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.