorry, Julia, but I failed too soon each time I tried. ( Back then, I was a working, work-worn mum. Somehow my role was to get everyone out there each morning or we starved. Time management wasn’t my thing - and I was doing diplomas and degrees around that time too, studying in the evenings. Not a good mix.)
BUT YET
Last November, with that cold grey dog Silence crouched by my ankles, I decided to try the Three Pages method again. (Not Page Three, please note.) However this time I would do it MY way. I would scribble those Three Pages down whenever I could. If I couldn’t, I wouldn’t grieve. Or feel bad. Or all that other negative stuff that cascaded down. Agreed? Yes.
AND SO
I did - and have now been doing - the Three Pages. I've done them for (counts on fingers . . .) about five months now, and the good news is that - even in my revised, occasionally feeble and now-guiltless version - the Three Pages have worked. I miss it when I don;t do them. Words and ideas have started whispering in my head - and something’s begun ticking again on my big project.
BUT WHAT DO YOU DO FOR THE THREE PAGES?I use a large A4 yellow-paged notebook. Yellow because it isn’t white work paper, and the colour cheers me. Size is important too. Three large pages gives a generous space for you to listen to your muttering mind, and let all the low-level, hidden frets to rise up to the surface, to spill out somewhere around mid-second page. Aha, you think. So that’s what’s really making me so cross and fidgety!
I use a beautiful old green art-deco fountain pen, inherited from my father, which makes for comfortable writing. I keep away from the scary computer screen, the scene of my failure. The physical act of writing by hand seems to feed the task.
I use green ink, because this is not work, right? (Blue ink: school. Black ink: for depression or drawing Red ink : corrections and being marked. ) Green ink? Yes! Interesting and inspiring. Even if my fingers are always covered in green stains.
I note the day, date and year at the start, keeping a light watch on when I last made time for myself. If I have missed any days, I let myself wonder why, then start again. I even note where I’m scribbling. “Writing this in bed . . .” or “At my desk. 4.30am”.
I note the time I start, out of curiosity, and when I end. Dawn, morning, afternoon, late night, before I sleep. All sorts of times, whenever I can. The aim is to do it, not to be perfect. (Sometimes my three pages take 50 minutes. I note that I lose focus, get distracted. Small must-be-done’s arrive, start yapping and too soon I give in, but I try better next time. Yet, thinking about this blog, I got three pages covered in 20 minutes.
I use the Three Pages for . . what? Not for “writing on a given theme” at all, nor as a diary, although some entries do sound a bit like that. Nor are they reflective odes to all that is lovely around me, ever searching for the precise, right , perfect word. The Three Pages work by getting the hand and head moving, and even if angry thoughts flicker on some pages, somehow the yellow paper isn’t greyed over with gloom.
The Three Pages are just me writing,however the writing turns out, whatever the words think: a sort of low-level meditation. The pages are private: what’s in three pages stays in three pages, or they did until I used one set to consider my thoughts for this blogpost. Maybe the pages are changing? Maybe they are becoming about what I write about? Who knows?
For me, the Three Pages have become a place to rest and be alone. No readers, no editors, no revisions, a space where inspiration is not demanded, where my writing doesn’t matter - although in a way, it does, very much. And day after day - or almost - the pages have helped the other, the “Real Writing” begin again, too.
I’m sure that, to some of you, this wittering about silence will sound self-indulgent and weak. "Lives are different" is all I can say, and I have worked on some briefs that ended up in print and cheered me immensely. It was the big writing thing I'm wanting to finish that scared me. Onwards - and this post makes sense to anyone, thank you for reading.
Penny Dolan
www.pennydolan.com
The Dot is a story about encouragement: A generous teacher refuses to give up on a student she believes in. It’s also about determination: The student realizes she can do better, goes back, and tries again. And persistence: Over and over, she faces the blank page, experimenting with colors and sizes.
Today’s Wednesday Writing Workout, inspired by The Dot, focuses on encouragement.
As writers, we have to be our own cheerleaders, coaches, and fans.
Here are some suggestions for remaining positive about your work:
- Print your title page. Frame it. Hang it above your desk or computer.
- Write yourself an encouraging note. Remember to be kind to yourself. Writing is hard!
- Get enough sleep. As my mom used to say, everything looks better in the morning.
- As Julia Cameron says in The Artist’s Way, fill the well! Visit a museum. Hike through the wilderness. Paddle around with a pal.
- Celebrate every victory, no matter how tiny. Invite writer friends who understand to join the party, and be sure to celebrate their victories, too!
Happy writing!
By: Grant Overstake,
on 4/27/2013
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Writing is often thought of as a lonely vigil, but Grant Overstake, author of Maggie Vaults over the Moon, found this not to be true. In this Keyhole Conversations interview, he acknowledges those people who helped him along the way. … Continue reading →
By:
sketched out,
on 2/17/2012
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I’ve been working with Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way” with an online group since the beginning of the year. It’s been a wonderful, insightful journey so far.
One of the things you become aware of through the weekly readings, exercises and tasks, is the nasty, critical voice, nattering constantly inside your head.
The Censor.
The Censor continually does you the great service of letting you know how much your work sucks, how wrong everything you do is, and what a hack you are, just to name a few.
Ms. Cameron suggests one of the many techniques for dealing with this annoying denizen of your psyche, is to draw a cartoon version, in an effort to expose it and take away some of The Censor’s power.
So, to that end… meet my big, fat censor! Booooo! Hisssss! Oh, shut your pie hole Mr. Smartypants Censor.
I’m thinking, with any luck and continued work he will eventually lose some of his size and girth. I’ll keep you posted.
Julia Cameron and her marvelous book,
The Artist's Way, completely changed the way I approached writing, inspiration and creativity. I can honestly say that this book changed my life. It has also changed the lives of millions of artists and creative people worldwide. If you're already familiar with Cameron's work, you know I'm not exaggerating. If you're new to her work, I urge you to discover it. It's never too late!
Now, Julia's 12-week program is available online:
Through interactive tools, you'll be able to:
- UNBLOCK yourself with powerful Artist's Way exercises
- TRACE your creative process in your own personal Artist's Way Creativity Notebook
- RECEIVE Daily Inspirations, Affirmations, and Artist's Date ideas from Julia
The kit includes a contract, the artist's date, artist's date exercises, creativity pages and creativity notes.
For those of you on the go, there's an app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
You can learn more about this exciting program at
My Artist's Way Toolkit.
Revision update: Couldn’t get up early this morning, so nothing new. Oh well. Must do better tomorrow. Luckily, it’s a holiday. 
I read a lovely interview with author Susan Patron today, on author Cynthia Leitich Smith’s blog, and love that Susan originally got her inspiration from a laundry basket. (Susan is the author of the Lucky series.)
Well, not exactly from a laundry basket, but as Susan describes it, when she was young and would tell stories to her sister, she would imagine that the laundry basket was full of stories and she just had to open it and pull them out. It took away the responsibility of having to create stories, because the laundry basket was always full of them. Instead of having to create stories, Susan just had to retrieve them.
This is similar to what The Artist’s Way teaches when it says creativity is a pond and we have to fill it regularly so we can keep fishing from it. (I read the book companion to this years ago.)
Writing can be frustrating when you don’t feel like your muse is there. But turning it around, telling yourself that you don’t have to write or create the next award-winning title, that all you have to do is put pen to paper — or fingers to keyboard — and enjoy yourself, can relax you enough to let the muse in. Like imagining that it’s not you creating the story; it’s already in the laundry basket.
My laundry basket would be an old painted wooden box I got as a kid. Where do you keep your stories?
Write On!
By:
Garden Painter Art,
on 7/17/2007
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Hello There:
I'm enjoying a cool and slightly misty morning. Because it will be short-lived, as it will be in the 90's by early afternoon, I savor every moment of relief from the desert heat. A stroll through my garden is always an uplifting way to start my day.
Over the weekend, we were blessed with the flavor of our first home-grown Nectarines~
We planted several fruit trees in our yard last Spring and the Nectarine tree was full of gorgeous pink blossoms at the time:
It's an exciting moment when you pick your first ripe piece of fruit from a tree that you planted yourself. Now, don't get me wrong, it's not as though we had over-flowing baskets of glistening goodness. I think we actually had about 15 Nectarines altogether. BUT....the last few on the tree, the few that still needed a day or two until they reached their peak, were discovered by a feathered visitor:
And...this is the culprit:
A gorgeous male Oriole. He has a mate and a couple of youngsters. They nested on my neighbors hill and came to our yard for food. I gladly put up an Oriole feeder and they happily accepted, but as soon as they discovered the ripe fruit, they quickly came to the conclusion that the fruit was the more delicious choice!! I'm okay with that. We picked and ate the best of the bunch and the Orioles staked their claim on the rest. They have entertained us each evening for several months, and we are always delighted to see the flash of orange feathers twittering about in our back yard garden. They have earned their keep and I am more than happy to share my bounty with them.
***********************************************
I'm sure you know by now that I like birds. I like birds of all types and I often use them in my collages. Yesterday, I listed 2 collage prints in My Etsy Shop. Here's one of them:
"Riding The Crow" ACEO Collage Print
************************************************
Also...for anyone who may be interested in electronics ~ such as digital cameras, here's a link to our internet mall with today's special offer at allaroundthemall.blogspot.com
Until Tomorrow:
Kim
Garden Painter Art
Hello Friends:
I promise I won't make a habit of using my "art blog" to advertise deals on our internet mall, but I thought this may be fitting, considering lots of artists enjoy the Harry Potter books.
Go HERE and check out this deal from Barnes and Noble.com. It's quite amazing and it's short lived!!
I guess I could also use this time to say that I've just wasted my 200th post on an entry for the mall.... I'm not happy about that !!
As always, thanks so much for stopping by.
Until Tomorrow:
Kim
Garden Painter Art
Good Morning:
Well, because of the fact that I seem to be in an unwelcomed state of slumpness, I've had the time to work on Gary's "All Around The Mall.com blog. I'll be posting particular sales events once or twice a day with links directly to those stores. Because I am the official blogger in the Wlassak household, I have lots of "influence" as to what sales and specials to post about. Hence....you can look forward to an unfair amount of art supply posts!! Here's a link to the art supply page.
So...here's the basic idea behind this mall:
"All Around The Mall.com is an easy to use, family friendly, internet shopping experience. Many directories today have gone to the extreme in design and are clogged with pop-up advertisements, making shopping and searching for products or services a true task for the average web surfer. We have put together a simple, straight forward directory with products from all over the world for your convenience".
We've owned All Around The Mall.com for almost 10 years, and at one point, it was doing a nice amount of business. Gary went back to school last year to get his Bachelor's Degree, and the mall ended up on the unfortunate back burner. Now that things have slowed down a bit, Gary has taken the time to re-design the mall and start the process of getting it back to the top of the Google search engine.
Next week, I am going to have a contest for artists on the mall blog. The winner will be linked on the Artist's Page for free!! I'll announce the contest over here as well, so that all of my artist friends have a chance to participate.
Thanks so very much for taking the time to read about the mall. I would love it if you could stop by and take a peek at the new blog.
Until Tomorrow:
Kim
Garden Painter Art
http://allaroundthemall.blogspot.com/
Good Morning:
What a lovely morning it is. The dew is twinkling, and a bit of welcome humidity has dropped in to refresh the thirsty desert surroundings. My little suburban backyard is alive with the sounds of so many birds, and the lizards are busy doing their daily push-ups on my stucco wall. But alas.... this unexpected moisture will be short lived. By noon, the temperature will be heading up towards the 90's, and slowly but surely, my lovely blue Morning Glory will hang it's blossoms in wilted shame. Never fear, by late evening my garden will perk up and take on new life in the almost-dark of the warm summer night.
With a busy day ahead, I haven't listed anything new in My Etsy Shop, but I have relisted a few 4" x 6" collage prints:
Pretty Mexican Girl At Party
Amy and Celeste
The Happy Glamour Girl
Ghostly Gert's Tucson Patio Party
Sister May
Also....I'll take this opportunity to let you all know that I will be on and off of my blog for the next couple of weeks. I am building a blog for Gary's (my husband) re-furbished internet mall. Since going back to school last year, he hasn't had much time to keep up with the mall, but recently, he took the time to totally redo the look of the mall and the new mall should be up and running within the next week. The mall is up at www.allaroundthemall.com, but it still has some bugs and kinks to work out. He's in the process of re-building the art section, so we will be offering free artist's links to my art friends in the near future!! Stop by the mall and check it out. I would love to hear some feedback.
Until Tomorrow:
Kim
Garden Painter Art
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and yours doesn’t know what he is talking about. You are one of the most talented people I know! Yay Leeenda!
Sounds like a great exercise. Maybe I should give it a try.
Love this, JA! I haven't actually framed the title of my WIP, but I have created a cover mockup that I keep in a plastic protective sleeve.
Thanks for the encouragement!
My blog post this week at Bildebok was all about my Artist Date at the zoo. Terrific!
I am a huge fan of The Dot and The Artist's Way. I am trying to encourage my students to express themselves, and I fill their wells up with poetry and art.
Thanks for telling me to celebrate every victory. This is so important!