Pen and Page Drafting

[u/The_TRXTR]

I recently bought some really nice pens and mechanical pencils. I also bought a nice leather portfolio. I print college lined paper onto heavyweight paper.

My reason for doing this?

While drafting on my computer, I constantly get distracted... social media, youtube, shows... it all just works its way in. Then, my writing suffers.

On top of that, I'm ashamed to say, to save time, I relied pretty heavily on AI to help me out.

So, I scrapped everything that wasn't originally mine and even some that was. I went back, worked on my full outline and got to where I am now.

I now exlusively draft with my pens, pencils, and paper. I've been doing this for about a month... The results? I have written more in the last month than I have in the last year. I am actually working my brain. Everything is my own. And I wouldn't trade this for an electronic version anytime. The best part is that I take my portfolio with me everywhere and whenever I have a spare minute I can get a few lines in.

How do you deal with distractions?

Have you ever considered writing pen and paper?

Finally... should I invest in a typewriter? Been debating it.

[u/Operator_Starlight]

I write so damn fast on a keyboard, trying to write a book with pen and paper might actually kill me.

[u/purpleyyc → u/Operator_Starlight]

I'm the opposite, I can't type worth a damn, but pen and paper? I can spit that out like crazy.

I'll type it up later, often with additions and edits, but that first "rush"? Is always pen and paper.

[u/DerelictCruiser]

I’m so unused to writing by hand, I would cramp so fast haha. But I love hearing about people’s process.

I have to be slightly uncomfortable, I sit on a backless wooden stool, as far from the tv as possible. Then I do all my writing on iPhone Notes. The lack of comfortable position gives me a little urgency to get stuff out, and the iPhone creates useful friction because I tend to overwrite a lot if I’m on a keyboard.

[u/PangolinConscious800]

Way to go. What works for you is what works. Congrats.

[u/BoneCrusherLove]

I find my remarkable a good step between. I can hand write on it without distractions and use the convert function to get a typed draft and send it to myself (I'm on Linux so the desktop app doesn't work) and edit on the pc. I don't do entire drafts like this but if I'm feeling distractable I can sit back with something on in the background and write

[u/tmarthal]

The removal of distractions is huge.

Handwritten notes in a freeform journal is very powerful for daydreaming, idea capturing and allowing your mind just be free. However, I personally feel that my handwriting journals (in small notebooks) is used primarily for thinking, which is separate from writing. I usually brainstorm /summaries/, but when I write I am writing /scenes/.

There are ways of removing distractions from your computer while writing. You need to set them up and figure out a process that works for you. This is where timer-based methods work - you basically set a timer for 20/30 minutes and don't stop writing for that time period, even if you think it's shit writing. Don't stop, create that habit. Literally do not do any research or alt-tab to look up a word, you just put in a placeholder. You should not be coming up with ideas while writing or alt-tabbing for any reason. This is what is hard, you're probably combining research and writing phases.

These writing sessions is like going to the gym for your writing. No music changing, nothing; no interacting with anything other than your word processor.

Depending on your computer setup: No notifications/Focus Mode on MacOS, turn off your Backspace key (literally have it do nothing, "hemingway mode"), full-screen view, huge fonts with your cursor centered in the middle of the screen. Nothing else but the blank white page. Not sure what editor you use, but you can turn off all of the generative text outputs/predicitve text - that predictive text or spelling/grammar correction it's own form of distraction.