Pen and Paper vs. The Computer: Which is the best medium for your writing?
Once upon a time, writing a novel had to be done entirely by hand. The author would painstakingly fill pages upon pages using only their imagination as a guide. Books were a luxury then, at a time where everything had to be written by hand. The printing press and typewriter drastically changed the scope and pace of how books were able to be produced. Nowadays, the modern author is usually portrayed in films in media as they type away in front of their computer screen.
The latter however is not strictly true. Many authors elect to continue writing on paper, preferring it to the look and feel of an electronic screen, and many new writers face the debate of which of the two is the better writing medium.
Pros and Cons of using Pen and Paper
There is something nostalgic about writing on paper, and there is a beauty in how simple and practical it is. Many of us took our first steps into story writing on pen and paper, and for that reason, this medium continues to provide inspiration.
This is especially true of the older generations who are not as comfortable using a computer keyboard, and for whom it may be faster to write it down in ink. Being unused to a computer keyboard might also make it painful to use, leaving paper as the more attractive option.
Pen and paper are also a much more portable option. True, laptops are highly mobile nowadays, but technology is not always reliable. Having a small notebook and pen with you will allow you to write 100% of the time, without having to worry about outlets, carrying a laptop bag or making sure you saved your file.
Even people who will eventually translate their work into a computer file may prefer to begin on paper, using the time it takes to move from one medium to the other as an opportunity to edit their work. This can be particularly useful for people who dislike self-editing. Having to type the story after having written it forces them to go through everything at least once.
On the other hand, paper can get lost or damaged. It’s also bulky and cumbersome to carry around the entirety of a novel, and there is no way to “search” within the document. If you are looking for a particular passage, you will have to either remember where it was, or look for it page by page.
It is also not ideal to write solely on paper if you plan to submit anything to an agent or publisher as most, if not all, of them require that submissions be in electronic format.
Pros and Cons of Using the Computer
For people who are at ease with technology, typing your novel on the computer is both fast and simple, requiring little more than a program where you can create documents and your hands to type. The average typing speed of an adult that is computer literate is 40 words per minute, which is must faster than the average handwriting speed of 40 letters a minute.
Furthermore, as stated above, if you are interested in publishing your story, having it in electronic format is a requirement. In most cases, you will query online where you will have to send in your computer document rather than a handwritten manuscript. The same applies in the case of self-publishing.
Computers also come with a lot of handy features for authors. Spellcheck, formatting options, word count, thesaurus, and more are all easily accessible and can easily elevate your writing and prepare it for submission while saving you time while editing and processing.
Conversely to pen and paper however, computers do have some limitations on when and how they can be used, as they need an outlet to power or recharge them, and extreme temperatures do not agree with them. They are also not conducive to a spur of the moment decision to write. While you might be able to borrow a pen and paper if inspiration strikes, borrowing a computer is somewhat unlikely.
And for those not used to typing on a keyboard, the process can be painful bordering on uncomfortable. The computer may also cause eye strain or backaches from poor posture while typing much easier than writing on paper would.
Pen and Paper Vs. Computer
So, which is best? The computer keyboard or pen and paper?
Ultimately, it comes down to personal preference. For a busy author who it trying to juggle a full-time job, a family and other commitments, writing on paper and then having to transfer everything over to the computer might be a complete hassle. But someone else in the exact position might feel that the computer is impersonal and that they are unable to create the way they want when faced with a blank computer screen.
What is more important than which medium you use is that you put words down on the page. Whether in ink or in pixels, make sure that you are taking the time to put your story in writing and accomplishing your goals as an author. Your reader won’t care how you wrote down the story when they are reading it, so enjoy the process and create stories that are important to you.
No matter what you use to write them.
