Writing vs.Typing

From various sources it finally occurred to me the value of handwriting a story as well as the value of typing. In the old days, before the computer, authors wrote all their stories by hand. It was a long process. Everything was handwritten. J.R.R. Tolkien took twelve years of his life to write Lord of the Rings. Even this era, authors still choose to hand-write their stories. I could never fathom why when a computer is so much easier and faster.

I have always understood for a very long time that it is important to write down notes rather than type them because it syncs better in memory. This I have followed. But little did I know till now, that writing for even stories has great value too. It forces your mind to slow down and think slowly through it. With a slowed mind, the focus on sentence structures, descriptions, and emotions come out onto the page far better than if you type it. I have tried this yesterday, so I know. The only downside to writing is that it is slower than a computer.

In the beginning of my writing career, hobby, or whatever you want to call it, I typed all my stories. I loved it. It was fast and I was able to take the whole story in my head out on to paper in no time. I felt no restraints in the writing process, except here and there in terms of where the story will go. However, the downside here is as mentioned above, there are areas where I am lacking detailed description. Maybe I could written a sentence better or I need more emotion here.

Through careful analysis and practice of both tools, I have understood that both are valuable. For me, I need to type first to get it out of my head. Once that is done, my head relaxes. So my second draft from now on will be a hand-written version. Third will be a combination of the two drafts, but back to typed.

This is my decided method, but each person is different and therefore their approach will probably be different. Both practices are important and very useful. How they will work for you? Well, that my friend, is entirely up to you.

Ready to Publish!

Sometime two weeks ago I finished my final draft and last week I finished my look over. The only thing I have to do now is to publish, but before I do that I need people to read over it. Then the real challenging work begins: finding a way to publish.

I have heard many countless tales of authors having to go through millions of rejection letters before finally one decided to publish their story. The one thing they always tell rising authors is not to give up, but to keep going, keep plowing your way through because one will eventually accept your work.

There is still a long way to go before we ever see it on the shelf of Barnes and Nobles, but that dream is closer than it ever was before. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming. Yes, I have to follow Dory's simple, but powerful words of wisdom till I get there.

In the meantime, I have started working on the second book. What!? Yes, the second one. Lot of authors start on the sequel once they are done and have sent the first one in for publishing. So the process moves along quickly. By the time the first is released, the sequels will not take so long to get published after the prequel. Of course I will stop the sequel when I find a publisher and goes through the editing process. But it will recommence once the first is taken care of and on its way to the shelf.

This is all the news for now. Sorry for the delay, I've had a very difficult year in 2015, but 2016 is a new year filled with infinite possibilities with my hope rekindled once again.