Handwriting vs. Typing
I have tried many different storytelling methods throughout my lifetime: short stories, artwork, novellas, screenplays, flash fiction, and videos. It is probably fairly obvious that I've given up most of these save for a few - writing included. Within the activity of writing, I have tried a few different techniques of different styles, character developments, and story progressions.
The specific writing methods I'll be exploring today, however, are handwriting stories in a notebook and typing stories on a computer. I'll be sharing the pros and cons of both methods and sharing my opinion on which is best at the very end. As always, if you don't have time to read the entire article, my final verdict and list of pros and cons can be found at the end of the article!
HANDWRITING
Pros
It's easier to stay focused. After all, since the notebook in front of you contains nothing but that specific story, you're likely going to stay on task! Now, this doesn't factor in environmental distractions, such as your annoying siblings or nagging parents, but all in all, it can keep you more centered on the writing at hand.
You have something physical to show for your efforts. My one and only party trick is whipping out the notebook containing whatever story I'm currently working on and flipping through the pages to show how much I've written. The messy handwriting...the plethora of pages filled with a unique plot and characters...not to mention the cramp in your writing hand and the ink on your fingers. Everything about writing in a notebook pays off in much more physical demonstrations of how hard you've worked!
You can take your notebook almost anywhere. People are less likely to bother and judge you about being a stereotypical teenager if you're scribbling away in a notebook rather than writing on your phone or a computer. Plus, it's safer to take to public places - it can't overheat like a laptop, most people won't want to steal it like they would a phone or computer, and if it does get lost, people will be more inclined to return it over a multi-hundred or thousand dollar laptop or cell. Plus, you can whip out said notebook and write away almost anywhere without fear of being judged for using your laptop at inappropriate times. My proof? Almost half of one of my novellas, The Forsaken Prophecy, was written in my math class.
Cons
Starting new chapters can be a challenge. Maybe this is just me, but when I'm writing in a notebook, it feels more natural to just stick in what my mother and I always called a "natural pause point" - a small star or some similar shape to show a change in scene - rather than try to figure out when it would be best to end a chapter. I usually measure chapters in how many Google Docs pages they are or how many words there are in said chapter, so trying to figure out how many handwritten pages equals either of those things is difficult, to say the least. Plus, like I said, I find it more natural to just write with minimal pauses or breaks.
Sometimes, a single notebook is too little to hold your story. Say you've got a 213 page story - 213 pages, that is, handwritten. Well, you've filled one composition notebook; that's 200 pages. But what about the other thirteen pages? Do you put them in a new notebook and just let the other 287 pages go to waste, never to be written upon? Or do you put those 13 pages on loose-leaf pieces of paper that are difficult to keep track of and easy to lose? This is, for me personally, the biggest annoyance to writing my stories in composition notebooks, seeing as my novellas are never equal to or less than 200 handwritten pages.
You will probably have to transfer it to a computer someday. If you want to perform large, effective edits or share your story with the world, you're pretty much going to have to type it all into a computer. While I actually like doing this, this is probably this method's biggest con in many writers' eyes.
TYPING
Pros
It's easy to apply edits. Since you can neatly do away with one small word or rewrite an entire sentence in seconds, edits are much easier to perform.
New chapters are simple. If you're going for a specific page number, Google Docs, Word, and other similar programs quickly and easily show you how many pages you have, and you can speedily and silently scroll through your chapter to count your pages - opposed to the noisy rustling process a notebook requires. You can even insert a table of contents and click "update" when needed to find out how long your chapters are!
Word counts are easy to find. Either type your story directly into a service that automatically displays the word count, such as Wattpad, or paste your latest chapter into a word count program online. Even Google Docs has an option to momentarily display a screen with the word and character counts.
After writing, you can immediately upload. Because you've already got your story on a computer, if you're uploading it to a social media website, you can do so in mere minutes - if it has to be transferred from one program to another - or seconds - if it's already typed directly into the program on which you're sharing it!
Spell-check. This one's fairly obvious and something that is my biggest foe when I'm handwriting anything.
Cons
Your work can easily be deleted. One glitch or malfunction - it happens even to the best of websites and programs - and your story is irrevocably gone. It's a terrifying thought and every writer's worst nightmare. It's also why I print out the novellas I truly care about after finishing them. Plus, I back up my Wattpad books to Google Docs. But even Google can malfunction - I once had an English paper completely wiped from my Google Drive, where it had sat untouched for days!
It's harder to show off. You're at a family reunion and want to impress your cousins, who have just been casually listing their achievements. When they ask what you're "into these days," you finally have an answer - writing! But your story's on your laptop. By the time you've grabbed your laptop, turned it on, opened the story, and loaded it, the conversation has doubtless moved on to other topics - or everyone has been awkwardly staring at you for the past few minutes.
There isn't as much physical material to show. While a huge number of pages in Google Docs is pretty cool, I always find myself most impressed when someone plops a stack of papers an inch thick in front of me. That's what truly seems amazing because there's so much to show for it rather than two-dimensional pages on an electronic screen.
It's harder to politely avoid sharing your unfinished work with people. Your friend notices that you're typing like mad on your laptop. "Whatcha working on?" they ask. "A story," you reply evasively, hoping that will bring an end to the conversation. But no luck - here comes the dreaded question: "Can I read it?" Every writer has faced this question at some point in their lives. When you're handwriting a book, however, you can flip apologetically through the plethora of pages while explaining slowly, "It's really long..." Since most people aren't avid readers, and you probably won't be in a social situation that offers an hour for the person to sit and silently read your entire story, this will deflect most eager would-be readers. When you're typing a book, however, and you try to use this excuse, it can be immediately rebuffed with, "Just share it with me and I'll read it later." Then you're forced to click that little share button or send them a link to your story and spend the next couple of hours agonizing over what they'll think about it.
You can be easily distracted. For example, I have notifications for YouTube turned on on my laptop, so every time one of my favorite YouTubers uploads a video, I know minutes later and feel obligated to go watch it right then. I also find myself more prone to writer's block on the computer, which is really annoying when there's a Wattpad contest finishing in mere days.
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So, in a nutshell:
Pros to handwriting: It's easier to stay focused; you ave something physical to show for your efforts; you can take your notebook almost anywhere
Cons to handwriting: Starting new chapters can be a challenge; sometimes, a single notebook is too little to hold your story; you will probably have to transfer it to a computer someday
Pros to typing: It's easier to apply edits; new chapters are simple; word counts are easier to find; after writing, you can immediately upload; spell-check
Cons to typing: Your work can be easily deleted; it's harder to show off; there isn't as much physical material to show; it's harder to politely avoid sharing your unfinished work with people; you can be easily distracted
And my final verdict is...
For me personally, it really depends on the situation. I'm constantly handwriting some novella that I refer to as "my main story," but if I'm writing a short story or entering something in a contest, I'm going to use my laptop to save time and effort. I like both forms, however, although I do find myself easily distracted on a computer. Life's complicated - and so is choosing a writing style :)
