Pen vs Keyboard

Week of March 7, 2021

One of the most common questions I see asked among writers online isn’t ‘where do you get your ideas?’. The question I see most often is this: Do you write directly on the computer or do you write by hand? You’d think ideas, character creation, publishing methods, grammar, anything else that are huge parts of the writing process would be asked more frequently. But, no, from my observation it boils down to the two most basic ways of getting words on the paper.

I am a writer who falls firmly into the ‘by hand with a pen to paper’ camp. I’m even writing this blog entry first in my green leather journal with my favorite purple metal pen. That being said, I can honestly say I’m in awe of anyone who can write on their computer. As I’m sure someone who writes by typing everything into their computer first, is probably in awe of a writer who picks up a pen and paper to start writing that first draft longhand.

Just last week, as I joined in on yet another discussion on social media of pen vs keyboard, I read probably the best answer that reflects exactly what goes through my mind every time I pick up my pen: my handwritten copy is my first draft. I always edit it as I type it into my computer, which automatically creates my second draft.

It appears to me that the field is split evenly down the middle and both have their merits. As long as we, as writers, continue to get words down to be read by our readers, that’s all that really matters.

Have a great day!