# Pen vs Computer



## JaideAngel (Sep 27, 2010)

Okay. I'm not entirely sure if someone has posted this before, but i can't seem to find anything related under search.

So my question is, does typing on the computer undermine the ability to write by pen? Ability as in writing flow, syntax and maybe even vocabulary.

Because i'm still a student and sits for examinations using the traditional pen and paper, but i find that it's often faster for me to type. I'm quite worried as to whether it will affect my exam condition, if i keep practising essay-writing on the computer, since it's faster, and also more environmentally-friendly.

Please do help! Thanks in advance.


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## Mike (Sep 28, 2010)

Unless you write a ridiculously fast shorthand or hunt-and-peck on the computer, typing is simply faster than writing by hand. It doesn't limit about what you think of and how you will write it. In my experience, I type because I'm able to keep up with what's on my mind. It also allows me to quickly delete mistakes , making the finished product seem rather polished for a first attempt. When you make mistakes in writing by hand, half your paper is filled with crossed out words and arrows and the like. Still, you come up with the same story in the end.

I would practice writing by hand, just so you don't clam up when it comes time.


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## garza (Sep 28, 2010)

For most people, typing is far faster than using pen or pencil. But that should be the only difference. Wherever I can I use a computer, but when I'm in the field I use a notebook and pencil (never a pen - they can betray you). It makes no difference in the way I write, except that where need be I resort to syntactically compacted text to save time and to get as much down on paper as I can. I have published many articles that were originally composed in the field with pencil and paper. There is no difference in style between those and articles composed on a computer. 

In the old days of course we used typewriters. You young folks have never experienced the thrill of sitting down and turning out four or five thousand words on an Underwood Model Five. I wish I still had mine.

But today I would probably hate it after using a computer for the past 30 or more years.


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## The Backward OX (Sep 28, 2010)

Using a computer has certainly undermined my handwriting ability. Anything I attempt by hand is totally illegible.


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## garza (Sep 28, 2010)

Print. That's what I had to learn to do before I started high school. My handwriting was impossible for me or anyone else to read. My Standard Six teacher suggested I print for a while to discipline my hand. I did, and soon developed a very neat though not very stylish cursive based on my printing. I still use it some, but print more often. Using a typewriter had nothing to do with my handwriting problem, which existed before I owned a typewriter and learned to type. When my teacher suggested printing as handwriting therapy, I based my printing on the elite type in my Underwood.


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## The Backward OX (Sep 28, 2010)

If you think that at my age I’m going to sit down and begin spending time labouring over THE CAT SAT ON THE MAT,I’ve got news for you, Sunny Jim.
\\/


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## garza (Sep 28, 2010)

So you are saying there's a difference between age 12 and, ah, a somewhat older age in using that sort of drill?


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## Auskar (Sep 28, 2010)

I've always liked the keyboard.  When I had the stroke, I forgot the entire right side of the keyboard (and I'm not as coordinated as I used to be) - but that is one of the first things I retaught myself.  The keyboard and how to type.  

I learned on a manual typewriter, but when the computer took over - I liked it even better.  Editing before you print AND you can see it all?  Priceless.


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## Danvok (Sep 28, 2010)

I like using pen, typewriter and computer for different projects. I don't know about everyone else but, for me, something about the medium has an influence on what I'm writing. Maybe it's due to the speed involved through the different writing methods.

Though currently my typewriter is broken beyond repair. I miss the clacks and clicks that come through typing each letter. I'm going to have to get a new one.


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## garza (Sep 28, 2010)

My stroke affected the left side, and unfortunately it was my left hand that had suffered a fragmentation injury many years ago that needed months of physical therapy to straighten out. After the stroke there was a brief time of recovery, briefer than what the doctors had predicted, and today I'm in fair shape. The stroke was seven years ago and I still have problems walking slowly - I tend to stagger and sometimes fall. But my hands are working at around 90 percent so I can still put one word after another about as well as I ever could. 

Were those old manual typewriters as good as we remember? Mine was an Underwood Model Five built in the late '20s, and I've also used Royals that I liked almost as well. Today my error rate is fairly high and I'm only saved by the edit on the fly capability of the computer, so I doubt I could use any sort of typewriter anymore.


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## Auskar (Sep 28, 2010)

I don't think I could use a typewriter, either - I make too many errors now.  My favorite typewriter was the IBM Selectric, though.  That ball was fast!  I used to always jam up the keys on an old-fashioned manual typewriters, but that is what I learned on.


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## Bruno Spatola (Sep 28, 2010)

Every single idea I've had is written in a little Molskine notebook. I write some rough dialogue and a few "test-runs", if you'd call them that. I always prefer to write a few paragraphs by hand before really sitting down and typing something up. Typing is faster but, there's something about actually _writing it_ that's quite satisfying. 

I also draw little doodles while I'm writing by hand, which helps me ascertain the mood. I write letters to characters I haven't even made up yet, which helps a lot. . .I guess I'm just a little strange. I have longer to think while I'm writing by hand too, if that's good or bad I don't know.

So I love both, but in the long run, typing makes my life easier. I'll always love writing down a brand new, rough idea though, and it's an important part of my little writing routine.

Winner = Computer


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## Richard Smith (Sep 28, 2010)

I write very little by pen/pencil nowadays.  Flowcharts, to-do lists, equations, logic flows, etc., stuff I need for programming or organizing my workload.  I rarely write any of my story, except when I am somewhere and don't have anything pressing to do.  Then, I write, illegibly, or draw.My vocabulary, phrases, etc don't change, but my speed does, and I do wind up scratching out quite a bit, just because there is no backspace.


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## PSFoster (Sep 28, 2010)

I always write first drafts on paper, then transfer to computer.  Rewrites and editing are much easier on computer.  I find I can't think as well if I try to start on the computer. My brain will work better with pen & paper.


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## Yarris (Sep 29, 2010)

I prefer handwriting notes or rough drafts. Staring at a word processor makes me more conscious of looks (formatting, font, how the words appear on the page) than content, plus I already spend enough time looking at a monitor.


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## The Backward OX (Sep 29, 2010)

garza - I was born clumsy, I’ll die clumsy; I could practice ‘til I’m blue in the face and nothing would improve my handwriting.

And you’re doing far better than me I. I also stagger and fall, and I haven’t had a stroke.


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## Hawke (Sep 29, 2010)

> So my question is, does typing on the computer undermine the ability to write by pen? Ability as in writing flow, syntax and maybe even vocabulary.



I can only speak for myself here, but... no. Legibility, however, yes. Then again, my handwriting wasn't the greatest to begin with.


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## WolfieReveles (Sep 29, 2010)

My handwriting was always horribly ugly which makes me avoid writing by hand unless it's just notes for personal use like notes and such. Nobody ever copied my notes in school. I can't say it's gotten worse, but it sure as hell hasn't progressed.


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## Auskar (Sep 29, 2010)

My cursive handwriting used to be okay, unless I was in a hurry and taking notes.  My printing looked great.  

I write notes in a small book I carry with me, but writing by hand muddles me and it is very difficult.  At home, I type pretty much everything.

*Oddville Press: * "The Oddville Press is  taking a sabbatical. Reading so many wonderful submissions, and trying  to select the very best, takes its toll and our wonderful staff need a  break. But never fear, we’re still dedicated to bringing high quality  Fiction, Poetry and Artwork to the forefront, and we’ll be open for  submissions again on September 1st 2010."

I've gone twice for a look, since I've seen it here.  It still looks closed, though it is after 9/10/10.


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## copperflyingace (Sep 30, 2010)

For story writing, I infinitely prefer the computer just because I can easily change things, but I cannot stand to write poetry on the computer. I have to do that with pen and paper. It just seems right.


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## NathanBrazil (Sep 30, 2010)

I know this is not directly related to the pen vs. typing discussion but I have found that after posting something to a writing site, I see things that I don't see in a word doc on my hard drive.  What's that about?  Sometimes I actually get an inspiration just from re-reading the posted short story.


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## Auskar (Sep 30, 2010)

When you print your work in a format where others can see it, you look at it in a different light (at least I do).  You see it more critically, and can better notice flaws.  

The problem is that, once it has been in a public place, it is not an "unpublished" piece anymore.


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## The Backward OX (Sep 30, 2010)

> I still have problems walking slowly - I tend to stagger and sometimes fall.


 


> I'm very near-sighted


 


> I can still hike in the .... Mountains and ride at my friend's ranch in the river valley and spend a full day with a farmer in his field doing whatever needs to be done.


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## garza (Oct 1, 2010)

I'm afraid I don't understand the point. I will, however, be happy to expand on the quotes.

After the stroke I lost my ability to stand still for any length of time or walk slowly. There is a serious balance problem the doctors say is partly attributed to the stroke and partly to the fact that my right ear no longer functions as it should. The ear problem is apparently unrelated to the stroke, but compounds the balance problem. I have no doubt that people who don't know me sometimes believe I am drunk.

I was born with myopia. The near-sightedness kept me from joining the military. After five years at university I caught a tramp out of New Orleans headed for the Far East. I had my notebook, pencil, camera, two spare pairs of glasses, and a firm belief in my own immortality. I kept going back and forth, managing to father and mostly raise one acknowledged child, but possibly contributing to the gene pool otherwise as well. Nearsightedness has never proven to be a handicap in a dark room.

Today I cannot do all that I once did, but there are many things I can still do as I mentioned in the post you quoted. All of that is still true, and I hope will continue true for some time to come. That post was prompted by all the complaints I was hearing from people in my age group. I still can do all those things mentioned, stroke, near-sightedness, diabetes, and all notwithstanding. My point was, let's dwell on what we can do while we still can do it. When I'm walking on the road to town I can still turn the mile in under 20 minutes. Again, if I try to go slow, I tend to stagger, so I must keep up the pace to stay upright. I guess it's the momentum. 

One of those conditions, my myopia, has always been a blessing for me, no matter how much of a handicap it was for my teachers who claimed it hurt their eyes to see me hold the book so close. I always considered that to be their problem, not mine. The blessing part of if has come especially in photography and drawing. Getting the magnified view of pictures as I produce them in the darkroom, on the computer screen, or on the sketch pad gives me a bit of an edge at times over people with ordinary eyes. I tend always to take a closer look at the world in general, and that's not a bad habit for a reporter to have.

And you can quote any of that at any time you wish to do so.


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## The Backward OX (Oct 1, 2010)

Here's a new bumper sticker - "Photographers do it in dark rooms" :-\"


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## garza (Oct 1, 2010)

New? Nah. Unfortunately since most of us use digital cameras these days the saying has lost much of its meaning. 

If all the film and darkroom supplies were still easily available where I am, I would still do a great deal of it in the dark. I'll never forget how I felt the first time I watched a piece of white paper (orange under the safelight, of course) turn into a photograph I had taken.


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## RM Americano (Oct 1, 2010)

I write with a Mont Blanc.  In Mohatma Gandhi Saffron.  In Moleskines.  Then I retype it.  That's my first revision. 

I find that what I write by hand is usually more direct.  When I start typing a new piece from scratch it seems to be flooded with more detail, and take longer to develop a rhythm.  Probably because I can fit in more typed words in the same timeframe that I can write by hand, and end up changing the dynamic of a piece because my thoughts travel at one pace and the language travels at another.


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