Longhand

[lynnzop[$]]

Got in a short discussion the other day and I started thinking about how dependent I've become on my PC for writing anything more than grocery lists or phone messages.

I was bemoaning the fact that if I had a laptop, I'd use down time while waiting during appts to write. Someone mentioned that I could just write in longhand.

However, I've lost (or ignored) the ability to write stories, articles, reviews in longhand. With a pen. On paper. You remember those tools, right? I do think honestly that part of it has to do with speed...I'm a pretty good typist and can't write nearly as quickly as I can type. Capturing ideas, being able to easily edit, SPELL CHECK, instant thesarus, all those things are not at my fingertips when I do it the old fashioned way.

So I was curious about everyone else...do you still use paper and pen? Or like me, have you found you don't write unless you have a keyboard at your disposal?

Lynn

[amykhar]

I can't use paper and pen anymore. When I first started college, I couldn't compose on the computer. I had to write on paper first and then type it up after it was done.

Now, it seems like all my thinking happens in my typing fingers. Pens and paper just don't cut it for writing.

Software design, on the other hand, is still very much a doodle on paper sort of thing for me. I will turn away from the computer and scribble out my basic thoughts before I start coding just about anything.

[lynnzop[$]]

And what about writing up outlines and all that "technical" stuff? While I was helping Jeremy with a paper the other day, I had to sit down and think out "Here's how you write a paper. Intro, supporting pps, summary pp." I guess after a while, it just comes automatically and you don't have to think about it. When I'm teaching him, however, I have to spell it out (he didn't think a summary pp was necessary, mostly because he was sick and tired of writing the paper, but his dad told him to "listen to your mother" when it came to writing.)

I usually just start typing and let fingers fly. It's easy to edit by cutting and pasting. I don't know that I could do that anymore with paper.

[lynnzop[$]]

amykhar said

Software design, on the other hand, is still very much a doodle on paper sort of thing for me. I will turn away from the computer and scribble out my basic thoughts before I start coding just about anything.

Good point....when I'm writing up a process flow, I simply CANNOT do it on my PC first. I have to have a flip chart, write it in pencil (because I frequently have to change arrows or something) and then put it in visio or powerpoint. I think it's a similar process as your software design theory.

[taurusmoon]

I always start writing in longhand and once the juices get going I transcribe what I've got to the computer and take it from there.

I don't know why, but I work better that way. Maybe because I learned to write before I learned to type.

But, then again, most of us did.

[mjfrombuffalo[$]]

I don't write longhand first only because I find it an incredible waste of time to write everything out, only to type it later. For long, detailed things I might write an outline first on paper, but even my master's degree work I tended to do on the computer from the get-go, including the outline.

[Redlass]

I definitely prefer working on the computer and can write much better that way. Sometimes, though, I just need to get away from the screen even if it is my writing time. I'll write longhand then, but never in full sentences unless something really tickles me and I want to get the phrase down before I forget it.

If I'm writing longhand, it's usually just an intro pargaraph and then a list of other ideas that I want to make sure get in. I'm not even sure it's fair to call it an outline since it meets none of the official requirements for an outline. However, once I sit down at the computer, things usually flow pretty quickly.

Does anyone still write personal letters longhand? I definitely type mine because I would hate to inflict my handwriting on anyone else.

[pippadaisy[$]]

Typing, although I do still write thank yous longhand.

My problem is my handwriting. I had a fifth grade teacher who would fail us in handwriting for having the fat bubble-type letters, and that's how I wrote. I started forging her handwriting and getting As, but it's still slwoer for me 25 years later. I can print faster than I can write, and type much much faster than either.

[phoenixx]

The only things I write longhand are cards and short letters or poastcards. I just prefer to type. And now that I use WriteItNow2 for the mac, it takes care of the index card issues, notes, character lists, source lists, etc. so I don't even do index cards any more for notes. I DO have a board over my desk where I color code submissions and contracts on index cards to give me a visual of deadlines and income structure, but that hardly counts as writing.

[Prepoia[$]]

I write on the computer now. When I first started at EPS I would write it out long hand and then type it. Much faster to do it and any revisions and editing while typing it.

Sad point to make is that about 15% of my 7th grade students can't read cursive handwriting at all. It used to be only my special ed kids but now it is seeping into the traditional students as well.

Also sad, is that I as a teacher, would rather get the computer edition of reports and stories that they write because it's faster and easier to read. That doesn't help the issue and I intend to require more hand written assignments in the future.

[phoenixx]

My friend teaches sixth grade and gets a lot of this:

"The main reason for discussing the war is 2 find out what it means 2 U. IMO the war is....."


Drives her batshit

[lynnzop[$]]

That's a whole 'nuther topic.

[CurtisEdmonds]

I will only use longhand when forced. My handwriting is awful.

I interviewed some years back for a job. The woman who interviewed me was blind. She asked the standard interview question; do you have any weaknesses.

"Poor handwriting," I said.

[Redlass]

Ooh, I think I'd go batty too if I saw internet shortcuts in a formal paper.

[Greenify13]

Hmm this is a good question! I still use paper and pen to write stories. I don't have a computer at home. Except for the convenience of living next door to a library, I have no other access to one.
When it comes to writing stories it starts on paper. But for say the longer one that is not finished yet, and probably won't be any time in the near future. It is also on the computer. When I make additions to the story on computer or paper I add it to the other, to keep it equal.
It may seem like nonsense doing it twice. Why don't I choose one method over the other? But I have found that by doing this I see things in the writing that are missing or that don't fit in there and I can change it accordingly. While it is faster for me to continue on the computer, I like the fact that I have a "back-up", for both.
I also run into the problem that I get severe cramps in my hands which does hinder both methods. But I can accomplish more with typing.
Personal letters I think should be hand-written. It gives it a "closer" effect. Almost anyone can sit in front of a computer/laptop and write a letter. But if you truly care for someone, it can show by the mere fact the you took the time to write longhand. Like it is not a chore or task.

[lynnzop[$]]

I did "write" a review last night at karate, long hand on paper. Well, I didn't really write it...I flipped through the source (a magazine) and jotted notes. Which are completely unreadable, I might mention.

Two women in the dojo waiting room were working on their laptops while I scrawled away in my spiral notebook. I was jealous.

Then I came home, decipered my unreadable notes, and typed as fast as my brain could move.

I do agree though, that thank you notes, personal letters, that type of thing should be written in longhand whenever possible.

[nc10]

lynnzop said

So I was curious about everyone else...do you still use paper and pen? Or like me, have you found you don't write unless you have a keyboard at your disposal?

Lynn

No longhand skills here, except when I sign my name. If have to use pen and paper, taking notes in meetings, collecting data, etc, I print.