[identity profile] gently-escape.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] nanowrimo_lj
HELLO THERE LOVELIES ♥

I need a bit of moral support right now, because I'm apparently completely useless figuring this out on my own.

It's the age old question; to handwrite or type?

The only thing that puts a spin on my situation is my job. I work from 8pm-4:30am at a ~CALL CENTER~. So, 8-12 we're normal busy but. . . those last four hours? Effing dead. Up to 10 minutes in between calls but it's not like I can have my laptop out but I feel like I'm wasting time if i'm not writing. :|

So um. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions or other handwrite/not-handwrite struggle stories, speak up!

Date: 2008-10-17 05:16 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] grandfromage.livejournal.com
Type when you can, it's faster. Handwrite when you can't, so you can get some done anywhere.

Date: 2008-10-17 05:17 am (UTC)
misslucyjane: poetry by hafiz (Default)
From: [personal profile] misslucyjane
You can do both! Handwrite while you're at work and type it up when you get home.

Date: 2008-10-17 05:20 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] swingsister-t.livejournal.com
I've always typed - but I always carry a notebook. Sometimes ideas flow better when it's pen to paper.

Date: 2008-10-17 05:22 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kallaneboi.livejournal.com
I think I handwrote almost half of my novel last year in classes and just typed it up later. It kinda throws a wrench in the whole "Don't reread your work" rule, but I generally use it to expand my wordcount even more :D

Date: 2008-10-17 05:25 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sunshinenebula.livejournal.com
I type and if I know I'm going to be somewhere without computer access ahead of time, I print off the last page or so of my novel and continue hand writing from there. :)

Date: 2008-10-17 05:30 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aka-meerkat.livejournal.com
I had to hand write large portions of mine last year, because I had a desk that was way too big (as in tall) for me and my shoulders hurt like hell if I typed at it for too long. It's pretty easy to do both if you're a fast typer, or otherwise have enough spare time to put your written work on the computer. As for doing completely hand written.. well, keeping track of the word count would be a headache   ;)

Date: 2008-10-17 05:35 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] musical-junkie.livejournal.com
I handwrote for the first part of last year's NaNo, because I wanted to be able to write during classes.
Luckily, now that I'm in college, I have a lot more free time than class time, so I'll be writing solely via computer this year (at least I plan to.)

My advice: handwrite whenever you can't get to a computer, and type it up as soon as you can. You can even print out what you've already written so that you can keep track of where you are when you're writing by hand. Esp. if you don't want to write out all 50,000 words AND type them. Because you are correct...wasting those ten minute intervals would be a shame.

Date: 2008-10-17 06:53 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] syrensix.livejournal.com
I'll probably end up doing a little of both, depending on whats going on by the end of the month. :)

Date: 2008-10-17 07:13 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sheblobbers.livejournal.com
I would suggest doing both. Type when you can, it is more efficient and you are less likely to get cramps after an hour... but there are times when you can't type.. so I would keep a notebook for writing when you can't type!

Date: 2008-10-17 08:12 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cornerofnowhere.livejournal.com
for sure both. <3

Date: 2008-10-17 08:30 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ratbandits.livejournal.com
I did this one year, typed most of it up and at work in quiet bits handwrote it from my office, but i found it really hard to 'go back'. It made me want to correct things, and it made me hate somethings i'd already written and want to change it, and i ended up so frustrated with my seemingly poor efforts and jacked it in, i'm a natural quitter when i lose my flow, so i had a tough time. If you find it works for you, do it, otherwise perhaps sit and brainstorm good words and scenarios you want in there, I'm a quote hoarder, if i hear someone say something funny i grab my notebook and write down the whole scenario and quote it all and you never know if it might slide in there.

Date: 2008-10-17 09:12 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] hand-of-erato.livejournal.com
I'm with [livejournal.com profile] grandfromage here; I type when I have a chance, the rest of the time I have a notebook full of random notes, scenes and ideas. Good to have in school, at work and while you're waiting for the bus. ;)

Date: 2008-10-17 10:34 am (UTC)
ext_103274: (Default)
From: [identity profile] biotheory.livejournal.com
If you're handwriting portions and don't have the time to type them up, count the word count and fill a word document with that word count of 'lorem ipsum' or something like that. It does feel like cheating a little bit, but I did it last year and typed up the handwritten portions when it was EdMo. It's still writing!

Date: 2008-10-17 01:48 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] alabasterfalcon.livejournal.com
If you do use lorem ipsum over and over again, I found a short cut when I was goofing off and looking up the origin and meaning of the phrase: http://www.lipsum.com/

You can go to the site and on the right hand side there is a generator. You can put in how many words you hand wrote, hit the button and it takes you to a page with that many words all in latin from where the text where lorem ipsum comes from. Its pretty neat, and a lot fast than crtl+v over and over again. =)

Date: 2008-10-17 11:16 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] shadowfighter.livejournal.com
I've been typing notes and stuff on my phone and then sending them to my email. It's faster than handwriting if you use predictive text, and it means I won't have to reread what I've done when I'm typing it up.
Problem - slightly exensive, but my handwriting is so utterly atrocious that if I were to han write any of it, I'D not be able to read it when it came to typing up, never mind anybody else.

Date: 2008-10-17 12:12 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] callita623.livejournal.com
are you not on a computer at your job that you can use to write with while it's dead? if you are then i would suggest using your work computer to write, save what you wrote on a flash drive to easily transport back and forth to work. or you could use something like Evernote to save your draft and then get it when you get home.
you can also get an older model alphasmart on ebay for pretty cheap ($50 or less). it would be less conspicuous on your desk than a laptop.
if these are not valid options i would definately hand write, just so that you feel you aren't totally wasting your time. i would count words as you go along (page by page or something), and depending on your personal time constraints you could type it later or even type it after nano if things are hectic.

Date: 2008-10-17 01:31 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thetruefalse.livejournal.com
I find that when I handwrite something with the intention of adding it to something that I've already started typing at a later time, I end up changing EVERYTHING in the process of typing it up, thus having rendered the handwritten part a complete waste of time.

Just my thoughts...

Date: 2008-10-17 01:41 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] alabasterfalcon.livejournal.com
You do what you must...

If you can type, I would type while at work. Fortunately for me, I also have spans of downtime between blueprints being plotted out. Normally, I could open the files, hit the plot button and wait for them all to be done, but we have an OLD plotter, and it can handle no more than one file at a time with up to 4 copies, or 4 files with one copy. No variations or it gets confused lol....also, its a slow plotter. So I write while I'm waiting to start the next batch.

I also hand write while I'm at work. Sometimes, I can't get out what I want to say without seeing the flow of ink from a pen and writing more slowly allows me to grasp what's going on. Its only a paragraph or so, then its back to the computer. When handwriting, to make counting words easier, I count the line and write the total words in that line on the margin. Later, I'll go back and add the total of the all the lines on one page, using that line count and write the word count of the page in the header and circle it.

Date: 2008-10-17 02:04 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] peasluvngiggles.livejournal.com
Last year I actually ended up splitting the typing and handwriting. Wasn't because I couldn't have my laptop but it was because sometimes while typing I wasn't motivated so I went to the old stand-by pen and paper. What impressed me is the fact I didn't edit while transferring over to my laptop! I'm actually starting out this year handwriting. I think the main thing is that for me anyway, while transferring to my laptop I ignore my inner editor or I lose precious time! I say have a notebook right there beside you and write away!

Peace, Love, and Giggles,
Deanna

Date: 2008-10-17 03:04 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jtptan.livejournal.com
I don't know what your budget is, a lot of people have suggested doing both, which is probably a good idea. If you don't want to have to type what you've handwritten, but want to keep track of the whole novel on the computer, my suggestion is to:

a. Scan your work and either keep the picture file or the 'interpreted' text file - if you have clear handwriting the programs that convert scanned images to text usually work alright - not great but alright. At least you will have something to refer to, and something to plug in for getting your official word count.

b. Have a look at digital pens. Some of them are expensive, some of them aren't too bad. I believe I saw a starter set at Zellers for about 60-70$ The ability of these things to read handwriting is a bit better than the standard software you get with a scanner, but still not perfect. It will save your handwriting as a picture as well.

handwriting vs typing

Date: 2008-10-17 03:16 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ladyseraph-756.livejournal.com
Have you considered getting some dictation software? That way, you save yourself the retyping time so giving you more time to write and you're being more productive. I know I'm going to invest in some as it's probably the only way I'm going to reach 50,000.
Of course I don't know exactly what your budget is, but mics can be got quite cheaply and the software is available at a computer shop lie PC World or something like that. I'm going to have a look and see if there's any freeware dictation software for download online.
All the best
Seraph

Date: 2008-10-17 03:30 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jean-sands.livejournal.com
I used to be a typer only. I felt it was faster. I recently got stuck in my writing and spent way too much time staring at the screen not sure how proceed even though I had the scene in my head. So, i grabbed a notebook and rewrote the scene on paper. Five pages later, I had broken through my block. Now, I write it out on paper first. After I have about three double side pages, I input it into the computer.

This has really helped me because I have a problem editing as I type. I am able to flush out the story better on paper because I don't think about making everything perfect. I don't pause. I just write what I see. I can't do this on the computer. It might sound starnge but when I'm typing on the computer I feel like it's somehow final and I don't want to make mistakes and so I'm constantly editing and correction punctuation and spelling and I loose a lot of the spark of the story.

Hope that helps.

-e.j.

Date: 2008-10-17 10:02 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] beautyandbanana.livejournal.com
Both? Before you leave for work print the last page of your story, and stick it in a notebook. Then you can continue where you left off at work. When you get back to you home, begin typing again.

Date: 2008-10-18 03:26 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-forgetromeo.livejournal.com
I'll end up doing a bit of both, since I'm at school for most of the day. But mostly, I'll be on my laptop typing like a fiend. <3

Date: 2008-10-18 07:19 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rednuck.livejournal.com
If you're able to type when you're at home, I'd type. I'd handwrite at work though so then when you type it in later it will refresh your memory as to what you've written. Just an idea.

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