Writing Quirks: Why I Write by Hand

Note: This blog was originally published on https://lpmetzger.weebly.com/keepin-with-the-times and used with permission from the author.

One of the weirdest things I do as a writer is hand-write all of the first drafts of my novels. Whenever I talk about it, I get weird stares. I’ve never gotten a chance to explain why I do it, so I’m going to take this opportunity to.

I love colored pens and notebooks.

I get that from my mom. Both have always been so mesmerizing to me since I was a kid. I guess it was foreshadowing that I would use both when I started writing books.

I’ve never had good hand-writing.

This sounds really weird. Why would I hand-write hundreds of pages of content if I had bad handwriting? The reason why is because, through all 700+ pages I’ve hand-written, I’ve been improving my handwriting. You can’t improve something you don’t exercise regularly.

I love carrying a notebook.

It sounds really stupid, but it’s true. I felt like I was serving my purpose in life whenever I carried my manuscript around and worked on it before class in high school. I wasn’t bored anymore. I was going on adventures with my characters. It was, and still is, the best feeling in the world.

Turning a new page inspires me to write more.

Being able to physically see how far I’ve written in a notebook inspires me to write more. That’s something typing can’t do until the document is printed. And even then, you have to try to find a binder clip to hold all that paper. There’s something very rewarding to me when I look at all of the weathered notebooks I’ve completed manuscripts in. I feel like I accomplished something unique and all my own.